UFC Fight Night 71 results: Alan Jouban gets past Matt Dwyer via unanimous decision

SAN DIEGO — It was the rarest of sightings in an MMA cage: A referee actually deducting a point for a clear infraction.

Alan Jouban rocked Matt Dwyer in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 71 middleweight bout at Valley View Casino Center, dropped him to the mat … then clearly lined him up and walloped him with an illegal knee.

Referee Herb Dean rightfully docked Jouban a point. But that turned out to be the only mistake of note the Jouban made in the fight, as he got the best of matters in a thrilling battle which brought the crowd to their feet.

The judges’ scores were 29-27 across the board for Jouban.

“Matt Dwyer was high on a list of fighters I wanted to fight, because I knew we’d put on a good show, open the main card and put on a good show,” Jouban said.

Dwyer got the action rolling in the opening round when he dropped Jouban early, but that only only made the fighting male model from Los Angeles step up his game. Jouban disregarded Dwyer’s height and reach advantage and waded in to land crisp combos, one of which dropped Dwyer and led to the illegal knee.

The frenetic action continued in the second round, as the two traded nasty kicks to the head and body. Jouban, however, got the last laugh in that regard, as he landed a cartwheel kick to the head in the round’s closing seconds, which nearly ended the bout.

“It’s something I land high percentage in training,” Jouban said. “It’s been a race, Anthony Pettis Cub Swanson. It’s nice to be first to land it.”

The tough Dwyer returned for the final round, but appeared spent. Jouban couldn’t quite put Dwyer away, but if there was any doubt in the final frame, he settled it by scoring a takedown and working from the top.

Jouban improved to 12-3, 3-1 in the UFC. Dwyer dropped to 8-3, 1-2 in the UFC.

SAN DIEGO — It was the rarest of sightings in an MMA cage: A referee actually deducting a point for a clear infraction.

Alan Jouban rocked Matt Dwyer in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 71 middleweight bout at Valley View Casino Center, dropped him to the mat … then clearly lined him up and walloped him with an illegal knee.

Referee Herb Dean rightfully docked Jouban a point. But that turned out to be the only mistake of note the Jouban made in the fight, as he got the best of matters in a thrilling battle which brought the crowd to their feet.

The judges’ scores were 29-27 across the board for Jouban.

“Matt Dwyer was high on a list of fighters I wanted to fight, because I knew we’d put on a good show, open the main card and put on a good show,” Jouban said.

Dwyer got the action rolling in the opening round when he dropped Jouban early, but that only only made the fighting male model from Los Angeles step up his game. Jouban disregarded Dwyer’s height and reach advantage and waded in to land crisp combos, one of which dropped Dwyer and led to the illegal knee.

The frenetic action continued in the second round, as the two traded nasty kicks to the head and body. Jouban, however, got the last laugh in that regard, as he landed a cartwheel kick to the head in the round’s closing seconds, which nearly ended the bout.

“It’s something I land high percentage in training,” Jouban said. “It’s been a race, Anthony Pettis Cub Swanson. It’s nice to be first to land it.”

The tough Dwyer returned for the final round, but appeared spent. Jouban couldn’t quite put Dwyer away, but if there was any doubt in the final frame, he settled it by scoring a takedown and working from the top.

Jouban improved to 12-3, 3-1 in the UFC. Dwyer dropped to 8-3, 1-2 in the UFC.