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Kelly chokes out Veach for biggest win of UFC career
ESPN staff
April 10, 2010
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Paul Kelly opened a big cut on Matt Veach
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It was a mixed night for British MMA on the undercard of UFC 112 as Nick Osipczak and Mostapha Al-Turk both lost, but Paul Kelly pulled off arguably the most impressive win of the night.
Kelly scored the most crucial victory of his MMA career with a hugely impressive submission of Matt Veach in the lightweight division. The Liverpudlian's career was far from certain after defeat to Dennis Siver at UFC 105, but he bounced back in the best possible fashion with a second round guillotine choke against wrestling powerhouse Veach.
The first round saw both men produce some fine work on the deck as Veach nearly snapped on a rear naked choke, only to see Kelly work his way out before unleashing some serious ground-and-pound from guard. By the end of the round, the Brit had opened a huge gash on the head of Veach.
Then came the guillotine finish at 3.41 of the second round, lifting Kelly's record to 10-2 courtesy of his first win by stoppage in his UFC career.
Nick Osipczak could not maintain British momentum in his welterweight clash with Rick Story, losing a tight split decision to his American counterpart. Osipczak was always going to be up against it due to the takedown offence of Story, but he nearly did enough to steal a decision as Story eventually improved his record to 10-3.
Both fighters were out on their feet by the end of round three as Story persisted with his takedowns, nearly finding a guillotine choke. Osipczak raised the volume in the crowd with a series of knees, but it was not enough to influence the judges in his favour.
Jon Madsen bested Mostapha Al-Turk in the opening battle of the night
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Phil Davis produced his second impressive performance since joining the UFC, submitting Alexander Gustafsson with five seconds remaining in round one of their light-heavyweight contest. Defeat was the first of Gustafsson's career, while Davis improves to 6-0.
As expected, Davis went in search of the takedown to nullify the striking of Gustafsson, and the second time the Swede hit the deck proved to be the last. Davis transitioned from an arm triangle to an anaconda choke to force the tap at 4.55 of round one.
Mostapha Al-Turk's UFC career will be in serious jeopardy after he suffered a third consecutive loss to John Madsen in the first fight of the night. Madsen surprisingly entered into a stand-up war rather than using his wrestling prowess, but it was enough to earn the TUF 10 alumni a unanimous 29-28 decision.
Elsewhere, DaMarques Johnson was down on the judges' scorecards before he rallied to beat Brad Blackburn in the third round of their welterweight clash. Johnson secured a TKO stoppage due to strikes at 2.08 of the final round to improve to 16-7-0.
The other preliminary bout of the night, between Paul Taylor and John Gunderson, was cut just hours before the event after medical problems were found with Taylor. The Briton experienced a migraine connected with his first weight cut to 155lbs.
© ESPN EMEA Ltd
