UFC 164 results and photos: Al Iaquinta returns from layoff to beat Ryan Couture

MILWAUKEE – Al Iaquinta spent a solid 15 minutes testing Ryan Couture’s ability to take a punch.

When it was all over, Couture had proven his toughness, but Iaquinta had earned a clear unanimous decision, which the judges granted him with 30-27 scores across the board.

The lightweight bout was part of today’s UFC 164 event at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center. It streamed on Facebook ahead of additional prelims on FOX Sports 1 and a main card on pay-per-view.

Iaquinta spent much of the first round battering Couture with punches, landing harder and more frequent blows than his opponent in nearly every exchange. Though Couture found some success with leg kicks and a jumping knee, there was hardly a moment where Iaquinta wasn’t in complete control.

As the fight neared the end of the final round, Iaquinta seemed to up the intensity in search of the finish, but a bloodied, beaten down Couture hung tough until the final horn.

“I couldn’t be any happier with this win,” Iaquinta said. “It’s definitely the best win of my career. Ryan’s a tough guy and a few of those shots definitely hurt me, but you’ve got to push through and not let it bother you. It was tough siting out this year watching a lot of the guys I was on ‘TUF’ with compete and win inside the octagon, so it feels good to get the first one in the UFC. I’m hoping to squeeze one more bout in before the end of 2013.”
 

“I felt really slow tonight,” Couture said. “I feel like he could see everything I was doing from a mile away. I know I landed some good shots in there, but it just wasn’t enough. Al’s a tough kid. I need to go back and work on my wrestling a little more. Those are takedowns that I’ve worked on in practice and had them work, so I just need to keep getting better.”

Iaquinta (6-2-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) gets his first official UFC win after coming up short at the “Ultimate Fighter” 15 Finale. Couture (6-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has now lost both of his UFC fights since being brought in from the Strikeforce ranks.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 164 results include:

• Al Iaquinta def. Ryan Couture via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Magnus Cedenblad def. Jared Hamman via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:57

For complete coverage of UFC 164, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Milwaukee.