Canadian Contender Series winner Chad Anheliger was set to make his promotional debut Saturday at UFC Vegas 48. Having won his way into the promotion last year, the bantamweight was paired up with Jesse Strader, who was also looking for his first win inside the octagon.
Both guys were trading heavy to start round one. Forward pressure from Anheliger, while Strader was throwing some heavy kicks. Anheliger came in a little too aggressively and Strader took the fight down. Anheliger used a guillotine to get back to his feet, very slick. Strader got another easy takedown and Anheliger attacked again with a guillotine and a quick armbar. Nothing stuck and Anheliger got back to his feet. They both traded in the pocket where Strader landed to the body but Anheliger landed some nasty knees. Some more good kicks from Strader landed in the final seconds of the round.
Anheliger came forward aggressively in round two wanting to make something happen. Strader was landing some heavy leg kicks and landing some knees. Anheliger found his shot landing a right hand knocking down Strader. He didn’t stay there long and Strader landed a few good punches to the body. Strader continued to mix it up better landing from different angles. Anheliger just kept going forward landing knees in the clinch. Anheliger ended the round throwing a kick that barely missed. It looked like the pace of Anheliger was starting to wear on Strader however.
A minute into round three Strader was on the back of Anheliger along the cage. Focused on a single leg from Strader, Anheliger escaped and landed a leg kick. In a fight that could be 1-1, Anheliger half way into the final round was pressing the pace more. Anheliger was throwing one punch at a time but was landing everything he threw. In an exchange, Anheliger floored Strader with a nasty left hook that spun Strader around. Anheliger jumped mount to land a few unanswered strikes and the ref stepped in. In what looked like a fight that was going to the scorecards, Anheliger scored a beautiful finish.
NO SCORECARDS NEEDED, @ChadAnheliger MAKES IT 10 IN A ROW 💥
[ #UFCVegas48 | Prelims are LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/PNaYqBipgU
— UFC (@ufc) February 19, 2022
After starting his career 2-5, Chad Anheliger improved to 12-5 with the win, and has won ten straight fights.
Official Result: Chad Anheliger def. Jesse Strader by TKO (right hand and ground and pound), Round 3, 3:33
