Jamie Pickett lost the first round, but came on strong in the latter two to take home a unanimous decision over Joseph Holmes at UFC Vegas 46.
The featured preliminary fight on a truncated UFC Vegas 46 early card saw Joseph Holmes, a.k.a. “Ugly Man Joe,” making his promotional debut against Jamie Pickett.
Holmes had appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series in October, but rather than getting a UFC deal directly, he was given another look on Dana White’s Lookin’ for a Fight. That second showing did the job, as he was scooped up by the promotion on the strength of a seven-fight win streak, with all seven wins coming inside the distance.
Pickett, a multi-time Contender Series alum, entered the night off his first win in the UFC, against Laureano Staropoli in October.
Both men traded kicks to the body to start the fight as they lined up in opposite stances, Pickett being the southpaw. Holmes flared out a jab followed by a head kick that grazed Pickett. He then went to the body with a hard kick. Pickett came in with a combination and Holmes grabbed a hold of him to push him against the cage. Holmes backed away then landed a pair of kicks to the body followed by a two punch combination, forcing Pickett to clinch up. Holmes fought off the takedown effort with a few elbows and they returned to the center of the cage. A takedown attempt failed for Pickett as he was thrown to the side and Holmes looked to be in control early on. In the final 30 seconds, Pickett scored a takedown, but Holmes returned to his feet before the end of the round.
Holmes immediately clinched to start the second round and Pickett got on the offensive once he broke away. Showing more urgency, Pickett was able to cut Holmes below the left eye. Both men stood in the center and traded punches and Holmes was forced to back away due to a Pickett high kick. Holmes got the fight back against the cage but couldn’t get Pickett down. He attempted to once more, but Pickett’s defense held strong. It was going to come down to the third round.
Pickett started the final round with a flurry of straight punches as he attempted to take advantage of Holmes’ fading gas tank. A right hand landed for Pickett in between clinch exchanges. Both men landed kicks to the body and Pickett initiated another clinch. A big elbow connected for Holmes followed by a jab. Pickett began going high with kicks as the fight came to a close, but wasn’t finding success.
Jamie Pickett def. Joseph Holmes by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
