Nothing spectacular to report from the weigh-ins other than some dudes in skimpy clothing so let’s just breeze on by that.
Dana White doesn’t have many nice things to say about Javier Torres based on the competitor’s first fight and I can’t say as I blame the UFC prez. He was dutifully impressed by Chuck O’Neil, though, so it’s easy to see where he’s going with this bout.
A back-and-forth first round establishes Torres as the more fluid and comfortable striker, and seemingly the stronger of the two fighters based on the ease with which he was able to fend of O’Neil’s clinches/takedown attempts.
Nevertheless, it’s Cold Steel who is the constant aggressor while Javier looks very pretty dancing and juking around, but is mustering little-to-no offense. Consequently, I’d give the first to Chuck, 10-9.
The second is far easier to score as Torres continues to get the better of the striking in the early going and then scores a nice trip. But he can’t keep O’Neil on the ground and, as soon as he scrambles back to his feet, Team Lesnar’s entrant (O’Neil) finally scores his own elusive takedown.
From there, it’s clear Javier is a fish out of water—O’Neil sits in half guard and alternates between pounding on Javier’s ribs, then working his left arm for a kimura. This goes on for a couple minutes until Torres finally thrashes free.
And rolls right into a fatal D’Arce choke that ends the bout.
Chuck O’Neil defeats Javier Torres by submission (D’Arce choke) at 4:30 of the second round.