UFC 161 results/photos: Ryan Jimmo tops Igor Pokrajac in snoozer

WINNIPEG – In a fight in which referee Yves Lavigne earned every penny of his commission pay, light heavyweights Ryan Jimmo and Igor Pokrajac plodded along to the scorecards.

In the end, judges were unanimous in their call for Jimmo, who won all three rounds on the scorecards, but it wasn’t the type of fight that advanced his career.

The bout was part of today’s UFC 161 event at MTS Centre in Winnipeg. It aired on pay-per-view after prelims on FX and Facebook.

Afterward, Jimmo apologized to the crowd, which apparently was distracted by a fight in the stands that contained more action than the 15 minutes that took place in the cage.

From the outset, the fight went in fits and starts as Jimmo and Pokrajac traded heavy punches, only to lock up and stall against the cage. They were repeatedly separated by Lavigne, whose interventions failed to break the stalemate.

Pokrajac landed a heavy shot that put Jimmo on the defensive late in the first, but again, the clinch defeated a decisive end.

Jimmo came closest to ending the fight in the second when he dropped Pokrajac with a right hand. The Croatian fighter survived, however.

A boo-filled third round saw Jimmo dominate from top position as his corner implored him to return to his feet. A final exchange netted zilch for both fighters.

The final scores of the fight were 30-27 on all three scorecards.

Jimmo (18-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) returns to the winner’s circle after a setback against James Te Huna. Pokrajac (25-10 MMA, 4-5 UFC) now has failed to win his past three outings.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 161 results include:

• Ryan Jimmo def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Alexis Davis def. Rosi Sexton by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-28)
• Shawn Jordan def. Pat Barry via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:59
• Jake Shields def. Tyron Woodley via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
• James Krause def. Sam Stout via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 4:47
• Sean Pierson def. Kenny Robertson via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
• Roland Delorme def. Edwin Figueroa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mitch Clarke def. John Maguire via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Yves Jabouin def. Dustin Pague via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC 161, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

Matt Erickson and Ben Fowlkes contributed to this report on-site in Winnipeg.