UFC Fight Night 44 results: Marcelo Guimaraes earns split decision over Andy Enz

SAN ANTONIO – Marcelo Guimaraes earned the win over Andy Enz, though the judges nearly took away a rightful victory.

Although a close bout, Guimaraes (9-1-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) clearly deserved the victory, but he settled for a split decision over Andy Enz (7-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC).

The middleweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 44 event at AT&T Center in San Antonio. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following an additional prelim on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the main card on FOX Sports 1.

In a busy first round, Enz displayed solid takedown defense, some effective right hands and an ease in catching and checking kicks from Guimaraes, who scored an early slam takedown but couldn’t follow it with much offense.

Guimaraes had no better luck early in the second, and Enz began to land his powerful right hand almost at will. The counter-shots slowed down Guimaraes’ aggression, though the Brazilian found success by following up low kicks with overhand punches. The combos landed effectively and finally put the momentum back in his favor, and Guimaraes was able to get back in the fight and tie it up through two rounds.

In the deciding third frame, the fighters traded strikes, but Guimaraes wisely waited for counter-shot opportunities, including the effective low kicks, though Enz continued to scramble free from takedowns. Enz opened up his striking and did some damage from distance, but the toll of the low kicks was evident, and Guimaraes closed out the fight with takedown attempts and control from the clinch.

In the end, the judges scored it 27-30, 29-28 and 29-28 for Guimaraes, who successfully rebounded from a knockout loss to Hyun Gyu Lim in his previous bout.

Enz, meanwhile, could be on his way out of the promotion following an elimination-round loss on “The Ultimate Fighter 17? and two losses in his official UFC bouts.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 44 results include:

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 44, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on-site in San Antonio.)