UFC 181 results: Sergio Pettis survives early knockdown, takes decision from Matt Hobar

Sergio Pettis

LAS VEGAS – Sergio Pettis had some anxious moments against a game Matt Hobar, but continued to show glimpses of his potential.

Pettis (12-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) took a unanimous decision from Hobar (9-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC), who showed plenty of grit and determination despite the loss.

The bantamweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 181 event at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims on FOX Sports 1 and the main card on pay-per-view.

Pettis opened the fight by bouncing outside and threw a left hand, but Hobar counted perfectly and planted Pettis on the canvas with a left of his own. Pettis survived the early scare, then tried to get inside to exchange. Pettis landed a pair of hard rights, and Hobar went into recovery mode on top on the ground.

Pettis had to work off his back, and when Hobar worked to side control, Pettis briefly threatened with a triangle choke. After a few upkicks, Pettis was able to get back to his feet, where he threatened with a spinning wheel kick. After a failed takedown attempt, though, Pettis again found himself on the canvas with Hobar on top to close out the round.

Pettis picked up his pace in the second round with some big kicks, and the two slugged it out. But it was Hobar hurt with Pettis chasing him. And after a couple hard punches, Hobar looked to recover on his back on the canvas – where Pettis landed some heavy punches with referee Mario Yamasaki looking in. But Hobar locked up guard, and got that chance to recover.

Midway through the round, with the action stalled, Yamasaki stood them up, and Pettis went back to work throwing punches and looking for body kicks. With 75 seconds left, Pettis kicked to the body – but Hobar caught it and took the fight back to the canvas once again, and again ended the round on top.

The third round was more of the same – with Pettis landing solidly, but unable to put Hobar away. Hobar showed the wear and tear of the fight on his face as he went to his corner following the fight.

“He woke me up with that punch (in the first round),” Pettis said. “I had to go in there and finish him off. I started off slow. But I’m only 21, and I’m getting better every time you see me fight.”

Pettis, younger brother of UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, won for the second straight time following the first loss of his professional career earlier this year at UFC on FOX 10. Hobar is back in the loss column after an August win over Aaron Phillips.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 181 results include:

For more on UFC 181, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Ben Fowlkes contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)