In the end, newcomer Nick Pace just couldn’t keep up the pace.
Pace, in just his ninth professional fight on Saturday in UFC 139, started out energetic, highlighted by a couple hard knees to veteran Miguel Torres’ body, but Torres was simply too much over the full 15 minutes, scoring a 30-27 unanimous victory.
For Pace, it was simply the case of an inexperienced fighter trying to find his way. And he possibly would have had a better shot if this was the Torres who lost to Demetrious Johnson in May.
But Torres was a better fighter on Saturday, showing glimpses of the WEC champion he used to be.
It wasn’t a display of brutal blows from Torres. He won the fight by dodging Pace’s big shots, jabbing away and being smart on the ground, successfully firing back on the few occasions Pace took him down to the mat.
By the third round, Pace was going for it all, but Torres showed his experience by never letting him land too many big shots. The continual dismissal of Pace’s effort left him tired, as well as bloodied, by the end of the fight, and the decision was an easy one for the judges.
Said Torres, via MMAJunkie.com:
“A guy like Nick Pace is real dangerous. He had nothing to lose. … He was real durable. I had to be smart.”
In the end, Torres inches closer to the title discussion, going 3-1 in his last four fights and improving his UFC record to 2-1.
As for Pace, he fell to 1-2 in the UFC, this being the second straight loss after losing via unanimous decision to Ivan Menjivar in UFC 133.
Pace still has a lot to learn.
However, he learned a lot from Torres on Saturday.
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