On the UFC Utica main card, Walt Harris dusted Daniel Spitz in the second round, and Ben Saunders took out Jake Ellenberger in the first.
The UFC Utica main card saw Walt Harris hurt Daniel Spitz on the feet before finishing him off with ground strikes just before the buzzer in the second round. This was a big win for Harris as it snapped a wonky two-fight losing skid for the big man. Ben Saunders came up with a big win over Jake Ellenberger, scoring a first round TKO thanks to a crushing knee to the body from the clinch. Also on the main card, Julio Arce put on a strong showing against Daniel Teymur, showcasing some polished standup before taking the back and sinking an RNC in the final round. In a bit of a lackluster affair, Sam Alvey edged out Gian Villante with a split decision to open up the main card.
Main Card:
Walt Harris def. Daniel Spitz by TKO at 4:59 of round 2: Heavyweight
Harris took the center of the cage, as the taller Spitz skirted the outer rim of the octagon. There wasn’t a ton of volume across the first half of the opening round. The crowd even started to get restless at one point, letting the fighters hear it Harris did up his output as the round went on.
Again, Harris took the center as Spitz moved backwards. Spitz really struggled to mount much of any offense, as he spent the bulk of the round reacting to whatever Harris was doing. Harris let off with another combo that was finished off with a head kick, and then dropped him with a heavy left hand. Harris dropped his opponent, and unloaded some brutal ground strikes that prompted the referee to stop the fight.
Ben Saunders def. Jake Ellenberger by TKO at 1:56 of round 1: Welterweight
Ellenberger showed up aggressive, landing with power and backing Saunders up to the cage. From the clinch, it was Saunders who landed a gut-buster of a knee that buckled Ellenberger. The pain proved to be too much, and after a few follow up ground strikes, the referee stepped in to rescue Ellenberger.
Julio Arce def. Daniel Teymur by submission (RNC) at 2:55 of round 3: Featherweight
Teymur started attacking the leg of his opponent right away, lighting up the inside of Arce’s lead leg. It wasn’t until the second half of the opening round that Arce finally connected with clean cross. Arce became more active in the final minute, probing with his jab to set up his southpaw cross.
A slick cross landed for Arce to open up the second round, and then another scored as Teymur got a bit wild with a strike of his own. A beautiful flurry landed for Arce, attacking both the head and the body. Teymur started to have fits with the technical polish of Arce, but continued to throw everything into his strikes.
Arce continued to control the fight in the final frame, even catching a kick that led to a back take with about three minutes left in the match. Arce worked hard for an RNC, but Teymur wasn’t going out without a fight. Shortly after Teymur gave the thumbs up to the ref, Arce squeezed a bit tighter, forcing Teymur to tapout before he went to sleep.
Sam Alvey def. Gian Villante by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): Light Heavyweight
It was no surprise to see Villante moving forward right away with Alvey backing himself up to the cage. Although Villante was coming forward, he wasn’t really opening up like we are used to seeing from him. Alvey connected with some solid leg kicks, and exploded with a heavy hook that dropped Villante right at the end of the opening round.
The second round began just like the first did, with Villante marching forward and Alvey plotting on the counter. This really wasn’t the firefight that we had thought it would be. It was much more of a low output technical fight instead of a slobber-knocking brawl. Alvey did blitz forward inside of the last minute of the round, clipping Villante with a few flurries before time ran out.
We got more of the same throughout the final round. A slow paced kickboxing bout, which seemed to favor Alvey’s style. A few chipping shots landed here and there for Villante, which was more than Alvey just circling away. Alvey landed a solid cross in the final 10 seconds, but Villante was able to grab a hold and force him up against the cage to close out the fight.
