By TXMMA Staff | Photos by Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Andrew Craig falls by submission to Luke Barnatt in FOTN effort at UFC Fight Night 30
HOUSTON, TX, October 27, 2013 – UFC Fight Night 30 happened this past Saturday, October 26th all the way at the Phones4u Arena in Manchester, England but many eyes were watching closer to home here in Texas considering the presence of Team Tooke’s Andrew Craig on the fight card.
He would travel overseas to take on TUF 17 cast member and native Englishman Luke Barnatt while seeking his fourth UFC win.
In the end he didn’t get the results he was looking for, losing by second round submission. A solid consolation prize however was that the two put on a ‘Fight of the Night’ worthy performance.
Andrew Craig started the fight out strong moving in and out of range versus his 6’6″ opponent. The more seasoned vet of the two, Andrew would throw combinations early and punctuate them with some hard shots as he seemed to be taking control of the fight.
Things went awry however as Barnatt landed a perfectly placed right hand to Craig’s chin followed up by a left that dropped him. As is his M.O., Andrew somehow found a way to survive the first round. Barnatt would land again early in the second round landing an uppercut that nearly finished Andrew again before taking his back and finally finishing the bout by rear-naked choke at the 2:12 mark of the second round.
The loss is the second of Andrew’s career as he now falls to 9-2 overall and 3-2 in the UFC while being finished for the first time in his career. That has to sting but the Team Tooke fighter does take home a cool $50,000 FOTN bonus for his troubles and will no doubt look to rebound the next time around.
Lyoto Machida debuts at middleweight with spectacular head kick knockout of Mark Munoz
Lyoto “Dragon” Machida made a big splash in the main event of the evening at UFC Fight Night 30 with a spectacular head kick knockout over friend and sometimes training partner Mark Munoz. Stepping in for an injured Michael Bisping, Lyoto would capitalize on the opportunity to step right into the upper echelon of the division in his first fight with the well-timed kick that quickly put the Filipino out.
Machida would get even more praise following the bout for his remarkable restraint in pulling up with his punches before the ref could get there to save his downed opponent.
With the win Lyoto has now eased the pain of his controversial decision loss to Phil Davis at UFC 163 and can now look forward to a bevy of exciting options (read: Vitor Belfort, Ronaldo Jacare, Chris Weidman) in his middleweight future.
Check out results of the results from UFC Fight Night 30 below.
UFC Fight Night 30: Machida vs. Munoz – Quick Results
UFC Fight Night 30 – Main Card Results (FOX Sports 2)
- Lyoto Machida over Mark Munoz by TKO at 3:10, RD1
- Ross Pearson vs. Melvin Guillard – No Contest (accident foul, illegal knee)
- Jimi Manuwa over Ryan Jimmo by TKO at 4:41, RD3
- Norman Parke over Jon Tuck by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Nicholas Musoke over Alessio Sakara by submission (arm bar) at 3:07, RD1
- John Lineker over Phil Harris by TKO at 2:51, RD1
UFC Fight Night 30 – Prelim Results (Facebook)
- Al Iaquinta over Piotr Hallmann by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Luke Barnatt over Andrew Craig by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:12, R2
- Jessica Andrade over Rosi Sexton by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26)
- Cole Miller over Andy Ogle by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jimy Hettes over Robert Whiteford by submission (triangle choke) at 2:17, R2
- Brad Scott over Michael Kuiper submission (guillotine choke) at 4:17, RD1
