Saturday night the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania played host to UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch. The first fight of the main card featured a three round contest between heavyweights Justin Ledet and Azunna Anyanwu.
Justin Ledet returned to the cage Saturday after having to drop out of his previous fight against Dmitry Sosnovskiy, which was to take place at UFC Fight Night: Bermudez vs. Korean Zombie. Ledet entered came into UFC Pittsburgh with an undefeated record of 8-0 and looked to extend it with a win over Azunna Anyanwu.
Meanwhile, Azunna Anyanwu hoped to make a splash in his UFC debut. He entered the cage riding a five fight win streak, with his last win coming over Greg Rebello by KO on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender series.
Ledet vs. Anyanwu saw Ledet working his jab and displaying his superior movement over three rounds, as Anyanwu stalked his opponent looking to land his massive right hand. The first round started slowly as the fighters felt each other out and the tempo slowly built from there as Ledet began to land and work his Jab. Anyanwu was able to land a few rights, but Ledet stood tall. The second saw more of the same as Anyanwu’s face began to show the results of Ledet’s repeated jabs. Ledet really began to open up and land at will as the fight progressed.
The third and final round saw Anyanwu get his second wind and press the fight with increased aggression and heavy right hands. Ledet was able to avoid most of the damage and got back to work with his jab; Anyanwu gave it one final effort as he rushed Ledet with a flurry to end the round. In the end, it went to the scorecards.
Justin Ledet def. Azunna Anyanwu by split decision (28-29, 29-28 29-28)
