Winner barely survived the first frame, withstanding a brutal beating at the hands of Njokuani after he was caught midway through the round. Njokuani cinched up a Muay Thai clinch and unloaded knees and punches for nearly a minute along the fence. Winner miraculously survived the onslaught to the final bell.
The second round was more of the same as Njokuani caught Winner early, although the beating Winner sustained wasn't as constant. Winner was able to regain his wits as the round hit the midway point, but Njokuani landed the better strikes and evaded counters with ease. He edged Winner on the scorecards and made the final round a must-finish for Winner.
Njokuani was much more subdued in the third, but he was able to beat Winner to the punch in most of the exchanges. He landed some nice body-head combinations, sneaking in an overhand right at times and keeping Winner in check with kicks. Winner was never able to get comfortable on the feet, and Njokuani took full advantage of his striking advantage. Stellar performance for Anthony Njokuani.
Njokuani entered tonight's contest with a 0-1 record in the UFC. He had previously amassed a 4-3 record under the WEC banner, which included three Knockout of the Night bonuses at WEC 40, WEC 43, and WEC 45. The Nigerian-born Muay Thai specialist put on an impressive performance against Edson Barboza at UFC 128 in March despite losing on the scorecards, earning himself a Fight of the Night bonus.
Dennis Siver and Nik Lentz both beat up on Andre Winner in his last two performances inside the Octagon. Siver submitted the British fighter in only 3:37 at UFC 122 in November, and Nik Lentz edged him on the scorecards at UFC 118 last August. Winner had previously dispatched of Rafaello Oliveira and Rolando Delgado after dropping an unanimous decision to Ross Pearson in The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale.
