In what was the first event in the cage in Victoria since the cage ban was lifted, local fighter Nick Patterson sent his fans home happy by edging out former UFC fighter Ben Wall by a majority decision.
The bout headlined Hex Fight Series 2, which took place tonight at the Melbourne Pavilion in Victoria, Australia.
Wall’s intentions were clear early as he would look for the takedown attempt. Wall would press the action against the cage where he would look to take the back standing. Patterson defended well and landed short knees against the cage. Late in the round Patterson would separate and with his hands on his waist, landed a short right that connected on Wall.
It was much the same in the second-round as is the game-plan for Wall, he immediately looked for the takedown, before pressuring his opponent against the cage. Patterson attempted to free himself by looking for a standing kimura, however Wall immediately pounced, this time locking up his hands and securing the takedown. Patterson momentarily shocked Wall with a triangle attempt however the Queensland fighter was able to escape as he straight away looked for the armbar. Patterson remained calm to escape.
Sweat played a factor in the third as Patterson was able to slip his leg out of the takedown attempts. Patterson went on the front foot with strikes but made the mistake of clinching with Wall, which allowed the former UFC fighter to press the fight against the cage. There he again secured the double leg as he moved from side control to mount. Patterson did not allow Wall to do anything though as he quickly regained guard and got back to his feet. When he separated, Patterson landed a body shot followed by a jumping knee that landed on Wall’s chin. Patterson failed to capitalise before the fight came to an end.
The judges scored the fight 29-29, 30-27 and 29-28 to Nick Patterson who did have the better striking exchanges. However the case could be made for Wall winning the fight with superior cage control and effective grappling. This Fight News Australia reporter scored it 29-28 to Wall.
Patterson, who failed to make weight the night before was gracious in victory and acknowledged it was a battle of two styles. The Victorian offered Wall a rematch
With the win, Patterson secures his fifth straight win and his second against a former UFC fighter after previously defeating Bernardo “Trekko” Magalhaes back in February 2014. Patterson moves to 16-4-1. Wall 8-3-1 has now dropped three on the trot, which includes a spell in the UFC.
In the semi-main event, Western Australian fighter Steven Kennedy extended his win streak to seven fights with a first-round submission win over Callan Potter. Potter, peppered Kennedy’s legs early with hard leg-kicks. Kennedy increased his tempo midway through the first-round and on the inside, landed a short left that dropped his opponent. Kennedy immediately followed up with further strikes, before securing the back. There he put Potter to sleep with a rear-naked choke.
Kennedy moves to 17-7 with the win. His last loss came to Jesse Taylor back in 2012. Since then he has secured wins against the likes of Cole Davids, Manuel Rodriguez and Daniel Way. Potter drops his record to 8-4.
Also on the card, Australian based Brazilian fighter Rodolfo Marques edged out a split-points decision against Californian fighter Gabriel Solorio, while Charlie Alaniz secured a TKO win over late replacement Matthew George.
- Nick Patterson def Ben Wall via Decision (Majority)
- Steven Kennedy def Callan Potter via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 3:15
- Rodolfo Marques def Gabriel Solorio via Decision (Split)
- Charlie Alaniz def Matthew George via TKO (Punches & Elbows), Rd 1, 3:17
- Raphael Berthet def Jeshua McPhail via TKO (Punches), Rd 3, 3:52
- Mitch O’Dowd def Tim Byrne via Submission (Armbar), Rd 1, 1:39
- Sean Gauci def Andrew Jacobs via TKO (Towel Thrown In), Rd 2, 3:03
- Byron Cowell def Anthony Cowley via KO (Head-Kick), Rd 1, 2:12
- Luke Catubig def Jason Preece via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 3:25
- Issey Buangala def Jarod Barke via Submission (Standing Guillotine), Rd 1, 2:24
- David Meak def Orhan Nuredin via Submission (Guillotine Choke), Rd 1, 4:20
- Ryan Barry def Troy Resic via TKO (Punches), Rd 2, 4:32
