The only strictly Bay Area fighter on the UFC On Fuel TV 4 card, Chris Cariaso, fought Josh Ferguson for three rounds in what was a pretty entertaining fight. Cariaso walked away with a unanimous decision victory, 30-27 on all judges cards. There was a moment at the end of the fight where Ferguson caught Cariaso's back and threatened a submission, but it came in the final minute of the fight after Cariaso had dominated the other four minutes of the third round.
Cariaso showed off impressive striking to land counters and generally not be sucked into a brawl with Ferguson. He also showcased superior grappling ability and better presence of mind, as Ferguson's only bright spot the whole fight was a spinning kick that did no damage and the aforementioned bit at the end of the third round.
Cariaso is now 14-3 for his career and is 3-1 in his UFC career and is officially a force to be reckoned with in the UFC's flyweight division. The fight is a fight of the night candidate, especially given the quality of the other fights thus far.
Below, we've got the play-by-play as written during the fight.
Round One: Cariaso takes the center of the octagon to star and starts pawing out a right jab. Ferguson dashes forward and throws about six hooks, but none of them land as Cariaso backs up effectively. Ferguson got him against the cage and goes for a takedown, but Cariaso shrugs it off and the fighters take the center of the octagon again. Ferguson is once again coming forward swinging wildly, but he isn't landing anything. Cariaso takes a small step and lands a nice right jab, and then they disengage, but Cariaso comes with a looping hook and it crumples Ferguson briefly. Cariaso jumps on Ferguson and takes half guard, looking for some ground and pound. Eventually, he lets Ferguson back up to the feet and the fighters take the center again.
Ferguson backs Cariaso up into the cage and actually secures a takedown. Ferguson ends up in half guard now as Cariaso tries to climb the cage and Ferguson tries to lock up a guillotine. With two minutes left in the round, Ferguson is trying to brute force a choke but he doesn't get it as Cariaso gets out of it and then stands up with Ferguson pressing him into the cage. Cariaso spins out and comes back with a strong left hand and they tie up again. Ferguson backs up and the fighters take the center once again. Ferguson goes for a spinning kick, lands it and Cariaso shrugs it off as Ferguson trips. Ferguson once again going for a takedown against the cage, holding onto Cariaso's legs with a minute left. Carison lands a couple short elbows against the cage and then spins a beautiful takedown with 20 seconds left. The round comes to an end with Cariaso on top.
SB Nation Bay Area scores the round 10-9 for Cariaso.
Round Two: Ferguson, the brawler, once again throws wild hooks in the center of the octagon but nothing lands. Cariaso is tracking him down looking for his opportunity and throws a flurry of his own but nothing connects. The two shadowbox for a bit. Ferguson keeps coming forward and missing and Cariaso keeps landing counters. Ferguson gets a takedown but Cariaso is down for less than three seconds and he lands some shots on the grounded Ferguson.
With three minutes to go Cariaso misses a high kick but he's still landing many more strikes. Ferguson goes for another takedown and fails. Ferguson presses Cariaso against the cage with a minute and a half to go and Cariaso lands plenty of short strikes. Ferguson is not landing anything at this point. He's physically stronger but it's clear that Cariaso is much more talented at this point. Ferguson is trying to muscle Cariaso, but again, "Kamikaze" spins and takes Ferguson down and starts raining down some ground and pound from a high half guard and the round ends.
SB Nation Bay Area scores the round 10-9 for Cariaso.
Round Three: The two touch gloves in the center of the octagon and Cariaso is showing no signs of being complacent with what is probably a 20-18 lead. Ferguson falls for a single leg and it's not even close as Cariaso reverses and lands into half guard, trying to move into side control. Ferguson flips Cariaso trying to sweep him, but Cariaso bounces out of it and lands a shot on the way out as both fighters return standing. Ferguson ties up, and Cariaso spins him to yet another sweep takedown into half guard.
With 2:30 left in the round, Cariaso is potentially working a choke but it seems like he's using it so he can pass into side control, but Ferguson holds onto his knee. Eventually, they stand and Cariaso lands a couple shots on the way out, as usual. Cariaso takes Fergusons back against the cage and he's looking for the trip. He goes down with Ferguson and Ferguson is threatening a kimura. He abandons it and jumps on top of Cariaso's back and is trying to finish it with a choke. There's a minute left with Ferguson riding Cariaso's back. It was an impressive transition, to be sure, but it appears too little too late with 20 seconds remaining. Cariaso controls a wrist effectively and the round comes to an end.
SB Nation Bay Area scores the round 10-9 for Cariaso and 30-27 for the fight.
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