In a back and forth flyweight bout, Queensland’s Shannon Ross emerged victorious in a unanimous decision win against American Donavon Frelow in Abu Dhabi overnight.
The first round was a high energy, fast-paced stanza that saw both men taste the canvas and Ross wrap up a deep armbar from his back within the first two minutes. After both fighters returned to their feet, Ross dictated the remainder of the round by backing his opponent up to the fence where he used a combination of takedown attempts, body punches, and heavy grappling to assert control.
The hectic pace of the bout was truly embodied by the first two minutes of the second round. Frelow appeared to have a tight guillotine choke wrapped up inside the first minute, but a composed Ross escaped to his feet.
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Here, he landed a hard, five punch combination to wobble the American. True to the entertaining fashion of the fight though, Frelow showed his own composure and answered by changing levels to secure a body lock takedown.
Ross replied by quickly working to wrap up a triangle submission from his back before scrambling back to his feet. There, he would impose himself in a similar fashion to the first round by taking the centre of the cage and controlling the pace of the fight.
Understandably so, the final round saw a lower output from both fighters and was predominantly an exchange of combinations on the feet. Ultimately, the decision went the way of Ross with all three judges scoring the bout in his favour (30-27, 29-28 x2).
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The victory was Shannon Ross’ 13th recorded career victory and his first outside of Australia.
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