In the second bout of the UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem preliminary card, Jacob Volkmann used his elite wrestling skills to control Efrain Escudero enough to pick up a unanimous decision victory. The first two rounds were all Volkmann, with Escudero putting himself in bad positions by going for guillotines and Volkmann taking advantage, grinding away for long periods of time. Even when the referee stood them up, Volkmann took it right back down and continued his domination.

The third round looked to be more of the same for the first half of the stanza, but Escudero capitalized on a Volkmann mistake and locked on a choke that looked tight. He adjusted in a few times, but it wasn't enough to put Volkmann to sleep, and Jacob escaped with a 29-28 win on all three scorecards. Volkmann improves to 5-0 as a lightweight and has to be seen as a threat in the division. Escudero picks up the loss in his return to the company and is probably wondering about his future right about now.

What was the high spot of this fight?

Escudero's chokes. Volkmann is boring but effective, and nothing he did for the first two rounds was highlight-worthy. Escudero caught him in the third though, and it looked for all the world that Volkmann had no choice but to tap. Somehow he powered out though, and went on to win.

Where do these guys go from here?

Volkmann's a weirdo, and that might hold him back from a higher-profile position. But the truth is that he's 5-0 as a lightweight, and that's not easy to do in the UFC. Does he get a quality contender next? We'll see. I'm leaning towards a Mark Bocek-type fighter first though.

Escudero is in a precarious position. He was brought back as a late replacement, and while he showed a lot in the third round of the bout, the first two rounds were anything but impressive. Personally, I feel that he's a lot better than some lightweights on the roster and deserves another shot. Will he get it? Only time will tell.

Watch it now, later or never?

Later. Or at least just watch the third. Volkmann does what he does well, but he's not gonna win any brownie points from Dana White for it. Escudero made it interesting at least, and that was, by far, the best part of the fight.