UFC Fight Night 95 results: Gregor Gillespie stays unbeaten, dominates Glaico Franca in UFC debut

BRASILIA, Brazil – Former Ring of Combat champ Gregor Gillespie leaned heavily on his Division-I wrestling skills, making “TUF: Brazil 4” winner Glaico Franca miserable over three rounds.

Franca (13-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) tried just about everything to keep upright, including elbows to the side of the head and repeated fence grabs. But in the end, Gillespie (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) took home a unanimous decision.

The lightweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 95 event at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of the rest of the card on FS1.

The final scorecards were unanimously 29-27 for Gillespie, who survived a series of stiff right hands from his Brazilian opponent, one of which caused his left eye to swell early in the fight.

Glaico distinguished himself on “TUF: Brazil 4” as a submission specialist, tapping all of his opponents on the show. But against Gillespie, he made every effort to keep the fight on its feet, pressuring his opponent early with combinations.

A right hand and flying knee had Gillespie rocked in the second frame. Glaico, however, was unable to stop the subsequent takedown attempt, as he would be for the majority of the fight.

By the third round, Gillespie had his way with Glaico on the mat, advancing to mount and back control. It was a grinding victory for the UFC newcomer, whose professional MMA debut was held off by a serious injury and struggles outside the cage. But it got the job done, extending his unbeaten streak to eight and handing Franca his second straight octagon loss since winning “TUF.”

“It was an awesome experience – better than I thought it would be,” Gillespie said. “I usually don’t get emotional after wins, but this was my first UFC fight. I only got my first professional fight two years ago, and from Day One, I dreamed about coming to the UFC.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 95 results include:

• Gregor Gillespie def. Glaico Franca via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 95, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Fernanda Prates contributed to this report on site in Brasilia.)