UFC on ESPN 11 Prelims Results and Recap

UFC on ESPN 11 prelims featured seven worthy fights to mark the first day of summer. From Apex Facility, veterans and fresh names battled for higher considerations moving forward.

Lightweights: Clay Guida (+220) vs. Bobby Green (-240)

Guida flashed shadows of prime form slamming Green early. However, “The King” pot shotted his opponent a bit before taking another canvass trip as 38-year-old Guida kept up pressure. And it was that faded pressure which edged “The Carpenter” past lackadaisical Green to punctuate round one.

Green picked up work rate in round two, landing crisp muay thai and shrugging off Guida’s telegraphed shots. With hands routinely flinging from his side, Green did enough to claim an uneventful middle stanza.

In the final frame, behind economical boxing, Green banked more points before wrestling in reverse and trading takedowns with Guida. The rugged veteran winced as Bobby Green slammed shots down to punctuate his 87-26 striking edge in a matchup between gimmick fighters. Green improved to 24-10, taking his first victory in three tries. Meanwhile, Octagon mainstay Guida sits 35-19 while dropping two of three.

Strawweights: Tecia Torres (-200) vs. Brianna Van Buren (+185)

Visibly smaller than her ranked assignment, Van Buren used cage pressure to gain two quick takedowns in between arm pummeling sessions. Undeterred, Torres showed greater range when striking resumed. However while mixing Greco-Roman techniques, Van Buren likely stole round one with a hip toss at the buzzer.

Displaying urgency, round two’s narrative saw Torres blitz Van Buren with barrage kicks and punches to keep the “Tha Bull” at bay. Van Buren had little standing success and failed to ground her now stalking opponent.

After taking more Torres stand up, Van Buren mucked things up cageside during round three but was unable to muscle down the #11 ranked UFC flyweight.

After 15 minutes, Tecia Torres (10-5) scored a clear decision win to snap a four-fight win drought. Meanwhile, Van Buren (9-2) took her first loss in seven recent appearances while looking physically outclassed by Torres.

Middleweights: Oskar Piechota (+105) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (-115)

Barriault showed clear standing class over Piechota while bloodying his opponent with repeated stiff rights to capture round one. Piechota’s fight IQ became problematic as he waited too long for level changes while being picked apart through a rough five minute opener.

Marc-Andre flaunted his quicker striking reflexes before dumping his confused opponent to net points halfway through round two. Up against it, Barriault (12-4) ended matters at (4:50) of round two to net his ninth career TKO and first win in three fights.

After an impressive early Zuffa run, four straight defeats, and two straight TKO setbacks, place Oskar Piechota (11-4-1) on the cusp of termination.

With his hand raised, Marc-Andre Barriault resumes Octagon life as undercard talent.

Flyweights: Cortney Casey (+103) vs. Gillian Robertson (-113)

Round one began with the obligatory probing and circling before Robertson took Casey down. From there, the ginger-braided fighter showed educated mount even smothering her opponent at times. Four minutes of top control gave “The Savage” a rudimentary, yet clear opening edge.

Round two became an amplified version of the first with Robertson quickly implementing her mat-based game plan. From top, the experienced wrestler avoided submission attempts while throwing down ground-and-pound to bank the second frame.

Final stanza action saw more Robertson grappling wares before she end-noted a gritty performance by locking in a decisive rear-naked choke at (4:36) of round three.

Likely a ranked fighter this time next week, Robertson (8-4) proved a stylistic nightmare for Casey. Visibly grimacing before her abrupt tap, the UFC strawweight vet fell to 9-8 after failing to duplicate her May success vs. Romero Borella. After an evolved showing, Gillian Robertson now has six paid submissions.

Lightweights: Justin Jaynes (+305) vs. Frank Camacho (-335)

With iron hands, last-minute replacement and heavy underdog Justin Jaynes scored his biggest paid victory by stopping Frank Camacho at 0:41 of round one. Showing laissez-faire defense, Camacho ate consecutive lefts before going down, standing and being rocked by flat-footed overhands before Herb Dean stood in.

Veteran Camacho (22-8)has lost four of five and the toll from his earlier blood-and-guts wars have likely rendered his chin sub-UFC level. Conversely, newcomer Jaynes (16-4) authored a fifth win in as many fights -three recently coming by TKO- and is on Zuffa radar for a larger showdown this year.

Flyweights: Lauren Murphy (+100) vs. RoxanneModafferi (-110)

Two minutes of center cage feel-out worksaw Murphy land a bit more. However, at 37 Modafferi looked quicker than at any other point in her winding career while sneaking in right hands and taking the fight against the fence. The larger Murphy fought back to where action began while landing full-fledged punches to eke a fame vs. her pugnacious opponent.

As round two began Modafferi nearly stumbled after a misstep. From there, Murphy began landing impact shots with veteran accuracy. With two minutes showing, the #7 flyweight overpowered by taking her opponent to the mat and almost sinking in hooks. Though, well-versed off her back, Modafferi escaped and ended the round pressed cageside.

The final frame in a dogfight had Murphy adding heavier shots as Modafferi never stopped advancing. After a hard fought contest where each woman proved top-ten worthy, 36-year-old Murphy landed a last second takedown to make her case for another Octagon win.

The judges rendered an apt unanimous decision win in Lauren Murphy’s favor. Murphy now owns three straight UFC victories. Meanwhile “The Happy Warrior” falls to 24-17 and has lost two of three.

Lightweights: Austin Hubbard (+173) vs. Max Rohskopf (-188)

Both fighters opened tentatively with probing leg kicks as Rohskopf threw more volume. Halfway through round one the newcomer hit his first UFC takedown, but Hubbard scrambled and escaped with a well-placed exit knee to his challenger’s abdomen. Toward the end of round one, inexperienced Rohskopf attempted an amateur level knee bar which Hubbard escaped.

Round two saw a total fortune reversal as underdog Hubbard unloaded on visibly gassed Rohskopf. Even with average standup the UFC vet showed light years of class vs. an overhyped regional standout.

The opening fight halted at 5:00 of round two as the referee saw Rohskopf take enough damage.

This fight revealed Austin Hubbard (12-4) as a garden variety Octagon gatekeeper and Rohskopf (5-1) as not yet ready for the lowest UFC levels. Hubbard now has five career TKOs and two UFC wins after out landing the 25-year-old 59-17.

Joshua Broom's UFC on ESPN 11 Undercard pick record: 3-3 (Camacho fight not included).