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Anthony Njokuani and John Makdessi were expected to engage in a an elite striking fight and they definitely threw some flashy stuff. Not a lot of it landed though. Njokuani did get the better of it throughout the fight and hurt Makdessi with a left hook in the first to pick up a unanimous decision victory. All three judges had it 30-27 for the former WEC fighter.
Unsurprisingly, both fighters opened the fight with some kicks. Makdessi continually walked down Njokuani, but wasn't able to land any of the side kicks he was throwing. Njokuani stumbled Makdessi with a left and became the aggressor briefly. Makdessi cleared the cobwebs quickly though and started coming forward again. Njokauni caught Makdessi with a nice head kick, then a body kick. Njokuani threw an awkward kick that had him reeling backwards in defense at the end of the round, but Makdessi couldn't take advantage.
Makdessi was the one coming forward again in the second, landing his side kick a little more while Njokauni looked for a head kick. Njokuani caught a kick, but was unable to kick Makdessi's other leg out. Makdessi finally got inside and landed a good combination halfway through the round. Both fighters whiffed on some fancy kicks, but landed was some more traditional punches. Njokuani caught another kick, and chased Makdessi across the cage while winging punches. Makdessi looked for a takedown at the horn.
Despite his corner telling him to be more aggressive, Makdessi didn't exactly come out with a lot in the third. He landed a nice spinning back kick and some slapping leg kicks, but Njokuani was able to back off well. Makdessi landed a spinning backfist with three minutes to go. Njokuani threw a nice combination with 90 seconds to go, and Makdessi didn't have much to respond with. He tried to cut off the cage and land a spinning back kick, but it wasn't there.Njokuani just circled away for the last 20 seconds.
Makdessi was looking to erase the memory of his first-round submission loss to Dennis Hallman at UFC 140. He came in two pounds overweight and forced to forfeit 20% of his purse. Njokuani was looking to rebound from his split-decision loss to Danny Castillo at UFC 141.
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