Lightweight Evan Dunham welcomed TUF Season 13 competitor Shamar Bailey to the 155-pound division on the Ultimate Fight Night 25 undercard.
Dunham, once consider a potential title challenger, has suffered back-to-back losses to Sean Sherk and Melvin Guillard after starting his career 11-0.
Bailey competed at welterweight on the reality show and won his promotional debut against Ryan McGillivray in June.
The two southpaws started by feeling each other out on the feet. Bailey connected with the first strike, but Dunham followed with a counter punch and a kick. The pair exchanged from close quarters and Dunham shrugged off a takedown attempt. Bailey landed a left hand that slowed Dunham momentarily. A head kick missed from Dunham at the mid point of the round. Another shot was stuffed from Dunham. A right jab-right hook connected from Dunham. Dunham repeatedly connected with his left cross. Bailey answered with a punch of his own, but Dunham again delivered a kick to the head of Bailey. Bailey locked onto a single leg and brought Dunham to the ground, but Dunham returned to his feet as the horn sounded.
A left hand from Dunham hurt Bailey early in the second round. Dunham pounced and looked to take Bailey?s back, but he managed to stand. Dunham slipped a punch and looked to take Bailey down but was unsuccessful. A teep from Dunham connected with the face of Bailey. Dunham scored over and over with combinations. Bailey clipped Dunham with a right hook and followed with a takedown attempt that failed. Dunham faked another teep and connected with a left hand. Another head kick from Dunham was blocked. Dunham stuffed Bailey?s desperate takedown attempt. Bailey started to bleed above his left eye. Dunham stalked Bailey against the fence at the end of the stanza.
Bailey opened the final round aggressively, but Dunham continued to land the better strikes in the exchange. Dunham repeated his jab-cross and hook-cross combinations to keep Bailey from mounting any offense. The blood poured from Bailey?s left brow as the round progressed. Another push kick from Dunham landed. Dunham connected with a head kick with two minutes left in the fight. Two head kicks in a row from Dunham land, but Bailey stays on his feet. At the one minute mark, Dunham unloaded on Bailey. A slip on a kick from Dunham briefly interrupted the barrage. Bailey looked for a late takedown, but Dunham prevented it with a guillotine attempt as the fight ended.
Dunham?s dominant striking display proved why he is in the mix in the lightweight division. Bailey?s heart and chin cannot be ignored despite the loss. Dunham acknowledged it in his post-fight interview, stating that he thought some of his strikes would?ve knocked other fighters out.
Official result: Evan Dunham def. Shamar Bailey via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob?s work at TheMMACorner.com. For anything related to MMA, you can follow Rob on Twitter @RobTatumMMA.
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