UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller Preliminary Card Live Blog

Prelims from the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., air on Facebook, Fuel TV

The UFC returns to the Fox network on Saturday for UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller. HeavyMMA will have live round-by-round and fight-by-fight coverage of the Facebook and Fuel TV preliminary card right here starting at 4 p.m. Eastern.

The main event at UFC on Fox 3 is a lightweight contenders bout between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller. The co-main event pits welterweight contenders and All-American wrestlers Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks against each other.

Action on the preliminary card includes a lightweight bout between TUF 13 winner Tony Ferguson and TUF 12 runner-up Michael Johnson and a flyweight bout between TUF 14 bantamweight winner John Dodson and UFC newcomer Tim Elliott.

The night’s first two fights stream live on the UFC’s Facebook fan page starting at approximately 4 p.m. Eastern. Then Fuel TV takes over at 5 p.m. for a six-fight live prelims special.

Mike Masshttps://heavy.com/tag/mike-massenzio/enzio vs. Karlos Vemola
Round 1: Vemola opens with a leg kick, and Massenzio fires back with a combination. Vemola shoots in for the takedown, but the fighters scramble back to the feet immediately. Vemola stuffs a takedown attempt, and they are back to the striking game. Nice kicks from Vemola, but it only leads to the clinch. Massenzio lands a solid knee, followed by a left. Massenzio gets the fight down, but Vemola locks on a guillotine choke. Massenzio escapes the submission and is in top position. Elbows from Massenzio, and Vemola scrambles up. He takes a knee, but is back up. Massenzio presses the wrestler up against the cage, but separates quickly, dodging a big punch. Massenzio counters Vemola’s combination, and looks for a choke when Vemola drops to his knees. Vemola looks like he will escape, but Massenzio is sticking on him. Vemola rolls, but gives Massenzio side control. Under a minute in the round. Massenzio looks for the choke, but Vemola powers out of it and gets back up. Massenzio counters again, and Vemola continues to struggle in every aspect of this fight. With under 10 seconds remaining, Vemola earns a big slam, but it wasn’t close to enough. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Massenzio.

Round 2: The second frame begins with a touch of the gloves, and vemola presses forward, eating a combo, but landing a nice right hand. He lunges forward again with another right, and it lands. Massenzio pulls guard, locking on a guillotine, but Vemola escapes and takes top position. Massenzio gives up north-south position, and Vemola looks for a Peruvian choke. He abandons it for vicious strikes when his opponent gives up his back. Vicious strikes. He locks in a rear naked choke. This fight is over. Huge comeback from Vemola.

Official Decision: Vemola def. Massenzio via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:07 of Round 2

Roland Delorme vs. Nick Denis
Round 1: Denis lands some nice shots early, including a knee, but Delorne looks to take the fight down. They clinch, but Delorme separates with an elbow. Denis landing, but eats a punch on the counter. Uppercut lands for Denis, and Delorme looks for the trip. Denis instead earns a trip of his own. Hammerfists now, and Denis enters his opponent’s guard. Delorme grabs ahold of an arm, but gets slammed into the mat. He reverses and takes Denis down, though the fight quickly ends up back on the feet in the clinch. They separate. Denis with a big right hand. He pauses before engaging. Delorme is in trouble. They clinch, and Denis scores a few knees. Delorme is in trouble, but tries to throw some knees of his own. Fight moves to the ground, as Delorme looks for a submission, but Denis simply ends up in guard. One minute remaining in the round, and Delorme seems to have recovered. He throws his hips for an armbar, but Denis disengages, standing up. On the feet, Delorme lands a left hook, followed by another shortly after. He lands a right, and Denis is wobbly. Huge, swinging combination from Delorme. Denis grabs ahold of the clinch and presses his opponent against the cage. 20 seconds left, and Delorme gets the hip toss. He moves to the back and locks in a choke. With seconds remaining, Denis is forced to tap. Two fights, two terrific comebacks. Incredible heart and desire from Delorme, who took this fight on short notice.

