Anthony Pettis vs. Bart Palaszewski

A close fight between two high-level Midwesterners ended with a controversial decision that dealt Pettis, a gifted fighter with top contender potential, the first loss of his career. Pettis came out cocky in round one, holding his hands low and flaunting his chin to Palaszewski as if to tease him, "Go ahead, try to hit me. You can't." And, for the most part, Pettis was right. He outclassed "Bartimus" with a fancy repertoire that included a Superman punch that landed flush, a spinning backfist that found its mark, a high kick that was partially blocked, and a sweeping kick across Palaszewski's face. Apparently, Palaszewski had seen enough and tried unsuccessfully to take the action to the canvas. The Jeff Curran protégé even mocked Pettis' flashy antics, sticking out his own chin and holding his hands low. At the conclusion of the round Palaszewski jumped on Pettis' back with both hooks in, but did not come close to finishing it.

Round two seemed to be a definite Palaszewski round, as Pettis seemed to find it harder to land punches and Bartimus scored with a double leg takedown, a solid right hand and leg kicks.

Round three was fairly nip-and-tuck. Pettis clipped Palaszewski with a right hand but the Poland-born fighter responded with his own short right that sent Pettis down, but apparently alert and in control of his faculties. Bartimus scored with punches on top. The action returned to their feet and it seemed Pettis needed to come-from-behind to win. With little more than 30 seconds left, the Milwaukee fighter produced in the clutch - cracking Palaszewski with a booming overhand right that sent him thundering to the canvas. The shot seemed to be much more powerful than the one Palaszewski had landed earlier, and Palaszewski seemed far more woozy than Pettis had been. Pettis pounced on his fallen foe, but Palaszewski weathered the assault and got back to his feet. Judges scores were 30-27 and 29-28 for Palaszewski, and 30-27 for Pettis.

Palaszewski improved to 33-13-1; Pettis fell to 7-1.

Zack Micklewright vs. Muhsin Corbbrey

Corbbrey had a golden opportunity to end the bout when he trapped Micklewright in a tight, deep armbar in the first round. But the moment slipped away as Micklewright stood up and shook his arm free. For much of the remainder of the bout, Micklewright was the aggressor, controlling the clinch with elbows and knees and tagging Corbbrey with crisp left hands and opening a gash on the Georgian's right eye. Despite professional boxing and Muay Thai experience, and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Corbbrey never found his rhythm and never showed a sense of urgency.

The judges award Micklewright, a Marine, a unanimous decision by scores of 30-27 across the board.

Chad George vs. John "The Goat" Hosman

Perhaps the busiest person in the cage for this fight, unfortunately, was referee Herb Dean, who repeatedly had to stand the fighters up from the bottom due to inactivity and stalemates.

George's takedowns defined the match, as did Hosman locking his opponent in a body triangle and a whole bunch of nothing playing out on the canvas. In the third round, for the fifth time, referee Dean forced the fighters to their feet. With minutes remaining, and Hosman clearly losing the fight, the Illinois native showed no sense of urgency. In fact, it was George who landed three nice left hands as the bout winded down, clinching a unanimous...