Pat Sabatini Wrestles His Way to Dominant Win Over Chepe Mariscal – UFC 322 Highlights
Despite taking some serious damage, Pat Sabatini walked away with a dominant victory over Chepe Mariscal at UFC 322 on Saturday night.
Both fighters got after it early, but it was a head kick just before the opening round horn that stole the stanza for Mariscal. As Sabatina turned away, looking a little too relaxed in the closing seconds, Mariscal unleashed a nasty head kick that caught his opponent clean, busting Sabatina open at the hairline.
Leaning on his wrestling, Sabatina appeared to win the first round, but that last-second head kick may have swung the scorecards in favor of Mariscal.
Seconds into the second round, Sabatina went right back to his bread and butter, dragging Mariscal to the mat and immediately taking his back. However, the blood gushing from Sabatini’s head was working against him, making it especially difficult to keep Mariscal down.
With little more than a minute to go in the second, Mariscal fought his way back up. During the grappling exchange, it appeared as though Sabatini sustained another cut near his right eye. Undeterred, Sabatini scored and notched another big takedown, securing nearly three minutes of control time before the final round.
At the end of the second, Sabatini’s corner was hot, yelling that Mariscal had poked their fighter in the eye, potentially causing the damage. In between rounds, we could see that Sabatini had a sizeable cut directly below his right eye.
Taking no chances, Sabatini went straight back to his wrestling in the third, promptly taking control of Mariscal’s back and grinding out what would become a decisive decision victory for the 26-fight veteran.
Official Result: Pat Sabatini def. Chepe Mariscal via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