Official Decision: Delorme def. Denis via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:59 of Round 1

Dennis Bermudez vs. Pablo Garza
Round 1: Bermudez comes out missing with a left hand and reaches for a takedown. He slames Garza to the mat, but only keeps his opponetn down for a moment. Bermudez grabs onto a guillotine choke up against the cage, but Garza frees himself, mostly due to several nice knee strikes. Bermudez moves the fight back to the floor with a slam, but Garza doesn’t hop right back up this time. Bermudez stands up and takes several upkicks. Garza looks for submission attempts, but Bermudez has little trouble avoiding getting caught. The fight moves back up with 60 seconds remaining, and Garza lands a nice front-kick. A final takedown from Bermudez ends the round. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Bermudez.

Round 2: The second frame’s first action ends up taking place in the clinch up against the cage. Bermudez slams his opponent back down to the mat, seemingly having no trouble picking exactly when he wants to do it. Left hands land for him, while Garza fights off his back with elbows. Not a ton of action, as the fighters go back and forth without any significant turning points in the fight. Two minutes left, and the fighters still aren’t doing much. One minute to go and the fight moves back up to the feet. But Bermudez decides he will score a few more points. He earns the takedown, and Garza looks for a submission, but can’t find anything. The round ends back on the feet, or it would have had Bermudez not scored a trip in the very last moments of the frame. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Bermudez.

Round 3: Two superman punches for Bermudez out of the gate, though he never really committed. Garza looks for some type of wild submission, which is something we’ve seen from him before, but he gets slammed to the ground by Bermudez once again. Much like the previous round, nothing much going on from the pair on the floor. Bermudez landing here and there, but hardly does any damage. The official stands them up, much to the delight of the fans, but Bermudez moves the contest to the mat right away once again. He tries to move to back mount, but, when he fails, elects to stand back up. Garza with more upkicks, but Bermudez dodges and dips back on top of Garza and throws a few punches. The strikes set up a transition to the back, and Bermudez is looking for the choke. Garza survives, but he won’t win this fight. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Bermudez.

Official Decision: Bermudez def. Garza via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Danny Castillo vs. John Cholish
Round 1: First minute goes by in the second bout of the preliminary card on FUEL TV without much happening. The pair clinch, and Castillo backs Cholish against the cage, but Cholish escapes. He takes the center of the Octagon and barely misses with a head kick. CHolish comes back after the miss, earning a single leg takedown, but he can’t keep the fight on the floor. Midpoint of the round. Action slows to a crawl. The crowd is very irritated with the two fighters as the final minute approachees. The pair battle for position on the feet, but neither is able to steal away the close frame. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Castillo.

Round 2: The second frame starts off without much action, as did the first, but Cholish changes that with a takedown midway through the first minute. Castillo gets back to his feet without a sturggle, and we are back to a lackluster contest. Nothing happening, as fighters are hesitant to commit, neither landing anything close to what would qualify as a significant strike. Castillo lands, and Cholish takes several steps backwards. Nothing comes of it at first, but Castillo scores a nice slam as the bell closes out another very subpar round in terms of action. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Castillo.

Round 3: Another slow start to a round does not please those in attendance, but a slam by Castillo near the end of the first minute changes that, at least for the moment. Cholish leaps back up, and Castillo pushes him against the cage. Cholish back to the the ground, this time working a leg lock of sorts. He can’t find anything there. Three minutes left in the round, and Cholish gets back up. Little action, once again, which seems to be the overwhelming theme of the contest. Jab from Cholish, but nothing much else. 60 seconds left in the round. Castillo tries to grab hold of a leg, but the round comes to a close. Fans are unhappy, and they have a right to be. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Castillo.

