UFC on FX 2 results: Martin Kampmann shows no quit in victory over Thiago Alves

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, March 2, 2012 | 9:05 p.m.

Note: Full results from the card are available at the bottom of the page. The bout between Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall was scored incorrectly and overturned to a draw after the event.

The final minute of the UFC on FX 2 main event Friday seemed like a formality.

Thiago Alves had beaten up Las Vegas-based fighter Martin Kampmann for 14 minutes in Sydney, Australia. Alves merely needed a few more seconds to reach the judges’ scorecards, where he surely would have won a lopsided decision.

But Alves made an ill-advised decision to shoot for a takedown against Kampmann and leave his neck vulnerable. Kampmann pounced on the mistake, wrapping his arms across Alves’ neck and forcing him to tap out with 48 seconds remaining in the fight.

“I squeezed it because I knew it was my window,” Kampmann said immediately after the victory in the octagon. “I didn’t want to miss it.”

Kampmann officially defeated Alves by submission at 4:12 of the third round to clinch his second victory in a row. Other than the finish, not much went right for Kampmann at Allphones Arena.

He dazed Alves with a front kick to the jaw early, but wound up on his back eating ground-and-pound strikes by the end of the first round. Alves carried the momentum into the second round where he repeatedly caught Kampmann with significant shots.

“I felt like I was definitely down,” Kampmann said. “I was eating too many punches in the clinch. The plan was to fight from the outside and box my way in. I did a couple times, but I wasn’t getting the flow I wanted.”

Kampmann shared the spotlight in the Land Down Under with flyweights Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez.

Johnson defeated Ian McCall by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-29), while Benavidez beat Yasuhiro Urushitani with a TKO 11 seconds into the second round. Benavidez and Johnson will meet to determine the first ever UFC flyweight champion later this year.

“I think we match up pretty well,” Johnson said. “I think I have the speed advantage. I want to make sure, when I come back, my hands are a lot faster. I want to work on the mistakes I made in this fight.”

The Australian fans booed Johnson heavily when the judges awarded him the victory. Many felt McCall deserved the nod after he took Johnson’s back and dominated the third round.

The first two rounds were close, but two judges saw them for Johnson. Benavidez managed to escape without any controversy.

After taking Urushitani down in the first round and working on submissions, Benavidez went back to basics in the second. When Urushitani threw an early high kick, Benavidez unleashed a right hook that landed on his opponent’s temple to win the fight.

“I knew he threw a lot of kicks,” Benavidez said. “That’s just the perfect time to counter somebody.”

Check below for results from the rest of the fights at UFC on FX 2.

Constantinos Philippou won a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” 11 champion Court McGee in middleweight action. McGee took the final round on all three judges’ scorecards, but it wasn’t enough after Philippou out-boxed him for the opening 10 minutes.

James Te Huna defeated Aaron Rosa by TKO at 2:08 of the first round in their light heavyweight bout. The result was never in question, as Te Huna pummeled Rosa from the opening bell.

Anthony Perosh, a 39-year old light heavyweight, gave his hometown fans plenty to cheer about. Perosh destroyed UFC newcomer Nick Penner, ultimately winning by TKO with one second left in the first round.

Steven Siler won the first two rounds against Cole Miller to take a unanimous decision victory in a featherweight bout. Siler, who was as high as a 4-to-1 underdog, ruined the UFC veteran’s debut in the featherweight division.

Andrew Craig pulled off an upset just as surprising as Siler’s. Craig won a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Sydney native Kyle Noke in their middleweight contest.

T.J. Waldburger disposed of Jake Hecht in short order in their welterweight bout. Waldburger used an armbar to submit Hecht 55 seconds into the bout.

Daniel Pineda won his second fight in six weeks. Pineda submitted Mackens Semerzier at 2:05 of the first round in their featherweight bout with an armbar.

Heavyweight Shawn Jordan, a former Strikeforce fighter and fullback at LSU, was successful in his UFC debut. Jordan defeated Oli Thompson by TKO at 3:53 of the second round.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or case.keefer@lasvegassun.com. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.