UFC 184 results, photos: Masio Fullen tops Alexander Torres with split decision in slugfest

Masio Fullen

LOS ANGELES – It was clear from the outset that Alexander Torres was interested in putting Masio Fullen in trouble.

But that strategy wound up working better for Fullen (10-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who used a stellar striking attack on the feet to top Torres (2-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with a split decision in a fight between a pair of competitors from “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America.”

The featherweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s UFC 184 event at Staples Center in Los Angeles. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims on FOX Sports 1 and a main card on pay-per-view.

Fullen connected right away thanks to an aggressive opening from Torres, who committed to running in and got caught. Seconds later, Fullen tagged him again. After 45 seconds, they briefly clinched, and Torres got his first good shot off. Ninety seconds in, Torres landed a big right hand, and put Fullen on rubbery legs. He tried to capitalize, and kept Fullen moving backward as he worked to tee off on him.

But Fullen eventually fired back with a counter right that was on the money. Seconds later, a head kick from Fullen was just about on the money, and Torres tried to bring the fight to the floor. Torres again hurt Fullen, then went after him as Fullen fell backward to the fence. But FUllen stayed in the fight, and in a wild exchange, it was Fullen who brought the fight to the canvas and was on top with more than a minute left in the round. They went back to their feet with 30 seconds left in the round, then again swung for the fences.

The pace slowed in the second when the pair clinched up on the fence with little action beyond traded short knees for 90 seconds. Torres forced a break with a solid elbow, and the two went back to the center of the cage. With two minutes left, Fullen seemed to pull ahead in the round with a solid kick. For the final half of the round, it was Fullen leading the charge.

The third round was back to a slugfest early, but Fullen landed a nice left, then went to work with kicks, knees and punches. He pushed Torres to the fence and looked to finish, then landed a nasty flying knee that he followed with a punch to the body. Torres walked right into a punch seconds later. Torres worked hard for a takedown, but couldn’t get it. He went back after it with 45 seconds left and got one, but Fullen was quickly back to his feet. Fullen got a warning for grabbing the fence, but by the time the bout restarted, there was just 10 seconds left.

The judges gave a pair of 29-28s to Fullen with a 29-28 in Torres’ favor.

Fullen won his third straight fight. Torres had a two-fight winning streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 184 results include:

• Masio Fullen def. Alexander Torres via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

For more on UFC 184, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on site in Los Angeles.)