The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale main card opened up with a battle of middleweights Alessio Di Chirico and Julian Marquez, with Di Chirico coming out on top.
A battle of middleweights at the TUF 27 Finale turned into a catchweight as Julian Marquez first lost to the scale on Thursday morning. After missing weight by 3 pounds, the bout was turned into a catchweight and Marquez was fined a percentage of his purse. It was not the start that the former Dana White Contender Series fighter needed. Nor did things get better when his scrap against Alessio Di Chirico went to the scorecards on Friday night.
Marquez started the fight by attempting to bring the pressure, Di Chirico battled back with vicious kicks to the body and landed a nice right hand to the ear of Marquez that rocked him. Marquez survived and appeared to rock Di Chirico with a left hook, he also survived and countered with a takedown. Marquez however managed to get back to the feet. Marquez also appeared to hurt Di Chirico to end the round.
Julian Marquez continued in the second round like he did the first, brawling and moving forward. Marquez looked for a guillotine and looked like he might get his second in a row but couldn’t secure it. Di Chirico took the fight to the ground which appeared to be a mistake as Marquez got dangerously close to locking up an armbar before Di Chirico stepped over and ended the round on the feet.
The third round featured the two middleweights much more tired and labored. Marquez still moved forward but didn’t land nearly as much as he had in the first and second. However near the end of the third, Marquez was moving in and Di Chirico landed the takedown. Marquez got back to his feet and landed some heavy knees in the clinch. The fight ended as the two were swinging on the feet.
It was a very, very close fight, with Di Chirio coming out on top via split decision. Yet the crowd at the TUF 27 Finale certainly didn’t agree, and one judge seeing the fight so vastly different from the other two led to the first scoring controversy of the night.
Alessio Di Chirico def. Julian Marquez by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
