UFC 122 Prelims: Krauss Thrills Crowd

OBERHAUSEN, November 13 –In an exciting battle of unbeaten welterweight prospects on the UFC 122 undercard, Freiburg, Germany’s own Pascal Krauss kept his “0” intact with a hard-fought three round unanimous decision win over Mark Scanlon Saturday at the Konig Pilsener Arena.

Krauss vs. Scanlon
The verdict read 30-27 across the board for Krauss in a bout that was a lot more competitive than those scores would indicate. - See UFC 122's Fight of the Night

Both fighters came out throwing bad-intentioned strikes, with Scanlon landing the best punch of the exchange, a hard right hand, before taking Krauss down and working twice for a guillotine choke. Breaking loose both times, Krauss got back to his feet and fired off knees from the clinch until the two broke. While standing, Scanlon again got the better of his foe, but this time his follow-up takedown attempt came up empty. Taking advantage of his good fortune, Krauss took Scanlon down and scored with ground strikes. Scanlon got back to his feet, but was taken back down with under a minute left. Now it was Krauss’ turn in control, and he ended the round with solid striking on the ground.

The second round began much like the first, with Scanlon scoring well with strikes and Krauss doing good work on the inside with his knees. Nearly a minute and a half in, Krauss got a takedown, and with the crowd chanting his name, he delivered a series of blows to the head of the Liverpool native. Scanlon made a number of attempts to break free, Krauss wouldn’t give him breathing room, and after a brief time in the mount, he took Scanlon’s back. A brief guillotine attempt followed, but was ultimately unsuccessful.

With one round to go, Scanlon again started off with a solid standup attack followed by a quick takedown and an even briefer stay on the mat. It didn’t stay that way for long though, as Scanlon got the fight back to the canvas as the crowd quieted. After the two stood, Krauss looked for a takedown but instead got caught in a guillotine choke. Some tense moments followed, but Krauss escaped and made it to side control with under a minute left. From there, he fired away with short shots to the face as Scanlon was pinned to the mat, but he was unable to finish before the final bell sounded.

With the win, Krauss improves to 10-0; Scanlon falls to 7-1.

Matyushenko vs. Ferreira
Veteran light heavyweight Vladimir Matyushenko spoiled the UFC debut of Alexandre ‘Cacareco’ Ferreira, halting the Chute Boxe team member in the first round.

Ferreira and Matyushenko engaged immediately, with the Brazilian coming up short on his takedown attempts against ‘The Janitor.’  With 3:13 left, Matyushenko turned the tables, taking Ferreira down to the mat, where he unleashed a devastating series of punches, elbows and forearms, prompting referee Kevin Mulhall to halt the contest at 2:20 of the opening round.

With the win, Matyushenko improves to 25-5; Ferreira falls to 18-7.

Noke vs. Kimmons
The Ultimate Fighter 11’s Kyle Noke earned his second impressive UFC victory in a row, submitting tough vet Rob Kimmons in round two of their middleweight bout. Watch here

Kimmons pressured Noke at the bell, eating a few punches in the process. Eventually the two locked up at close range, trading knees until Noke took the fight to the mat. As Kimmons rose, they repeated the process, with Noke eventually spending an extended spell on the canvas, where he controlled his foe with strikes and superior positioning. With 1:20 left, Kimmons was able to reverse position and get into side control, but it was Noke who ended the round with a late submission attempt and some strikes that drew a roar from the crowd.

Measuring his aggression to begin round two, Kimmons scored with punches upstairs before Noke got his bearings and took the bout to the mat. With Kimmons pinned, Noke patiently worked his ground game in effective style, and when he took his foe’s back, it was game over, with the Australian submitting Kimmons via rear naked choke at 1:33 of the second.

With the win, Noke improves to 18-4-1; Kimmons falls to 23-6.

Petruzelli vs. Vemola
Czech Republic native Karlos Vemola delivered the goods in his 205-pound debut, halting Seth Petruzelli in the first round to earn his first Octagon victory. See Vemola's Knockout of the Night

“I was strong at heavyweight, I’ll be super strong at light heavyweight,” said Vemola, who improves to 9-1; Petruzelli falls to 14-7.

Petruzelli made Vemola pay for his first wild rush, nailing him with a right hand to open the bout, but Vemola made good on his second charge with a thudding takedown. Petruzelli made it back to his feet after eating some ground strikes, but Vemola slammed him right back to the mat moments later. Petruzelli stayed active from the bottom as he landed with an upkick and looked for submissions before standing. Vemola relentlessly followed him though, putting him on the canvas again and really starting to put some muscle behind his strikes. Finally, after a series of unanswered shots, referee Leon Roberts had seen enough, calling a halt to the bout at the 3:46 mark.

McCray vs. Rocha
Hamburg-based Brazilian Carlos Eduardo Rocha got the crowd into matters immediately, submitting The Ultimate Fighter 11 finalist Kris McCray in the first round of welterweight action. Watch the replay

McCray showed the benefits of a recent training camp with UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar as he took Rocha down to the mat twice and took his back. Rocha kept working though, and in an ensuing scramble, he locked up McCray’s leg producing a tap out via kneebar at the 2:21 mark.