Official Decision: Castillo def. Cholish via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Louis Gaudinot vs. John Lineker
Round 1: Gaudinot immediately faces the wild strikes of Lineker, but answers. The pair send pucnhes back and forth in a flurry the fans had been waiting for. The pace slows a bit, but Lineker keeps it up. Spinning back fist from Gaudinot, and we reach the two minute mark of the third fight on FUEL TV this evening. Lineker lands during another exchange, and the pair continue to go at it through the third minute of the round. The fighters high-five one another and get back to it on the feet, before moving to the ground. Lineker ends up on bottom, sending elbows upward. He is looking for a heel hook or some other leg lock, but nothing becomes available for him. Gaudinot moves to side control, but Lineker escapes at the end of the frame. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Lineker.

Round 2: Gaudinot with a pair of kicks to start the round, but Lineker comes back with a left. Gaudinot gets backed into the cage by his opponent, and Lineker is delivering some decent shots now. He works body shots, but, once separate, Gaudinot scores a spinning back fist, followed by a takedown. 120 seconds left in the round, and neither fighter is doing much of anything. A minute passes without anything significant occuring, but Gaudinot ends the drought with several left hands. Lineker works his way up to avoid the punishment, but Gaudinot latches on a guillotine, pulling guard. Lineker isn’t tapping. He’s out. Gaudinot put him to sleep with a vicious choke.

Official Decision: Gaudinot def. Lineker via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:54 of Round 2

John Hathaway vs. Pascal Krauss
Round 1: Krauss is the aggressor at the start of this fight, but he is not getting anywhere. Hathaway evades, as his opponent continues to chase him down without success. Krauss fails to hit on a takedown. Hathaway comes back with a knee, and Krauss drops. He gets Hathaway in guard, but Hathaway stands back up. He lets Krauss up and looks to score a kick, but misses. Still, he comes forward, changing the roles from earlier. Krauss looks to slow him, landing an outside leg kick. Hathaway returns fire with a knee, but misses. Krauss counters with a trip and falls into half guard. The round comes to a close shortly after. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Hathaway.

Round 2: Hathaway starts the round like he finished the last one, taking on the role of aggressor. He chases Krauss into the cage and begins throwing big shots. He misses on almost anything significant, but Krause finds himself on his back. He is attempting to separate from Hathaway with butterfly guard. Hathaway instead decides to do that for him, desengaging and allowing his opponent up.Helands a leg kick, and Krauss comes back striking. The fighters exchange, but Hathaway scores the better punches. Krauss looks for the takedown as the timer ticks down, but Hathaway is defeninding nicely. The round comes to a close without any other noteable exchanges. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Hathaway.

Round 3: The third round begins a bit slower than the previous two, but Hathaway is quick to change that. The former top prospect furthers his chances to continue back on the right track with an early trip. He is on top, and Krauss is struggling to work his way out. Hathaway working in shots here and there, but mostly minor punches. He doesn’t seem too concerned with landing anything with much power at this point and, up two rounds, he really has no reason to feel the need to. He finally lets Krauss back up and, once again, looks for the flying knee. Krauss doesn’t end up meeting that level of punishment and chases Hathaway down. Spinning back fist lands for the British fighter. He follows with a flying knee, but only ends up in the clinch. Knees from Hathaway, and Krauss is not enjoying them. The round and fight come to a close.

Official Decision: Hathaway def. Krauss via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

John Dodson vs. Tim Elliott
Round 1: Elliott is looking to land a spinning back kick right from the start, but his attempts have failed thus far. Dodson answers with a head kick, but misses the target. The fighters scramble and end up on the ground, then back to the feet. Good action so far. And it immediately slows right after. Dodson is hesitant, and Elliott looks to work kicks again. Dodson grabs ahold of one and drives his opponent into the mat. Elliot quickly explodes back to his feet. Eye poke leads to a timeout. The cageside doctor steps in to check on Elliot, before clearing him moments later. Dodson pumps the crowd up while this is happening. The action resumes, and both fighters come out with reckless abandon. Good flurry from the pair, but Dodson lands the better shots. Flying knee from “The Ultimate Fighter” veteran, but he misses, and the round comes to a close. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Dodson.

