CUMMINS vs. CAVALCANTE
Patrick Cummins’ face didn’t look like it, but he put on a dominant performance against number 10-ranked light heavyweight Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, stopping the Rio de Janeiro product in the third round.
“I had some adversity in the first round, I got caught a couple times, but the key is to keep my head, keep my focus on what I want to do and what I came here to do, and that’s win,” the number 14-ranked Cummins said.
After ducking under a head kick designed to end the fight, Cummins (8-2) locked up with Feijao, getting a couple takedowns in between plenty of control against the fence. After breaking, Feijao (12-6, 1 NC) let loose with a few haymakers, Cummins showing swelling under both eyes, but when Cummins got within grappling range, he was able to wear his foe down with his inside game.
As the second round opened, Cummins’ swelling on his cheeks continued to be an issue, and soon after, his nose started to bleed as well. But with two minutes gone, the Californian got the bout to the mat and began firing off ground strikes. In the midst of the attack, referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the action to have the doctor inspect Cummins’ face, but the bout resumed quickly, the American ending the round with another takedown and ground-and-pound.
In the third, Cummins picked up where he left off, putting Cavalcante on the mat and then unloading with a series of ground strikes that the Brazilian had no answer for. After a barrage of elbows, Yamasaki intervened, stopping the fight 45 seconds into the final round.
The #Durkin off to a great start in the first! #UFC190 prelims on @FOXSports1 http://t.co/fmidIfzUkG
— #UFC190 (@ufc) August 2, 2015