Deron Winn landed over 10 takedowns against Antonio Arroyo to stop his two-fight losing streak at UFC Vegas 17.
A big height disparity was featured at UFC Vegas 17 when wrestler Deron Winn faced Contender Series veteran Antonio Arroyo. Arroyo comes in nine inches taller than his opponent, who he was fighting at a 195-pound catchweight. Since winning on the Contender Series in 2019, it’s been a rough ride for Arroyo. He’s stepped into the Octagon once, losing to Andre Muniz, and has had five fights fall through, only one of which was his doing.
Winn, a junior college wrestling champion, won the first six fights of his MMA career, including a UFC debut win over Eric Spicely. It’s been rough since then for Winn, missing weight and losing to Darren Stewart. After that, he lost to Gerald Meerschaert and was subsequently suspended nine months after testing positive for amphetamines.
Arroyo landed a hard leg kick to start the fight and then landed a left hand. Winn pushed through a kick, attempting a takedown, got held up by the fence, then pulled Arroyo away from the fence to secure the takedown. Arroyo pushed him off, only to be taken down again. The process repeated, with Winn getting another takedown against the cage. Arroyo moved away from the fence and tried a triangle choke to get to his feet. Arroyo landed a heavy combination and Winn started landing a few hooks from range. A big front kick caught Winn on the chin, then Winn landed yet another takedown to end the round. Arroyo stayed on the ground between rounds.
🇧🇷 Arroyo putting it together on the feet! #UFCVegas17 pic.twitter.com/M0CSim6Mdv
— UFC (@ufc) December 19, 2020
Winn started the second round with a head kick and whiffed, falling to the ground. He bounced back to his feet, pushed through a spinning back kick to get a hold of Arroyo and took him down. Arroyo landed a body kick then ate a hook. Arroyo landed a big knee to the body and was able to stay on his feet when Winn attempted to take him down. They separated, but Winn got him right back down with two more takedowns. Arroyo again stood up against the fence and pushed Winn away. Arroyo was visibly exhausted and was taken down again. This time, Arroyo couldn’t get back up and Winn rode out the round in guard.
Winn got a takedown right away in the final round. He then had to fight off a leg lock attempt from Arroyo which led to them returning to the feet. Winn didn’t let him gain any momentum, scoring another takedown. After getting forced to his feet, Arroyo stayed on his back so Winn got right back in guard. They returned to the feet and Arroyo landed a head kick. Winn started pushing forward and landed a combination of hooks and Winn got the fight to the ground again to lock up the fight.
Deron Winn def. Antonio Arroyo by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
