A clash between rising heavyweights finished the UFC Vegas 120 prelims when Steven Asplund and Guilherme Pat squared off. Asplund looked to rebound from his unanimous decision loss against Vitor Petrino in a fun back-and-forth brawl.
Pat looked to avenge his loss to Asplund’s teammate, Thomas Petersen, who was in Asplund’s corner. Both men came in with 1-1 UFC records.
Round 1 – Asplund came out applying pressure, looking to land right away. Pat snatched up a clinch to prevent him from landing, with the two swapping positions back-and-forth against the cage. Pat landed some nice knees to the body and thighs of Asplund, who returned a few of his own. On the break, Asplund landed a big elbow, then disengaged and leaped right back in with a nice punch that caught Pat unexpectedly. After another clinch, both landed well in an exchange, with Pat ending with a nice leg kick. Asplund continued applying the pressure, but was eating big leg kicks repeatedly. After a headbutt, Asplund landed a big right hand on the back of a 1-2, dropping Pat. Asplund swarmed on the ground for the finish and landed some nice elbows, but the fight continued to Round 2.
Round 2 – Asplund pressured again to start the round, walking right into a massive right hand. Pat started to match Asplund’s boxing volume, but was again dropped in a sloppy exchange. After allowing Pat to his feet, another back-and-forth clinch that the ref eventually separated. The two met at distance, with Pat dropping Asplund with a quick left hook, but clinching instead of following up with punches. After grabbing the top of the cage for the second time, his position was taken away. Pat continued to sting Asplund with quick punches on the outside while Asplund looked to brawl his way into the pocket and clinch. Pat’s jab looked sharp, but didn’t manage to keep Asplund at bay as he held the clinch to end the round. A potential 19-19 fight heading into Round 3.
Round 3 – Asplund was wearing much more damage to start the third round and slowed down his pace and pressure. After a wild striking exchange, Asplund launched a lead high kick that wobbled Pat. Pat went to grab on, but Asplund looked for a standing guillotine that proved unsuccessful. After resetting, Pat landed a nice body shot, with Asplund landing a nice elbow before Pat clinched. This led to nothing before a separation, with the two clearly being significantly fatigued. Pat seemed content with holding Asplund in the clinch, and Asplund seemed content riding it out there.
All three judges saw it the same, with Asplund picking up the decision win. He called for “whatever fat boy” the UFC wants to put in front of him next, in his usual, boisterous fashion.
Official Result: Steven Asplund def. Guilherme Pat by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
