UFC 162 results/photos: Andrew Craig outpaces Chris Leben to take split decision

LAS VEGAS – The heart was there for Chris Leben, but sometimes that’s just not enough.

That was the case on Saturday for Leben against Andrew Craig, who picked his strikes carefully, landed accurately and outstruck Leben on his way to a split-decision win.

The middleweight bout closed out the preliminary card of today’s UFC 162 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on FX ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.

Leben tied Craig up early and started working punches to the body with Craig’s back against the cage. He then dropped to look for a single-leg takedown, but Craig stayed on his feet – and that pattern would repeat several times throughout the fight. Craig landed a knee to the body to finally get Leben to break. But Leben came back strong right away with a right hand, then went after the takedown again and got the fight to the floor momentarily.

The two flurried on the feet at the three-minute mark, then again tied up. Leben kept coming forward, but it was Craig who landed a two-punch combination with a straight right and a left hook that seemed to wobble Leben for a moment. Craig continued to look for the Thai clinch, but couldn’t land a big knee early. Craig looked for a takedown late in the first, but Leben stuffed it.

Leben came forward quickly in the second. He again wanted the takedown, and again ate some punches for trying for it. Craig landed a glancing knee on the break, then another, then an elbow. Leben continued to come forward, but Craig was landing the bigger shots.

Leben again came forward fast in the third, and 20 seconds in he tried to brawl with Craig. And he paid the price for it. Craig landed several big bombs with Leben against the fence and dropped him. He was on him quickly, trying to finish. But Leben survived and got back to his feet. The crowd started chanting Leben’s name, wanting to see a rally. But that rally never came.

Craig took the split call with a 30-27 and 29-28 score, while Leben picked up a 29-28 from a third judge.

Craig (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) got back in the win column after his first career loss, which came to Ronny Markes in January. Leben (22-10 MMA, 12-9 UFC) lost for the third straight time and fourth time in five fights.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 162 results include:

• Andrew Craig def. Chris Leben via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
• Norman Parke def. Kazuki Tokudome via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Gabriel Gonzaga def. Dave Herman via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:17
• Edson Barboza def. Rafaello Oliveira via TKO (leg kicks) – Round 2, 1:44
• Brian Melancon def. Seth Baczynski via KO (punches) – Round 1, 4:59
• Mike Pierce def. David Mitchell via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:55

For complete coverage of UFC 162, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Las Vegas.