UFC Fight Night 103 results: 'Big Ticket' Walt Harris gives Chase Sherman ticket to lights out

PHOENIX – Walt Harris rocked Chase Sherman in the first round, then finished him off in the second, all thanks to a crisp striking attack that found a dangerous rhythm early.

With a knee to the head followed by a blistering left, Harris (9-5 MMA, 2-4 UFC) dropped Sherman (9-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) midway through the second frame, and with a follow-up hammerfist referee Al Guinee was forced to step in and call it off at the 2:41 mark of Round 2.

The heavyweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 103 event at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims and a main card on FS1.

Harris had Sherman in trouble early on in this one, but his own difficulties with accuracy halted that initial momentum. After stinging Sherman with his stiff right hand jab, followed inevitably by his straight left, Harris attempted to follow up with a knee to the head, only to have his foot slip and catch Sherman in the groin.

That prompted a brief pause to allow Sherman to recover from the low blow, and it also allowed him to gather his wits enough to survive the round and even come back with some offense of his own before it was over.

Harris found his range again in the second frame, however, and when he did it quickly spelled trouble for Sherman, who proved to be too stationary a target. After stinging Sherman with a punch, Harris landed the knee to the head without catching the groin this time, then added a punishing straight left to the jaw that put Sherman on his back.

Harris would follow him to the floor with a hammerfist just to remove all doubt, though by then the matter was settled. Referee Guinee jumped in to haul him off, bringing an end to the fight just past the halfway point.

The victory gets Harris back in the win column for the first time since his split decision loss to Shamil Abdurakhimov in October. Sherman has now lost two in a row.

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(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Phoenix.)