|
Written by Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com
|
|
Saturday, 08 December 2007 |
 LAS VEGAS, December 8 – Roger Huerta didn’t think getting his fifth victory of 2007 wasgoing to be easy, but he didn’t think beating fellow lightweight contender Clay Guida was going to be this hard either. But after losing the first ten minutes of the action-packed main event at The Palms Resort and Casino tonight, Huerta won the next 51 seconds, and those were the ones that counted, as ‘El Matador’ remained unbeaten in the UFC with a third round submission victory.
“That’s a Mexican for you,” said Huerta, who trailed 20-18 twice, and 20-17 on the judges’ scorecards entering the final round.
Guida got off to a good start early on the mat, putting Huerta on his back and working his strikes while trying to improve his position. Huerta refused to stay still though, as he continually tried to turn the tables. With a little over two minutes left, an inadvertent knee by Guida while Huerta was on the ground brought a halt to the action, but when action resumed, ‘The Carpenter’ got right back to business on the feet and on the ground, drawing a roar from the crowd. Before the bell tolled though, both fighters took turns trading the dominant position, displaying the type of action fight fans expected going into the bout.
The exchanges were sharp to start round two, with Guida being a little faster and more accurate. Huerta gritted his teeth and moved forward to try to take control, prompting Guida to put him on his back with a takedown. Soon, both were back on their feet and Huerta started to open up a bit more, only to be taken to the mat again by Guida. With under three minutes left, the dervish from Illinois got Huerta’s back briefly, only to have ‘ElMatador’ scurry out of trouble. Again they stood, and this time Huerta got rocked by Guida’s punches before being put on the canvas. After the fighters rose, Guida’s punches were doing more and more damage, this time dropping the Minnesotan and almost putting him out in the final 30 seconds, but by the end of the round, Huerta was fighting back and ready for the final five minutes.
With the fight on the line, Huerta came out with a single-minded determination and walked right at Guida. Guida met him with the same hard punches that he had thrown and landed in the early rounds, but this time Huerta walked through them and let loose with his own bombs. And after landing a couple of big shots, Guida was visibly dazed. Huerta moved in for the kill with abandon as Guida desperately tried to get a takedown and weather the storm. Huerta wouldn’t be denied though, and as the bout hit the mat, he sunk in a rear naked choke that ended the bout via tap out at 51 seconds of the final round. |
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 10 December 2007 )
|
