UFC on ESPN 31 ‘Aldo vs. Font’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

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Round 1

The UFC is back for three more weeks to end the year, and the first
of three comes on the main ESPN network. UFC on ESPN 31, which now
has 13 fights after losing a pair of matches in the last 24 hours,
will commence in the bantamweight division. Flyweight-turned-135er
Smolka (17-7, 8-6 UFC) will try to win his second in a row at the
expense of Morales (10-5, 2-3 UFC). Referee Chris Tognoni draws the
first charge of the night, and with a touch of gloves, we are
underway! Smolka leads the dance with two jabs and a right hand,
and follows it with a low calf kick to frustrate Morales right out
of the gate. Smolka walks his foe down, reaching out with push
kicks and avoiding a swiping left hand coming his way. Morales
settles down and snaps out a few jabs to find his range, and the
punches have already marked Smolka up. “Vandetta” chains together a
lengthy combination ending with several body shots, doing some
decent work and making Smolka shell up. Morales backs off so he can
flick out his jab a few times. Smolka continues to march forward
but walks straight into jabs, and he is still able to push a kick
out. Morales paws out a left hook a few times to solid effect, and
Smolka comes right back at him but is not landing nearly as flush.
Smolka rips a left hand to the body, and he latches on to a Thai
clinch to blast Morales in the body with knees. Not remotely concerned by the strikes, Morales
gathers himself, lands to the body and wings a huge right hand over
the top that sends Smolka crashing face-first on the canvas.
Morales surprised himself with the strike, as he takes a second
before pouncing to deliver some ground-and-pound. The blows are
merely academic, as Tognoni rushes in to pull him off and stop the
fight. What a way to start the night, as Morales becomes the first
fighter to ever knock out the durable Smolka!

The Official Result

Vince Morales def. Louis Smolka R1 2:02 via KO (Punches)

Round 1

Moving right along to the lightweights, two alums of “The Ultimate
Fighter” seasons will meet in the center of the cage as TUF Latin
America 3 finalist Puelles (10-2, 3-1 UFC) takes on Season 22
quarterfinalist Gruetzemacher (15-4, 3-3 UFC). The betting lines
are close, and this pairing is practically a pick ‘em. The third
man inside the Octagon will be referee Mark Smith, and the two
155-pounders come together to touch gloves before getting after it.
Gruetzemacher walks forward to engage, but it is Puelles who lands
first with a heavy body kick. Gruetzemacher returns fire, and after
a brief exchange, the Peruvian fighter changes levels suddenly to
hit a takedown in the middle of the cage. Puelles ends up in his
foe’s full guard, and “Gritz” keeps it tight to prevent much in the
way of offense coming. Puelles lands a few shots from above, and he
stacks Gruetzemacher up briefly to land a right hand, before
lowering himself back down into the tightly closed guard of the
American. Puelles tries to burst out of it, and he evades a few
upkicks so that he can climb around to gain an advantageous
position. As Puelles hooks his opponent’s legs beneath his own,
Gruetzemacher scoots his way to the wall in hopes of walking his
way up. Puelles keeps Gruetzemacher on his seat at the corner
between the fence and the floor, and he lands a few left hands
while Gruetzemacher is solely focused on standing. When he does,
Puelles sneaks around to try to take his back, but when
Gruetzemacher turns, Puelles jumps on to a guillotine while
claiming mount. “El Nino” abandons that so that he can move from
mount to three-quarter mount to keep Gruetzemacher flat on the
ground, and then returns to mount so that he can deliver a storm of
offense from above. The elbows come fast and hard from Puelles, who
then open up with punches when he sits up high to keep bashing his
American adversary. In a moment of panic, Gruetzemacher explodes to
buck Puelles off of him, and he manages to make Puelles stand up.
Puelles cannot get back down or land anything of note before the
round ends.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Puelles
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-8 Puelles
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Puelles

Round 2

Puelles begins the round by kicking Gruetzemacher in the head, and
he lands this same strike again. After scoring with the strikes,
Puelles dives down low for a takedown, but the American stops him
in his tracks. Gruetzemacher then pushes Puelles over on his back
and climbs into the Peruvian’s guard, all while commentator Michael
Bisping shouts the words “Step away” repeatedly. Gruetzemacher
maintains top control, and Bisping on the broadcast continues his
awkward cheering-cornering mantra of “step away.” After “Gritz”
scores a few strikes from on top until Puelles throws his legs up
for a triangle choke setup. Gruetzemacher ignores the triangle so
that he can land a few more punches. After a stalemate,
Gruetzemacher lets go and finds himself struggling to fight off a
sweep from Puelles. They both stand up, and Puelles lets loose with
a few kicks and a left hand that staggers his opponent for a
moment. Gruetzemacher gathers himself and wades forward back into
the fire, only to find himself absorbing another head kick. Puelles
continues to spam kicks high and low before darting in low for a
takedown entry that Gruetzemacher easily stuffs. Gruetzemacher sees
another attempt coming, and he snatches hold of Puelles so that he
can knee him in the belly. Puelles presses into the clinch to mash
Gruetzemacher into the cage wall, and he tries to pay Gruetzemacher
back by kneeing him a few times and stomping his feet. When in
close range, Puelles zings a few elbows that clatter off of
Gruetzemacher’s head, and he ends the round trying to go after a
single that he cannot secure in time.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Puelles
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Puelles
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Puelles

