William Gomis cut right down to the wire for his featherweight fight with Francis Marshall at UFC Vegas 71 — but ultimately, he did make weight.
Gomis weighed in last on Friday, then took the extra hour to shed one final pound, hitting 146 on his second attempt. Would it effect his performance in the fight? We’d know soon enough.
The first round was evenly fought, as Gomis utilized his quick kicks to create angles and open up his striking, while Marshall managed to weather the attacks of his combatant and control Gomis against the cage.
Gomis continued to throw up a variety of teeps and strikes up the middle, negating his opponent’s grappling as “Fire” Marshall was unable to find the timing on his shots. Marshall seemed to grow frustrated as the bout waned on, struggling to put together combinations and never quite finding his stride in the grappling realm. He would mount a late comeback in the third, finding a long-sought after takedown and locking up first a rear-naked choke, then later an arm-triangle choke.
Neither got the job done.
The bout was razor close, though Gomis seemed to be in control of the action for the majority, using lateral movement to evade any damage that Marshall had planned for him. The Frenchman went on to win the fight by split decision after doing a great job managing distance while exhibiting solid defense on his feet.
The victory marks Gomis’ ninth consecutive win, kicking his UFC career off nicely with two victories in as many fights.
Francis Marshall suffers his first ever defeat despite disagreeing with the judges’ scorecards, and will look to improve his all-around game prior to his next bout.
Official Result: William Gomis def. Francis Marshall by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
