UFC Fight Night 28 results: Sean Spencer upsets Yuri Villefort by split decision

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – In his first UFC bout at welterweight, Sean Spencer found success against a resilient Yuri Villefort.

Fighting three rounds, the two fought to a split decision in a closely contested bout – though one judge gave Spencer a dominant score.

The welterweight bout opened up today’s UFC Fight Night 28 event at Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It streamed on Facebook ahead of additional prelims and a main card on FOX Sports 1.

When the final tally came in, Spencer, who recently ditched his “Black Magic” nickname, came out ahead with scores of 30-27 and 29-28, while one judge dissented for the Brazilian Villefort.

The welterweights showed willingness to trade strikes from the outset, with Villefort leaning on a left hook and frequent kicks and Spencer targeting his opponent’s jaw with a hard right hand. Employing a more varied attack, Villefort broke up his strikes with takedown attempts. Although he failed to in early attempts, he opened up the second frame with a takedown. Spencer, though, wouldn’t stay down for long.

Employing straight punches, Spencer countered the rounder shots of Villefort, who began to lose steam as the fight progressed. He did, however, punish Spencer’s legs with kicks.

Running neck-and neck-by Round 3, Spencer and Villefort didn’t change much in their strategies. Spencer continued to throw his straight right, and Villefort worked kicks while attempting in vain to get the fight to the ground. Spencer’s shots were never enough to put Villefort away, but the two still produced fireworks just prior to the final bell.

“I feel good about the fight,” Spencer said. “We all go out there and try our best. I wanted to get ‘Knockout of the Night.’ He is really tough, and my hat’s off to him. I had trained really hard for this fight. I train hard for anybody, but he is on another level.”

“I think I started off well,” Villefort said. “My coaches said I won the first and second rounds, but it was my mistake leaving it in the judges’ hands. Now I just need to stop, see what I did wrong, maybe switch weight classes, and, of course, move forward, because fighting is my life.”

Following a short-notice loss to Rafael Natal in his debut at UFC on FOX 6, Spencer (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is back on the winning track, while Villefort (6-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC), who trains with the famed Blackzilians, now has dropped back-to-back decisions since crossing over from the now-defunct Strikeforce.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 28 results include:

• Sean Spencer def. Yuri Villefort via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 28, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Belo Horizonte.