ATLANTA — In an early bid for a Fight of the Night Award, Chris Clements out-struck Keith Wisniewski en route to a spirited split decision win.
Clements survived some early trouble on the ground and was able to keep things standing throughout much of the rest of the way in scraping past the veteran Wisniewski for the victory. The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28, 28-29.
It was the first octagon win for Clements, who was making his UFC debut. He improved to 12-4.
The first round was wild, with Wisniewski scoring an early takedown, only to see the referee stand them up even though he was in half-guard and working. Clements took advantage of the opportunity, dropping Wisniewski with a body punch and working him over from the top.
The second was just as competitive, with Clements throwing a variety of spinning strikes, many connecting. Wisniewski later scored a takekdown, but Clements didn’t surrender from the bottom position, landing a series of elbow strikes while Wisniewski had his back.
The duo shared an embrace as the third round began, and continued the scrap, with Clements dropping Wisniewski late in the round with an overhand right. He looked for the finish from the top but couldn’t get it. Still, it was enough to earn the victory.
Wisniewski fell to 28-14-1 with his second straight defeat.