After two outings on Dana White’s Contender Series plus a stint on The Ultimate Fighter 28, Josh Parisian finally made his octagon debut on Saturday. The likeable heavyweight was paired off against Parker Porter, who had lost his own octagon debut against Chris Daukaus back in August.
The easy summary of the opening minute or so of Parisian vs. Porter: two big men swinging hard and swinging wild. As they settled down a little, Porter pressed Parisian against the fence. Parisian was already bloodied. Porter landed a couple of blows in close as he moved in for a clinch; knees to the body followed. When they broke, Parisian landed a right, then split the guard with an uppercut.
Porter gutted it out, and by the halfway mark of the first round, both fighters were slowing. A pause for a fallen mouth piece gave them a chance to catch at least one breath, then Porter went on the offensive. A couple of right hands would land, and an uppercut, all for Porter. Parisian answered with a spinning back fist, and later an elbow. With roughly a minute left, Porter worked for a single-leg takedown, but Parisian quickly powered up off his knees. He’d finish the round in control, landing a few final punches.
Round two saw Porter work in a leg kick. Parker Porter then dropped Parisian, and moved in for a guillotine! The awkward position did Porter no favors, and Parisian worked his way back to his feet. There he’d go back on the attack, firing a knee before winding up backed up against by the fence. Punches were beginning to look like they were in slow motion, with the two big heavyweights just exhausted. Going to the ground, Porter began working on a straight arm-bar then a keylock. Those didn’t pan out, but Porter wound up in a good position to land some ground n’ pound, until Parisian forced his way back up again.
Porter may have looked slightly fresher entering the third. He fired off a leg kick. Porter backed his opponent up to the fence, utilizing his jab, then a standing elbow, but Parisian continued to gut it out. He was backed up and tagged with a combo, but Parisian still managed to pull off another spinning back fist, followed by a leg kick. Porter would fire back, and they’d go the distance in the end.
Parker Porter, not surprisingly, earned the unanimous decision win in a fight that saw a massive number of strikes thrown, even as the fighters themselves tired.
Official Result: Parker Porter def. Josh Parisian by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
