Taking part in Saturday’s UFC Oklahoma City preliminary card at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma were a pair of promotional newcomers in Damien Anderson and Ezra Elliott.
The featherweight fight saw both men enter undefeated, meaning someone’s 0 was going to go. An interesting booking given both men had less than eight fights of professional experience to start the night, and with both skipping the Contender Series.
Elliott missed weight for the bout, but it didn’t appear to hurt him much when all was said and done. In fact, per the UFC broadcast, he actually set a takedown record (12) in the wrestling-heavy affair that unfolded.
The fight started with a feeling-out process over the first minute. Anderson was doing well at range while Elliott was the one applying pressure. They clashed heads during an exchange, and from there the pace picked up. Elliott immediately started attacking the takedown. Anderson was difficult to bring down at first, but Elliott stayed on him, securing a mat return before taking the back. Anderson stayed composed, cleared the hooks, and worked back to his feet. Elliott returned him to the mat again, but Anderson rolled for a leg to create a scramble and stand back up. Elliott was relentless, constantly chaining together takedown attempts. Anderson used a kimura to create some space, but Elliott never let up. Right before the bell, Anderson jumped on a guillotine, but it was never close.
Round two saw Anderson come out as the aggressor. Elliott shot from a little too far out, but he circled to the back and finished another takedown. Anderson rolled to his knees, got back to his feet, and landed a nasty elbow. Elliott kept pushing the pace and chained together another takedown. Anderson was getting taken down, but he never accepted bottom position, always looking to scramble back up. The issue was breaking Elliott’s grip and getting off the cage. Anderson kept rolling and using kimura attempts to create scrambles, but Elliott stayed glued to him. Elliott also attacked the kimura several times, going for it on four different occasions. Anderson defended the submission attempts well through the end of the round, but he clearly needed a finish heading into the third.
The final round started with Anderson coming forward, though he wasn’t throwing much. Elliott waited for his opportunity, and even though Anderson sprawled on the shot, he couldn’t shake him off. Elliott completed another takedown and briefly threatened an arm-triangle, but the squeeze was never there, and his top control wasn’t enough to keep Anderson down. Anderson got back to his feet, but he remained stuck against the cage and was taken down a few more times. With just under a minute remaining, Anderson finally turned into Elliott and got off the fence, but he wasn’t able to create any meaningful offense before the final bell.
Official Result: Ezra Elliott def. Damien Anderson by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
