UFC on FX: Main Card Recap

Though perhaps lacking in name value, the UFC on FX main card delivered in action, offering three first round stoppages and a closely-contested slugfest.

In the night's main event, Melvin Guillard took little time in putting Jim Miller on his heels, threatening to end the fight with a barrage of hooks and knees. However, a timely clinch allowed Miller to recompose himself and, finally, land the fateful takedown. As Guillard exploded to his feet, Miller leapt to back control and pulled Guillard back to the mat, where he had little trouble locking up the rear-naked choke at 2:04 of the first. With the finish, Miller earned the twelfth submission win of his career, and reinserted himself firmly back into the lightweight title hunt. A fight between Miller and Nate Diaz or the winner of Lauzon/Pettis would be tremendous.

Josh Neer found himself out-classed on the feet against Duane Ludwig, prompting him to drag the fight to the mat. Once there, Neer's submission instincts served him well. As Ludwig attempted to scramble to safety, Neer latched on a guillotine that quickly removed Ludwig from consciousness. The win, coming at 3:04 of Round 1, represents the first time in five years that Neer has won two consecutive fights in the UFC.

Mike Easton and Jared Papazian both displayed fast hands, strong chins, and an unwillingness to be intimidated during their crowd-pleasing, three-round affair. Throughout their fifteen minutes in the cage, the bantamweights seemed to never retreat from striking range, plastering each other with jabs, uppercuts, and leg kicks when they weren't roughing each other up in the clinch. Mike Easton walked away with the majority-decision victory, but Papazian made quite the impression in his UFC debut.

In the broadcast's opening bout, Pat Barry overcame a scare early in the fight when a double-leg from Morecraft left him on the mat fending off a cringe-inducing armbar. Barry showed off some of his improved grappling skills, however, and managed to slip his arm out and scramble to safety. Back on the feet, Barry slipped past Morecraft's wild hooks and plastered him with a lunging left that sent the young gargantuan crashing to the mat. Follow-up punches from Barry sealed the deal at 3:38 of the first. The victory is Barry's first in almost exactly a year and saved him from a third consecutive loss.