UFC Fight Night 48 results: Wang Sai earns gritty win over Danny Mitchell

MACAU – Although the UFC’s roster still lacks some true Chinese prospects, “The Ultimate Fighter: China” runner-up Wang Sai picked up a solid victory over a tough Danny Mitchell.

Cornered by “TUF 1? vet Mike Swick and with clear crowd support, Sai (7-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) picked up his first UFC victory after earning the judges’ nod against Danny Mitchell (14-6-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC).

The welterweight bout closed out the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 48 at The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena in Macau. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Sai worked some low kicks early in the fight before Mitchell shot for a takedown and pressed his opponent against the cage. Sai fought it off for an extended period of time, and Mitchell seemed to relent and allowed him to take position. It proved to be a bad decision, though. While Mitchell initially appeared comfortable off his back while working a high guard, Sai exploited the position and unloaded some ground and pound and some standing low kicks to close out the round.

In the second round, Sai tried some kicks before Mitchell attempted to pull guard. It took him a few minutes to get it, but Sai wasn’t willing to stay in his guard and instead connected on some leg kicks. Once back up, the fighters engaged in a lively exchange that saw both land power shots, including a jarring uppercut from Sai, for the final few minutes of the round.

In the final round, the fighters opted to stand and trade, where Sai proved a bit sharper. As Mitchell lost a step, Sai initially capitalized with some solid punches that began to bloody his opponent. However, Mitchell used his reach and the Thai clinch to deliver some short punches and knees. Late in the round, Sai missed on a flying front kick but caught a kick and dumped Mitchell on the mat. A few combinations followed on the restart, and it likely won Sai the round and helped set up the victory.

In the end, all the judges scored it 29-28 for Sai, who earned the unanimous-decision win.

“I’m going to show you the braveness and toughness of Chinese fighters,” said Sai, who admitted he was concerned about the scoring after his “TUF: China” tournament final ended in a split-decision defeat.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 48 results include:

For more on UFC Fight Night 48, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Macau.)