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UFC Fight Night 66 Results: Gegard Mousasi Dominates En Route to Unanimous Decision

UFC Fight Night 66 Results: Gegard Mousasi Dominates En Route to Unanimous Decision

Gegard Mousasi entered Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 66 in Manila looking to build some momentum after having started the year with a rebound victory over Dan Henderson. His opponent, Costas Philippou, was in a similar position, looking to start building some momentum of his own after having been on the sidelines for the past year.

As much of an opportunity as the No. 7 ranked Mousasi presented to Philippou, he couldn’t capitalize on his chance to rocket up the ranks.

From the opening round, the fight was all Mousasi’s. After a brief feeling out process at the beginning of the fight, the Iranian-born Dutch fighter quickly figured out Philippou’s timing and took control.

Mousasi’s performance wasn’t exciting, but it was dominant.

He planted Philippou on the mat, maintained control, staying heavy on his opponent and wearing him out as he grounded and pounded his way to victory.

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Each round followed the same blueprint: takedown, stay heavy, and batter Philippou with punches, elbows, knees, and anything else he could think of.

As the final horn sounded, Mousasi may not have found the finish, but he left the judges no option other than to award him a unanimous decision. Anything else would have been criminal.

It was a safe performance by Mousasi, but gives him back-to-back victories after having alternated between wins and losses for the past couple of years.

“His stand-up is dangerous. He has good knockout power,” Mousasi said after the fight. “On the ground, I have the advantage, so I just played it smart. I’m not gonna risk and get knocked out.”

Mousasi moves to 37-5-2, and more importantly, he remains near the top of the division. A couple more victories could put him right back in the mix for a title shot.

(Follow @KenPishna on Twitter)

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