Zak Cummings dealt Trevin Giles the first loss of his career with a third-round submission victory in a back-and-forth battle at UFC Rochester.
Zak Cummings joined The Ultimate Fighter 17 with a 15-3 record and fights in both Strikeforce and Bellator. After going 1-1 on the show, Cummings has carved out a lengthy career in the UFC. The Kansas City resident has been on a steady pattern of two wins followed by a loss in the Octagon, accumulating a 7-3 record with four stoppages. He bounced back from a loss most recently with a win over Trevor Smith, so he is due for another win if the pattern continues.
Trevin Giles is returning to the cage at UFC Rochester after taking 2018 off to focus on his career as a police officer. The former light heavyweight started his career at 9-0 with eight stoppages, including a win over Ryan Spann. “The Problem” has knockouts in both of his Octagon victories thus far.
Both men worked to find their range early in round one, with Cummings landing a couple of leg kicks between exchanges. The southpaw stance looked to give Cummings the edge early, as he landed a huge left leg body kick that was heard in the every corner of the arena. Giles opened Cummings up with a cut above his right eye, landing his jab more consistently as the round went on. But, the kicks from Cummings gave him the early advantage in a close first round.
Giles landed the first strike of note in round two, showcasing his striking speed with a quick straight. Cummings continued to be the aggressor, while Giles calmly looked for openings throughout the second round. The early edge the southpaw stance was giving Cummings had seemed to fade as the fight went on. The round was then stopped due to an accidental kick to the groin from Giles on Cummings with two minutes remaining. Following the interruption, the duo landed strong hooks on each other simultaneously before clinching up. Neither man was able to gain an advantage in the clinch, and the round ended with everything to fight for going into the final stanza.
Cummings and Giles traded big shots in the opening minutes of round three. Throwing heavier strikes, both fghters tried to leave a good final impression with the judges. The larger shots seemed to be coming from Giles, but Cummings was landing more consistently in a wider variety of ways. With less than two minutes remaining, Cummings dropped Giles with a monstrous counter overhand left. Wasting no time at all, Cummings sunk in a guillotine choke and forced Giles to tap, giving Giles the first loss of his career.
"Take a little one to give a big one." – @ZakCummings lands the 🔨 #UFCRochester pic.twitter.com/KdqgjTZ9GZ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 18, 2019
Zak Cummings def. Trevin Giles by submission (guillotine choke) in Round 3 (4:01)
