Colby Thicknesse and Josias Musasa faced off in bantamweight action as part of UFC Perth at the RAC Arena on Saturday.
This was a matchup between two fighters looking to earn their first UFC victory. Thicknesse had made his promotional debut at UFC 312, where he’d come up short against Aleksandre Topuria, brother of UFC lightweight champ Ilia. Also 0-1 inside the octagon was Musasa, having come up short in his own debut against Carlos Vera.
ROUND 1: Both fighters came out like bats out of hell. Thicknesse immediately attempted a headkick, perhaps wanting to copy-paste Carlos Vera’s finish of Musasa. His second headkick attempt was caught by Musasa, who then answered with a straight right that sent the Australian stumbling backwards. The power difference between the two was very noticeable as Musasa was moving Thicknesse around with every shot he was landing. A timely takedown from Thicknesse turned the tides as he mounted the Congolese fighter and started raining down punches from the top. An unusual sequence then took place as they both started firing punches at each other while Thicknesse was in high mount. After a scramble from Musasa, Thicknesse then almost locked in a bulldog choke in the dying seconds of the round, but Musasa gave the referee the thumbs up and survived onto the next round.
ROUND 2: Every round starts on the feet and Musasa was determined to make the most out of that fact. From leg kicks to wide hooks, he threw everything with bad intentions and judging from his reactions, the Australian wasn’t liking it. Musasa started firing knees to the body during Thicknesse’s clinching attempts, a wise addition to his weaponry as his opponent’s balance and gas tank seemingly were getting affected. Thicknesse was pushing Musasa to the fence, but wasn’t able to land his much needed takedown. After taking a couple looks at the clock, a bloodied Thicknesse walked back to his corner after a grueling second round.
ROUND 3: The final round started with both figthers trading body kicks. The open stance matchup makes every kick a riskier one, which partly explains why Thicknesse then landed a low blow that put a stop to the action. The Congolese fell to the floor, but wisely took his time and the action resumed after four and a half minutes. The fight picked up right where it left off, with Musasa chasing Thicknesse around the cage and the Australian relentlessly attempting takedowns. After multiple failed attempts, Thicknesse finally got Musasa down in open space and immediately mounted him. Musasa fought to get back up, but Thicknesse top pressure was too much. With the fight clearly being 1-1, it was going to be interesting to see how the judges were going to score the third frame. First half of the round belonged to Musasa who was on the hunt and hurting Thicknesse with every shot. But the latter half was all Thicknesse as he took Musasa down, mounted him and was on his way to a replica of the opening round.
Ultimately, all three judges saw it 29-28 for the Australian. It was a hard-fought one, but Colby Thicknesse now has a UFC win under his belt.
Official Result: Colby Thicknesse def. Josias Musasa by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
