UFC 184 prelims results: Fullen, Lararo pick up split decision wins

The two Fight Pass bouts that kicked off UFC 184 in Los Angeles are in the books, and one fight was a fair deal better than the other. The card was led off by a couple of raw rookies that don't look UFC-ready yet, which resulted in a sloppy affair. The bout that followed featured much more precise striking and was a very close affair.

Masio Fullen defeated Alexander Torres by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Both men were competitors on The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America and were pretty raw skill-wise. Torres had Fullen hurt early, but didn't do a very good job of looking for the finish. The second round was a clinch-fest, and while they opened up a bit more in the third, Fullen had the bout under control over the final 10 minutes and clearly won the bout. It shouldn't have been a split decision.

Valmir Lazaro defeated James Krause by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

The story of the fight was Lazaro's takedown defense. Krause tried over and over again to get it to the floor but couldn't get anything going. Even when he did dip in and score with a takedown, Lazaro was back up within a second. Krause was keeping up a good pace with his striking but wasn't connecting with a lot of power shots, while Lazaro was, particularly late in the first and second rounds. Lazaro gassed out late, but managed to hold on for the narrow win.