Lightweights Ignacio Bahamondes and L’udovit Klein kicked off the UFC Nashville main card on Saturday.
Both fighters were undefeated through their last three bouts, Bahamondes having won three straight, and Klein with a 2-0-1 record.
The fight began with Klein looking to close the distance and come into range with a flurry of strikes. From the initial moments, Bahamondes looked to be huge in comparison to Klein but it was Klein landing the bigger shots. Just over a minute and a half into the round, Klein landed a huge right hand, wobbling the Chilean. “Mr Highlight” ended up in top control with Bahamondes on his back, with the aforementioned Klein looking to land some big ground-and-pound. Bahamondes began throwing up submission attempts and came close to securing himself one of Klein’s arms. Despite coming close though, Klein defended the attacks well and began reigning down some more heavy ground-and-pound. With just under a minute left of the round, Bahamondes managed to make it back to his feet and continued fighting on the back foot. Towards the end of the round, he looked to put on a bit of forward pressure but was met with a big counter elbow of Klein’s.
With Klein seemingly have won round one, it was likely closer than it looked making the next two rounds very important ones. Klein continued to land the first show in almost all exchanges, but Bahamondes looked to start trying to dictate the pressure. The pressure of Bahamondes was met by a well timed takedown by the Slovakian, but Bahamondes made it back to his feet again momentarily after. Both fighters began to stand in the center of the Octagon and traded jabs making for another close round. With just over a minute left of the second round, Klein landed a beautiful counter combination to the body and the head, halting Bahamondes’ forward pressure ever so slightly. Shortly after another perfectly timed entry ensued and Klein finished round two once again in top control.
Although the 25-year-old was bloodied, there was no certainty that Klein had definitely edged the first two rounds. Bahamondes seemingly hadn’t made use of his size and reach advantage, allowing himself to be too passive in striking distance. Despite Klein having the wrestling and grappling advantage, Bahamondes looked to land a takedown of his own but it was defended well by Klein who picked the fight back up to its feet. Again “The Highlight” landed a well timed takedown, controlling on the ground for the final minute and a half.
Official Result: L’udovit Klein def. Ignacio Bahamondes via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
