UFC on FOX 11 results, photos: Mirsad Bektic survives illegal knee, tops Chas Skelly

ORLANDO – American Top Team product Mirsad Bektic survived a pair of illegal knees and outworked Team Takedown fighter Chas Skelly for a majority decision.

The undefeated fighters waged a back-and-forth fight that should have been stopped after Bektic was concussed by the illegal blows. But despite a point deduction to Skelly, Bektic outpointed him on two of three scorecards.

The featherweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC on FOX 11 event at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims on FOX Sports 1 and a main card on FOX.

The final tallies were 29-27 twice for Bektic and one score of 28-28 after three rounds. Afterward, Bektic admitted he saw two of Skelly but wasn’t aware he sustained an illegal blow.

The octagon newcomers looked a little too conscious of their records at the start of the bout, staying just out of range of a serious fight. Skelly broke the stalemate with a hard right hand, but Bektic scored the most significant damage of the opening frame when Skelly rolled to his back after an unsuccessful takedown. A series of hard left elbows roughed up Skelly’s face.

Bektic began to find his range in the second round, scoring with combinations as Skelly struggled to counter. With 90 seconds left, however, he rocked Bektic with a right hand. What happened next threatened to end the bout.

Against the cage, Skelly landed a pair of illegal knees as Bektic posted his hand on the mat, prompting the ref to deduct a point and allow him five minutes to recover. Bektic clearly was hurt and wobbled as he returned to his feet, and yet the bout was continued before the time had elapsed.

Bektic continued to fight the remainder of the round. When the two emerged for the third round, he quickly shot for a takedown and initiated a ground exchange. Skelly escaped and managed to hurt Bektic again with punches, but Bektic countered with a huge takedown. A mad scramble for leglocks ended the bout.

“I’m usually very aggressive when I fight, but my coaches wanted me to work on staying composed this time,” Bektic said. “I picked my spots carefully against him. The illegal knee definitely hurt, but I was able to weather it and move on as soon as we got back to action. Overall, I’m happy with my performance over a pretty tough opponent.”

Bektic (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) extends his unbeaten streak to eight while Skelly (11-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) suffers the first loss of his professional career.

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John Morgan and Matt Erickson contributed to this report on-site in Orlando.