Round 3

Gruetzemacher comes out of his corner aggressively, and he plants
the ball of his foot on Puelles’ sternum. Puelles closes in on him
to clinch up, and he slashes at his opponent with an elbow.
Gruetzemacher returns fire with a knee that splits the uprights and
slams square into the cup. Puelles falls to his knees, and Smith
pauses the fight while giving Gruetzemacher a warning. The Peruvian
checks back in after around a minute of recovery time, and he
starts back off with a few head kicks. Gruetzemacher ignores them
so he can rush forward and punch, and he finds himself defending an
oncoming takedown try. They both stand up and then tie up, where
they elbow one another repeatedly. They separate, and Gruetzemacher
is the clear aggressor, and he lands a few punches before Puelles
ducks for a telegraphed takedown entry. Gruetzemacher sees it
coming a mile away and hits a slick spin so that he can take
Puelles’ back. “El Nino” pops back up without much concern, and he
presses the American into the wire while stomping his toes. After
one successful foot stomp, Gruetzemacher hits a trip and plants
Puelles on his back. As Gruetzemacher moves his way down into the
guard, Puelles secures a leg lock and puts Gruetzemacher’ ankle
beneath his armpit. Gruetzemacher fights it off and flattens his
opponent out by smacking him with a few shoulder strikes. Puelles
scrambles to get to his knees, and Gruetzemacher is glad to take
his back before Puelles rolls and goes after another leglock.
Instead of torquing the ankle like before, “El
Nino” grabs hold of the heel and cranks it for a kneebar.
Gruetzemacher grits it out for as long as he can, and his calm
expression transforms into one of pain as he taps out on Puelles’
backside. That’s two kneebars in the burgeoning UFC career of
Puelles, who puts a stamp on his performance with about 90 seconds
left in the match.

The Official Result

Claudio Puelles def. Chris Gruetzemacher R3 3:25 via Submission
(Kneebar)

Round 1

Hold on tight, because two light heavyweight bangers are about to
toe the line in what might not last very long. Rescheduled several
times this year, Menifield (11-2, 4-2 UFC) and Knight (10-2, 2-1
UFC) will finally get to slug it out all while referee Herb Dean
watches on. Finish rates for each above 90% likely mean that chins
will be tested soon, but they do extend their gloves to touch
before swinging for the bleachers. Buckle up. Two big punches
immediately come for Menifield, with a one-two that Knight rolls
with. Knight suddenly changes things up for a single, and he hits
it but does not secure it as Menifield rolls through to reverse him
and land in side control on top. The action stalls out from this
position as Menifield does not want to commit to any strikes, and
would rather use his body weight to crush Knight down and keep him
flat on his back. Menifield sits up to set up a crucifix, and when
he does, Knight bursts out of the position to force a scramble.
They go back and forth, and Knight takes his foe’s back. Menifield
explodes right back to turn and stand up, and when he pushes Knight
into the wall, he thinks about going for a single of his own.
Instead of this, “Atomic Alonzo” just uses his weight to press.
Knight defends with a knee that glances off the cup, and Menifield
waves it off to let them continue. Menifield pursues a single, and
Knight grabs hold of a guillotine choke with his massive biceps to
squeeze as tight as he can. Menifield cannot ground his opponent
but does not appear to be in submission danger, and Knight knees
him again and gets warned for close proximity to the cup since he
cannot see where he is aiming. After a grueling clinch exchange,
Menifield scores a big right hand that staggers Knight for a
moment. The imbalance for Knight may also be from fatigue, as his
footing is not quite right. They both throw bombs, and Knight
cracks Menifield in a flurry to hurt Menifield badly. Menifield
tumbles to the ground, and Knight follows him to throw his bowling
ball fists into the head. Knight continues to pour it on to end the
round, and when the horn sounds, both men appear spent. Menifield
needs to be helped to his corner, as he is hurt and tired. He makes
his way back to his stool.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Knight
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Knight
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Knight

Round 2

The big men come out to begin the second round with a frenzy, and
Menifield stings his opponent with a few punches that make Knight
sprint around the cage to gather himself. Menifield sits down on a
huge right hand, measuring it and nearly knocking Knight off of his
feet. He does not follow it up, instead measuring with a low kick
and staying away of the potential counter from “Knightmare.”
Menifield catches Knight coming in with a takedown try, and Knight
lets it go to sling a head kick. Menifield eats it like Texas
barbeque so that he can wing power punches, and Knight wears them
well. Knight spins with a wheel kick that glances off the shoulder,
and Menifield bears down on him to land a clean left hand. Both
light heavyweights measure one another and catch their breath,
largely throwing single swiping strikes. Menifield snaps his foe’s
head back with a punch, and Knight flails back and manages to
connect. Knight spins with a kick, dives in for a takedown, and
backs off when Menifield slings heavy leather at him. Menifield
paws out a jab, drawing a grin from Knight, and he reaches out
another when it connects. Knight wings a left hand that just misses
the mark, and he plods forward to set up a right. Menifield
interrupts him with a few more jabs, breaking up the power punches
that try to come at him. “Atomic” just misses with an explosive
one-two, and he continues to work his jab to stop the looping shots
ahead of time. Knight gets the memo and sneaks out his own jab, but
Menifield’s is more effective and more active. Knight walks through
them without concern, and he slings a right hand that collides off
the head. “Knightmare” lets loose with a head kick that shakes
Menifield up, and he tries to finish the job in the waning seconds
with booming seconds but cannot get the job done before the round
ends. Knight does land a punch after the bell, and promptly
apologizes.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Menifield
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Menifield
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Menifield