Round 2: The second frame begins with a shot from Dodson. Elliott drops from the strike, but gets back up and attempts a cartwheel-type kick. He has several tricks in his bag. A fakes on a few more kicks, but seems to have recovered for the most part. Both men now hesitate a bit, neither totally willing to committ for fear of what the repurcussions could be. Elliot lands, sending Dodson staggering backwards, falling to the floor. He gets up to his feet again quickly, but Elliot is there with a punch. It is low and he gets a warning from the referee. The fight is stopped for a moment, as Dodson recovers. Action resumes, and the pair hug it out in the center, except it did not seem mutual. Dodson, who initiated the hug, decides to get in close to Elliot again, scoring a takedown. Elliot scrambles right back up in time to beat the bell. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 Elliott.

Round 3: After two pretty terrific rounds of fighting, the third and final frame has started out with little to no action. 60 seconds, and neither fighter has managed to land anything major, or really anything minor for that matter. Time keeps ticking, and nothing is happening. Finally, Elliott lands a punch, which awakens Dodson, who springs to life with elbows. Dodson reaches for a leg, looking to earn the takedown, which would be huge consider how close this fight is. He can’t get it. Elliott grabs Dodson’s leg when he tries to kick, but he, too, can’t work the fight down. Final two minutes of the round. Elliot again looks takedown, but decides to throw punches instead. Nice left hand strikes from the big underdog before the bell rings, ending the fight. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Elliott.

Official Decision: Dodson def. Elliot via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Johnson
Round 1: Michael Johnson gets this fight rolling with a pair of kicks to open, and Ferguson doesn’t seem to like it. He trhows a front kick, but takes a shot to the body. Ferguson looks jab-high kick combination, but can’t finish with the vicious strike. Johnson comes back with a punch, and then Ferguson counters with a jab. Another kick from Johnson, while Ferguson misses a strike of his own. He comes right back with a leg kick, but slips. Johnson comes forward with a left, followed by a second that Ferguson certainly feels. Ferguson steps back, eats a leg kick, and dodges a head kick. Johnson with a jab. Ferguson misses with a combination. Finally he finds a home for his hands, but Johnson is right there with a counter to the body, followed by a kick. Ferguson takes another leg kick, but finally closes the distance. With the final seconds ticking away, he fails to land anything significant, but at least showed some life late. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Johnson.

Round 2: Johnson begins the second like he did the first, landing a nice kick, though this time right to the body of Ferguson, who comes up short with a couple hooks. Ferguson lands a body kick of his own, but Johnson is prepared to counter, landing a combination, but not getting through the defenses of Ferguson. The fighters exchange kicks. Johnson with another kick to the body, followed by another combo, but he fails to connect again. Ferguson comes back, but doesn’t have much to offer with the weak combination. Johnson misses with a big left, but shortly after finds the target with another. The fighters trade kicks. Ferguson with a nice uppercut, but he eats a counter left. Johnson jumps forward with a flying knee, but heads straight into his opopnents hands. Johnson looks for a takedown, but can’t get it, as Ferguson will end the round with a spinning backfist. But he misses. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Johnson.

Round 3: Final frame begins with a touch of gloves, and Ferguson immediately closes the distance, looking to strike, but failing to put anything together. He comes forward with kicks, but Johnson is ready, catching one and countering with a straight left. Combo misses for him next, but he lands a nice punch to the chest. Ferguson scores a kick, but Johnson again lands a left hand. Then a low kick scores for him. Ferguson has a punch-kick combination of his own, but Johnson counters yet again. Another left scores, followed by a right hand. A brief exchange ends the round. Heavy.com scores the roudn 10-9 for Johnson.

Official Decision: Johnson def. Ferguson via unanimous decision (30-29, 30-29, 30-29)