"Former PFL heavyweight champ Ante Delija was looking to shake off a chaotic loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta when he faced off against Serghei Spivac at UFC Houston. Delija, who trains alongside UFC heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall, had initially thought he'd beaten WCA in their fight last November. After an eye poke was declared, however, the bout was restarted, and Waldo completed the comeback, landing a knockout blow later in the opening round."
"Round 1 - The two met in the center of the cage, with a big early exchange that allowed Delija to show his speed advantage. The right hand was sharp and landed clean early, but Spivac returned with a nice flurry up close. Spivac tried picking his shots from the outside, avoiding the flurries of Delija in the pocket. Both men were opened up early on, with Delija bleeding from his nose and Spivac above his eye."
"Round 2 - Delija missed a couple of early punches, struggling with Spivac's range management and distance control. The jab was clean from Spivac, covering Delija's face with blood. He started to get more confident with his strikes, mixing in some clean right hands. After being timed on his jab, Delija caught Spivac with a big right and sent him to the cage, following up with some big combinations that hurt the Moldovan. Instead of continuing to land, Delija surprisingly went to the clinch, being reversed and held on the cage for most of the remainder of the round."
Ante Delija entered the bout seeking to rebound from a chaotic loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta and trains alongside Tom Aspinall. Spivac had also suffered recent defeats, including to Cortes-Acosta. Round 1 featured heavy early exchanges, with Delija showing speed and a sharp right while Spivac landed flurries and a consistent jab; both fighters showed damage. Round 2 saw Delija struggle with range before landing a big right that hurt Spivac, then moving into a clinch where he was reversed and controlled on the cage for most of the frame. Round 3 opened with Spivac pushing the jab and securing a follow-up takedown, controlling on top before Delija worked back toward his feet.
Read at Cageside Press
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