today 21:23
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Slovakian MMA fighter Ľudovít Klein defeated Welshman Mason Jones clearly on points in the main match of the prelims card at UFC Fight Night 208. The tournament takes place in London’s The O2 Arena.
Main card
Heavy: Curtis Blaydes (USA) – Tom Aspinall (ENG) –
Middle: Jack Hermansson (NOR) – Chris Curtis (USA) –
Lightweight: Paddy Pimblett (ENG) – Jordan Leavitt (USA) –
Light heavyweight: Nikita Krylov (UKR) – Alexander Gustafsson (SWE) –
Must: Molly McCann (ENG) – Hannah Goldy (USA) – TKO (Round 1, 3:53)
Light heavyweight: Paul Craig (SCO) – Volkan Özdemir (REPLACEMENT) – na body (27-30, 27-30, 27-30)
Prelims
Lightweight: Mason Jones (WAL) – LUDOVÍT KLEIN (SVK) – on points (27-30, 27-30, 27-30)
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The scalp of the two-time Cage Warriors champion
According to bookmakers, Klein was a big outsider (1.28 – 3.69). Before joining the UFC, Jones held the lightweight and welterweight titles in Cage Warriors. He was only the second two-time champion of the organization after Conor McGregor. Prior to the fight against Klein, he was 1-1 (1) in the UFC, but 11-1 (1) overall. He is ranked 116th in the world lightweight category, Klein is ranked 158th.
The advantage of height and the support of the British audience also played in Jones’ favor. While the fans greeted the Welsh “Dragon” with applause, they whistled at Klein. Nevertheless, he acted concentrated from the beginning.
The first round was the most even. Klein intervened mainly from the retreat, the fighters spent a significant part in clinch. The Slovak hit twice with his favorite high kick, with the second one from the jump, The O2 Arena roared.
At the beginning of the 2nd round, Klein sent his opponent to the ground after a quick combination ending with a right hook. From the top position, he continued to hit Jones, but was unable to finish him off. At the end, in his best passage of the duel in the clinch, the Welshman countered with knees to the body.
Before the 3rd round, the odds turned. Jones needed a finish before the limit to win. However, his attempt at a jumped guillotine failed and he spent more than half of the round in the bottom position. Klein controlled the finish tactically and claimed an unequivocal victory on points. He won all three rounds with the judges.
MATCHES OF LUDOVÍT KLEIN IN UFC:
26. 09. 2020: Klein – Shane Young (NZL) – KO (1. kolo, 1:16)
08. 05. 2021: Klein – Michael Trizano (USA) – in body (28-29, 28-29, 27-30)
16. 10. 2021: Klein – Nate Landwehr (USA) – anaconda choke (3. kolo, 2:22)
05. 03. 2022: Klein – Devonte Smith (USA) – on points (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
23. 07. 2022: Klein – Mason Jones (WAL) – body (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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He learned about the opponent only a week ago
The first Slovak in the most prestigious MMA organization confirmed that he has matches coming up that he will find out about at the last minute. On short notice, he started in each of the three winning duels, and on the contrary, he prepared for the two defeaters for a long time. This time he was supposed to wrestle in a week in Dallas, but the Chilean opponent Ignacio Bahamondes did not get a visa. Klein only learned about the new opponent and the date last Friday.
He improved his record to 19-4, he already has a positive record of 3-2 in the UFC. In the previous match, he fought to stay, after winning the last match of his rookie contract, he was offered a new contract.
During the first stage in the UFC, he changed the methods of preparation, team members in the corner and even changed the weight category from featherweight to lightweight. “Since I was the first one there, I probably just had to suck it up. We have learned from some mistakes and continue to learn. That’s MMA, that’s life. I take the first contract with the UFC as a test. I believe that everything has settled down and from now on we will go bomb,” he said in March SPORT.sk.
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