UFC Fight Night 48 results: 'TUF: China' champ Zhang Lipeng handles Brendan O'Reilly

MACAU – Although it wasn’t much of a step up in competition, “The Ultimate Fighter: China” winner Zhang Lipeng picked up his first post-reality-show win with a unanimous-decision victory over “TUF: Nations” vet Brendan O’Reilly.

Lipeng (8-7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) got the edge in the later rounds and handed O’Reilly (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) a unanimous-decision loss.

The lightweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC Fight Night 48 event at The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena in Macau. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

The first round proved rather evenly matched. O’Reilly clinched and forced a takedown, but in the transition, he ended up on his back as Lipeng delivered some ground and pound. O’Reilly, though, swept and delivered some of his own offense before the round ended.

Lipeng, though, got a clear edge in the second round. While clinched against the cage, he landed some clean shots before wrapping his opponent’s hips, draggingO’Reilly to the mat, landing some ground and pound, and transitioning to his back. Lipeng’s body triangle was tight, and he threatened with a rear-naked choke, but O’Reilly survived to make it to the final frame.

The round, though, again belonged to Lipeng, who opened a bloody mouth wound on O’Reilly before forcing him to the mat and taking his back. As the blood continued to gush from O’Reilly’s mouth, Lipeng delivered punches while also trying to secure a rear-naked choke.

He didn’t get the finish, but Lipeng left his opponent a bloodied and exhausted mess. The judges ultimately scored it 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in his favor.

Lipeng moves his record over .500 with his second straight victory. O’Reilly suffers his first pro loss.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 48 results include:

• Zhang Lipeng def. Brendan O’Reilly via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Ning Guangyou def. Jianping Yang via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – wins “TUF: China” featherweight tournament
• Wang Sai def. Danny Mitchell via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Alberto Mina def. Shinsho Anzai via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:17
• Yuta Sasaki def. Roland Delorme via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:06
• Colby Covington def. Anying Wang via submission (strikes) – Round 1, 4:50
• Royston Wee def. Yao Zhikui via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
• Milana Dudieva def. Elizabeth Phillips via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

For more on UFC Fight Night 48, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

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