Two promising welterweight prospects with 1-0 UFC records – Billy Goff and Trey Waters – threw down in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon.
Waters, the former LFA welterweight champion, stands at a domineering six feet, five inches tall. His foe, the exciting brawler Billy Goff, stood an entire seven inches shorter. That reach and height difference proved crucial as it was the sharp right hand of Waters which won him the fight by consistently countering Goff, who never stopped moving forward once in fifteen full minutes.
Goff came out in round one at UFC St. Louis pressuring Waters, but despite Trey’s low hands he was not able to connect with punches. A high volume kicking game scored some for Billy, but Waters cracked him with several clean right hand counters early on. Two minutes into the round Goff clinched up, looking for a takedown. He almost got the back of Waters after a throw, but fell over the top. Back on the feet, the right hand of Waters consistently found the mark. Goff’s chin was iron, but he left himself far too open with his high volume, brawling style. With 90 seconds left in the round he got his first takedown and almost got to the back of Trey, though the fence kept him from getting his second hook in. Waters turned into him and got up, then kneed Billy in the head while grounded, though the referee said nothing. The final forty seconds of the round was a wild brawl. Goff hurt Waters initially and seemed to be wearing Trey out, but then got dropped by a big right hand. Still, he got right back up and swarmed a tiring Trey until the end of the round.
The second round started with Trey Waters breathing heavily and doing his best to avoid engagements and stay behind his jab. Goff’s awkward striking, especially his kicks, managed to put constant low-intensify volume on Waters, making him work hard while tired. A big elbow in the clinch for Goff seemed to hurt his foe significantly, but Waters survived, recovered, and defended the follow-up takedown. A left hook from Waters hurt Goff, who staggered backwards, but Trey’s follow-up was sluggish. Billy shot a takedown and got stuck in a standing guillotine attempt for several seconds, but he escaped. After that even Goff began to appear tired as the second round of the sloppy, supremely entertaining brawl ended.
The final round began with Waters seemingly ahead two rounds to none. He landed a sharp right hand early and then defended a takedown from Goff. They got stuck in the clinch against the fence for about two minutes, which served Trey Waters purposes just fine even though he was on the defensive there. The referee finally broke them apart. Goff kept trying to strike his way into the pocket but the length of Waters, as well as his sniper rifle of a right hand, denied him more often than not. The final thirty seconds saw Waters stick in the pocket more and swing with Goff, landing the bigger shots but absorbing his foe’s shots worse.
The fans in St. Louis roared their appreciation after the fight, which surely put the fighters in pole position for a $50,000 ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus at the end of the night. The fans seemed to not care much who won, they just appreciated the carnage, but the decision was crucial for these fighters’ careers. When Bruce Buffer read the scorecards two judges had scored all three rounds for Waters, while one gave him two out of three.
Official Result: Trey Waters def. Billy Goff by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
