Rani Yahya was a lopsided favorite over Josh Clopton ahead of their UFC 163 bout, and it was expected that Yahya would finish him. It didn't quite work out that way, but he got the victory nonetheless. Yahya spent much of the first two rounds in dominant positions but the finish just wasn't there. Clopton had a decent third, but never had Yahya in any trouble at all. All three judges had it 29-28 for the Brazilian fighter.
Yahya got on his striking right away, then grabbed a leg and looked for a takedown. Clopton fought it off, but Yahya pulled guard and grabbed onto a leg. Rani eventually ended up in guard against the fence and used some punches to pass. Clopton controlled him fairly well for a while but Yahya eventually got to mount. Clopton survived the round though.
Clopton tried to box early in round two but Yahya predictably got a takedown about one minute in. Yahya trapped his arm behind his own back and opened up with some punches. Rani sat in mount for a long time and controlled position, but again never came close to finishing the fight.
Clopton started the third with a good punch and stuffed a Yahya takedown. Yahya tried again, but Clopton flipped it over and ended up on top. He wasn't able to get anything going on the ground though, so he let him up. Yahya scored with a right and they fought over position for a while. The last round was pretty slow overall.
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- UFC 163 results: Amanda Nunes stops Sheila Gaff with elbows
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- UFC 163 results: Ian McCall takes decision over Iliarde Santos
- UFC 163 results: Rani Yahya takes decision over Josh Clopton
- UFC 163 results: Francimar Barroso decisions Ednaldo Oliveira