UFC 170: Aljamain Sterling vs Cody Gibson
by Ben Heather @benheather
Aljamain Sterling came in to the fight at UFC 170 with a lot of hype and why not after all he was coming in undefeated and from one of the best camps in MMA. The Serra Longo fighter certainly lived up to the hype during the fight. Cody Gibson did his best throughout the fight and made it a real dog fight.
Round 1
Sterling comes out wanting to make an impression in his UFC debut landing a couple of head kicks including a front kick within the first minute. Gibson then decides that he will not be shown up and both men attempt but miss some flashy kicks. Gibson attempts a takedown but can't complete it and lets go of the clinch but it doesn't take long for him to complete the takedown as he gets Sterling down a couple of seconds later. Again, Sterling isn't kept down for long and gets back up to his feet. This time Sterling drags Cody down and rolls in to full guard from the back of Gibson where he works the body and head while down. Gibson gets back up and they exchange on the feet before Sterling drags the fight to the cage wall where he is working his knees. Mixing up the placement between the body and the legs of Gibson.
Sterling 10-9
Round 2
The second round starts and Gibson catches a kick from Sterling and lands a punch. The fight goes back to clinching against the cage and its Sterling again trying to land the knees but Gibson is working the legs looking to take Sterling down. Two minutes in to the round he finally gets the trip. Again, like the first Sterling gets straight back up before being dumped back down on the floor. This time as Sterling attempts to get back up Gibson keeps hold of his back but nothing comes from it and they are back on the fence clinching. With 1:20 of the round left they finally come away from the cage and its not long before Gibson goes for another takedown. Both men then scramble to get position and Sterling goes for a double leg with 25 seconds left but gets caught in a guillotine by Gibson. The choke is not tight enough and Sterling gets out and makes it to the end of the round. Gibson evens the fight as it goes to the third round.
Round 3
The first real action of the third is when Sterling picks up and slams Gibson down 30 seconds in to the round. Sterling is doing just enough to keep the fight down and with 90 seconds gone Sterling attempts to lock in a D'arce choke. Sterling isn't able to complete the choke and lets go before he burns out his arms. Cody then tries to lock in a guillotine and tries to drag Sterling down but loses his grip and ends up on the bottom with Sterling in full guard. Sterling moves to half guard and works the body of Gibson from the bottom some of the shots seem to hurt Cody and he gives up his back to try and get out of the position with 90 secs left. With 45 seconds left Sterling locks the body triangle in and with 30 seconds left he is looking to finish the fight and locks in a Rear Naked Choke but again can't complete it. Sterling ends the fight on the back of Gibson throwing and landing bombs.
This was a great fight and Sterling takes the win 29-28 on all of the judges score cards. He also looks to be a real talent and the hype was well deserved for this fighter. I look forward to seeing him back in the Octagon in the near future.
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