LEAGUES News
Griffin schools Perry en route to major upset at UFC Orlando
Max Griffin's smarts got the nod over Mike Perry's power on Saturday.
UFC on FOX 28's biggest underdog stuck-and-moved for the bulk of three rounds and dumped Perry to the canvas in the second to stun the hometown favorite with a unanimous verdict in the main card's welterweight opener in Orlando.
Griffin showed the utmost respect for Perry's granite mitts, remaining on his bicycle, soundly choosing when to exploit his foe's often lazy habits on the feet and maintaining a high kicking output through the opening pair of frames. The 32-year-old's movement kept Perry from finding a home for his haymakers, with a knockdown off a left hand to the button securing Griffin's lead on the scorecards heading into the third.
Perry entered the final round with a sense of urgency, relentlessly pressuring Griffin and tagging him on more than one occasion, but the California native remained fleet of foot to hear the fight-ending horn and get his hand raised for the second time in four walks to the Octagon.
The 26-year-old Perry suffered his second straight loss on points and saw his promotional record fall to 4-3 in his seventh promotional bout over just 18 months.
HEADLINES
- Pelicans dump Kings, book 1st-round series with Thunder
- Yankees' Schmidt: 'Sign the dotted line with however much' Soto wants
- Astros' Verlander allows 2 runs over 6 innings in season debut
- Wild's Faber played with broken ribs for 2 months
- Phils' Turnbull flirts with no-no, Bohm hits 2 HRs in win over White Sox