In what was billed as his retirement fight, featherweight Chas Skelly took on Mark Striegl as part of the UFC Vegas 48 preliminary card on Saturday.
The pair boasted identical records of 18-3, 1NC to start the night, but while Skelly had been with the promotion since 2014, Striegl was entering just his second fight under the UFC banner.
Skelly was aggressive early, closing the distance and nearly getting the fight down. Striegl managed to stay upright, just barely, and he reversed along the fence. In the clinch, Striegl went body-head; they’d battle it out, moving across the cage still in a clinch with Skelly taking control. Once again against the fence, still clinching, they’d battle it out; the fight finally went down with Skelly on top, working the body while Striegl stayed active off his back.
Round two started out similar to the first, only this time, Skelly got the fight down early. He took the back, and essentially pulled Striegl down onto him. Striegl was quickly back up, but Skelly stayed on him, at least for a moment. Striegl finally found some space, but it didn’t do him any good. Chas Skelly, known for his glue-like grappling, caught Striegl with a knee, dropping him! Skelly jumped on with the ground n’ pound while Striegl covered up, and the ref came in to wave it off.
“If they offer me something super interesting, maybe I’ll consider it,” Skelly said in regards to his retirement following the fight. He added that he wanted to “go out on my own terms,” and that his body wasn’t holding up the way it used to.
Official Result: Chas Skelly def. Mark Striegl by TKO (knee and strikes), Round 2, 2:01
