Fan-favorite brawler Trevor Peek went to Abu Dhabi to fight Mohammad Yahya at UFC 294.
Peek, known for his wild standing hammerfists, has been must-watch TV through two UFC fights, winning ‘Performance of the Night’ for his debut knockout and going to absolute war in a decision loss in his second UFC fight against Chepe Mariscal. He looked to rebound against Mohammad Yahya, a local United Arab Emirates fighter making his debut with the UFC. Peek was able to do so in confident fashion, though he displayed less of the wild, violent style that made him a fan favorite.
Peek came forward to start the fight and landed a hard leg kick, the only strike of the first forty-five seconds. After that point, Peek landed a big shot that earned him a flash knockdown. When Yahya got back to his feet, Peek just took him down. Yahya struggled back to his feet but was still controlled in the clinch. Peek tried to use his absurd athletic ability to lift and slam Yahya, who defended the takedowns but was stuck eating short knees. Yahya finally broke free with just over two minutes left in the round. Trevor continued with the leg kicks and one knocked Mohammad off his feet at that point. Peek gave ground, an unusual path for him to take, and circled the cage for most of the rest of the round, except when he charged forward wildly while swinging hooks. He missed but went for a takedown and held onto the double leg while Yahya tried to set up a front choke. Yahya dragged Peek to the mat with a d’Arce choke locked up, but Peek gritted through and stayed conscious for the fifteen seconds he was trapped in it before the bell rang.
The second round began with forward movement from Peek again before he decided to give ground again. A bit later, Peek came forward again and got dropped to a knee from a strike, but seemed more off-balance than hurt. This more measured and calm Trevor Peek did not seem to be as effective as the other version. He got on the pressure again after that but had trouble opening up and was uncharacteristically low-volume. When he did open up with volume it was from too far out and Yahya could just slide out of the way most of the time. Still, the leg kicks of Peek seemed to be taking a toll. Yahya stumbled to his knees again with two minutes left in the round, after which Peek swarmed him and shot a takedown. He failed to land it but did land strikes on the break. Late in round two Peek began to invest in body punching, to good effect.
The third and final round began with Peek snapping Yahya’s head back and coming forward with his patented wild strikes. He entered the clinch in a strong position and tripped out Yahya’s leg, taking the UAE fighter down and getting into an awkward mount against the fence. Still, Mohammad struggled back to his feet but Trevor just tripped out his base and got onto the back. However he only had one hook in and fell off, allowing Yahya to get back to striking. Peek clinched up again thereafter and had no trouble controlling Yahya against the fence while landing knees. They got back to striking and Yahya landed a sharp jab and a step-in knee clean to the head that were among his best strikes of the fight, but Peek was unfazed and got back to the clinch. Mohammad Yahya was on the back foot for the rest of the fight, just staying alive moreso than attempting to win the fight or land significant offense. Trevor Peek tripped his legs out again and held him down for the last thirty seconds of the fight, sealing his victory.
When the judges scorecards were read there were no surprises as Peek won on all scorecards. The only surprise may have been that one judge had it scored 29-28 instead of 30-27.
Official Result: Trevor Peek def. Mohammad Yahya by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
