UFC San Antonio started off with a long stretch of decisions that didn’t exactly have MMA fans jumping out of their seats. By the time the main card rolled around, there was nary a finish in sight. When first two bouts of the ESPN event’s top half also went to decision, you could almost hear fans groan. Thank heavens for Dan Hooker, whose first round knockout of James Vick broke the decision streak.

Straight to the bank 💰

➡️ @DanTheHangman & @TheBigTicket205 #UFCSanAntonio pic.twitter.com/tw7pPI430o

— UFC (@ufc) July 21, 2019

Hooker’s KO was one of three finishes on a night with eleven decisions. And it was enough for Hooker to earn one of two Performance of the Night bonuses.

With such slim pickings to choose from, the UFC made the right choice in giving Walt Harris the nod over Greg Hardy for the remaining Performance bonus. While Hardy secured a TKO of Juan Adams, it was a somewhat controversial finish for the even more controversial fighter, with Adams protesting the stoppage. While the ref made the right call, nothing was cleaner than Harris’ twelve second knockout of Aleksei Oleinik.

Harris clipped his former training partner with a knee, before a powerful punch to the side of the head put ‘The Boa Constrictor’ face down on the canvas.

Fight of the Night honors at UFC San Antonio went to Mario Bautista vs. Jin Soo Son. The bantamweight pair were the second fight in on the preliminary card. While Son is now 0-2 under the UFC banner, at least the extra $50,000 should help take the edge off.

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Mario Bautista and Jin Soo Son faced incredibly tough tests in their UFC debuts. Bautista battled with bantamweight rising star Cory Sandhagen, on short-notice, in January. He lost in the first round by armbar. At UFC San Antonio, after a full camp, Bautista had the chance to earn the first UFC win of his career.

Son was in the same boat. In his promotional debut last September, Son lost a unanimous decision to another extremely talented bantamweight in Petr Yan. After going 15-minutes with a guy who could be fighting for the 135-pound title sooner rather than later, and taking some time off, Son was ready for his opportunity to earn the 10th victory of his professional MMA career, and his first in the UFC.

Son landed the first strike of note, landing a hard right hand in an active first 30-seconds. They traded shots in an exchange during a frantic first minute of the bout, with Son finding a home for his right hand a few times. Bautista mixed up his strikes well, and neither man was able to consistently control the center of the Octagon.

Both fighters continued to stay active, trading shots as Son began to mix kicks into his game. A flying knee attempt just missed from Son, who then pushed Bautista up against the cage in the clinch. Bautista was able to work the fight back to the center of the Octagon for the final 30-seconds of the first round, but Son looked to have the advantage after round one.

Bautista came out pushing the pace to start the second round, forcing Son against the cage in the clinch. Son was able to reverse position, and worked for a takedown, which he would momentariliy get. Once Bautista got up, he was forced against the cage, but was able to get out of the tough position with a strong kimura attempt. Son answered back well, getting out of the tough submission. Back on their feet, Son shot for another takedown, and was successful. But was once again unable to keep Bautista on the ground.

Son responded to Bautista’s determination with a flurry of punches, landing well. The momentum swing didn’t last long, as Bautista then repolied with a series of strong strikes from the clinch of his own. Both men looked to be tiring late in round two, with more and more stirkes from each fighter landing. Bautista was the more aggressive late, potentially evening the score heading into the final round.

Niether fighter rested on their laurels entering the third round, with heavy shots coming from both men. With around three minutes left, Son shot for a takedown, but Bautista was able to stuff the attempt. He kept with it, landing another takedown seconds later. Yet again, Bautista got up to his feet shortly afterward.

Bautista landed a higher number of, and the more effective, strikes on Son as we entered the final 90 seconds of the fight. Trading shots, both men were showcasing their chins late in the fight, staying aggressive on offense. The fight ended with  more tired, heart-driven striking late, with the UFC San Antonio crowd cheering the effort they’d seen from Bautista and Son.

Result: Mario Bautista def. Jin Soo Son by Unanimous Decision (30-27×2, 29-28)

Check out the rest of the results from UFC San Antonio here!

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The UFC’s July date in San Antonio, TX just got a lot busier. First reported by the San Antonio Express News, a half dozen fights have joined the previously revealed match-up between Roxanne Modafferi and Liz Carmouche. The bouts include names like Sam Alvey, Bruce Leeroy, and the previously scheduled bout between Aleksei Oleinik and Walt Harris. It moves to UFC San Antonio after originally being scheduled for this month.

Also booked is debuting Texas bantamweight Domingo Pilarte, who will take on Felipe Colares. Pilarte had been expected to debut at UFC 230 last year, in Madison Square Garden. However, a training mishap led to a torn ACL. Pilarte was heartbroken, but he now gets to make his promotional debut in his home state. Not that he expects to be fazed by the experience.

“It is my UFC debut, but at the same time, I’ve been in this sport for over 15 years,” Pilarte told Express News. “I’ve been around the block. I’ve trained with the best. I’ve been doing this basically over half of my life. I just use my experience and take my time, and I know the finish will come.”

Originally scheduled for UFC Ottawa, Aleksei Oleinik vs. Walt Harris was put on hold when Oleinik was moved to UFC St. Petersburg to face Alistair Overeem. He came up short against ‘The Reem,’ but the UFC is moving forward with the Harris fight regardless. Harris defeated Sergey Spivak in under a minute in the Canadian capital. Afterward, he said the Oleinik fight still interested him.

Sam Alvey, one of the busiest men in fighting, will take on Klidson Abreu at light heavyweight in San Antonio. Former title challenger Raquel Pennington will face Irene Aldana in a women’s bantamweight clash. Steven Peterson will take on Alex Caceres, a.k.a. Bruce Leetoy, at featherweight. And Mario Bautista will battle Jin Soo Son of South Korea at bantamweight.

UFC San Antonio, which will serve as UFC on ESPN 4, takes place July 20, 2019 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX. A main event for the card has not yet been announced.

The UFC on ESPN 4 card currently looks as follows:

Roxanne Modafferi (23-15) vs. Liz Carmouche (13-6)
Domingo Pilarte (8-1) vs. Felipe Colares (8-1)
Mario Bautista (6-1) vs. Jin Soo Son (9-3)
Sam Alvey (33-12) vs. Klidson Abreu (14-3)
Raquel Pennington (9-7) vs. Irene Aldana (10-4)
Alex Caceres (14-12) vs Steven Peterson (17-8)
Aleksei Oleinik (57-12-1) vs Walt Harris (12-7)

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