UFC 138: Munoz Stops Leben, Barao Submits Pickett In Thrilling Card

Live results and recap for UFC 138

BIRMINGHAM, England – HeavyMMA.com is reporting live from the LG Arena for today’s “UFC 138: Leben vs. Munoz” event.

The card is headlined by a five-round middleweight contender bout between Chris Leben and Mark Munoz.

We’ll have quick results for all of the preliminary card bouts and post-fight recaps for each main card fight in this post beginning at 1:50 p.m. ET.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Chris Cariaso d. Vaughn Lee by split decision: There is no hometown fairytale to open the night as Birmingham’s Vaughan Lee wins the first round, before losing two and three to drop a split decision to Chris Cariaso.

The Briton controlled the clinch in the first stanza, but appeared to tire the longer the bout went on and his opponent took advantage on the feet and in the grappling department. The third round was the most dominant of all with Cariaso switching from mount to back control before ending the fight in position to lock in a rear naked choke. The announcement of the split was somewhat surprising as it looked an open and shut 29-28 from ringside.

Che Mills d. Chris Cope by KO, round 1: It proves to be a short night for the surprisingly popular Cope, whose appearance on the big screen is greeted by the sections of the audience shouting his trademark ‘woo’, as Mills walks him down from the first bell. After an exchange of leg kicks, the Brit lands a big knee which drops his opponents and nearly forces referee Marc Goddard to stop the bout. While he lets it go on, it
proves academic as Mills lands another knee and strong punches to force a stoppage after just 40 seconds.

Michihiro Omigawa d. Jason Young via unanimous decision: Michihiro Omigawa finally scored his first win in the UFC by scoring a unanimous decision over London’s Jason Young. The British fighter boasted aggression and fast strikes, but the experienced Judo player used a succession of trips and ground control proved the difference. The Japanese fighter bloodied the nose of his opponent in the first round and attempted a heel hook in the final five minutes, but neither man came close to finishing the other. A highlight for Young was a head kick which stunned Omigawa when rushing in early on, but he struggled to land meaningful offense against a clever foe.

Philip de Fries d. Rob Broughton via unanimous decision: Philip De Fries weathered a storm in the second round to record a decision victory in his UFC debut. The battle between the two big British heavyweights was never likely to be a crowd pleaser and the undefeated fighter from Sunderland – who has won all of his fights by submission – controlled the first and third periods on top with superior grappling. Broughton enjoyed success in the second when he had De Fries in a crucifix position and landed elbows but he was second best for the most part.

John Maguire d. Justin Edwards by unanimous decision: John Maguire became the third victorious British UFC fighter of the evening at UFC 138 by winning a unanimous decision over Justin Edwards. He was stunned in the opening exchanges when the American landed a spinning back kick and followed it with an overhand right which dropped him. However Maguire put in one of the most impressive displays of his career to recover instantly, control the grappling from then on and could have finished the fight with an armbar had the bell not interrupted him at the end of round two.

MAIN CARD

Terry Etim d. Edward Faaloloto via submission (round 1, 0:15): After four decisions in five fights, Terry Etim reenergized the home crown in scintillating fashion. His fight with Eddie Faaloloto lasted just 17 seconds after the Hawaiian ate a body kick and was caught in an arm-in guillotine to complete what Joe Rogan described as a “perfect” performance from the Liverpool fighter.

Anthony Perosh d. Cyrille Diabate via submission, round 2: Anthony Perosh withstood a barrage of painful body kicks in the first round en route to earning a submission victory over Cyrille Diabaté. The tall Frenchman stalked the Australian from the opening seconds and landed strikes from range, but an attempted uppercut in the second round took the fight to the ground. After Diabaté defended an attempted arm triangle, Perish transitioned to the back and sunk in the submission.

Thiago Alves d. Papy Abedi via submission (round 1, 3:32): UFC newcomer Papy Abedi paid the price for standing in with a superior striker in his fight against Thiago Alves. The Swedish judo black belt threw reckless punches early on to try and create an opening and had success in walking his opponent backwards. However, the more experienced kickboxer timed a left hook perfectly to drop the European and swiftly took control. Soon after he took Abedi’s back and showed submission skills of his own to sink the choke and force a tap.

Renan Barão d. Brad Pickett via submission (round 1, 4:09): London’s Brad Pickett appeared inconsolable after becoming the latest victim of Brazil’s Renan Barão. After the Brit was greeted by a hero’s welcome from the sell-out crowd in Birmingham, he raced out of the traps from the first second he was out-struck. The South American, known primarily as a submission artist, was quicker to the punch in almost every instance and constantly knocked back Pickett’s head. A powerful knee eventually took the fight to the ground where Barão quickly took the back and showed precise technique to lock in a rear naked choke. Dominick Cruz could have a new number one contender for his bantamweight title based on this stellar showing.

Mark Munoz d. Chris Leben via TKO (end of round 2): Mark Munoz moved higher up the middleweight rankings, although not in the manner he may have wanted, after two rounds of frenetic action in the main event. Fan favourite Chris Leben walked through a series of punches in the first round and fought valiantly to escape from his opponent’s strong top control. Leben was cut in the second after another barrage of ground and pound but appeared to be able to continue after surviving one check from the doctor. However, while the fight continued until the end of the round, Leben then told his corner he could not continue, and the fight was called off and ruled in favor of Munoz.

After the fight, Munoz said that while Anderson Silva was his friend, he wants a shot at the middleweight title.