UFC on Versus 5 Play-by-Play: Dan Hardy vs. Chris Lytle

Dan Hardy vs. Chris Lytle (welterweight)

Round 1: Lytle, as is typical, comes out swinging. He quickly starts working the body, but it doesn’t take long before Hardy is firing back, staggering Lytle with an uppercut. Both fighters are trying to get the jab going, but Lytle is taking some really big swings, as well. Hardy is landing a bit more frequently, keeping his punches a little more crisp than Lytle. But Lytle comes back with some wide arcing hooks both to the head and body. Hardy is mixing up more techniques, landing his jab and low kicks, but Lytle is getting more accurate with his punches as the fight wears on. Lytle lands a right hook, left uppercut combo that has Hardy backing up. Lytle turns up the frequency as the round comes to an end. MMAWeekly.com scores round one 10-9 for Lytle

Round 2: Lytle opens swinging away, landing some hard combinations to the head immediately, and then follows with some hooks to the body. Lytle is winging wide hooks again, but Hardy moves in up the middle with some straight punches that stagger Lytle. Hardy moves in with the jab, but takes an accidental finger poke to the eye. They break momentarily, but start back up, firing away. Lytle lands a couple hard hooks, but Hardy backs away, making Lytle miss, and smiling. Hardy lands an uppercut and a knee. He shoots on Lytle, but can’t score the takedown. Lytle comes in winging again, but Hardy lands the knee to the chin. Lytle shakes it off and keeps on coming. They start going toe-toe with their boxing again, Lytle winning more of the exchanges. Lytle lands another arcing right hand and follows with a left kick to the body. They trade blows to the bell again, Lytle winging the heavier punches and snapping Hardy’s head back just before the bell. MMAWeekly.com scores round two 10-9 for Lytle

Round 3: Hardy scores the first significant blow of the round, a hard left hook. But both fighters are firing away again, Lytle scoring with his own left hook to the head, and then banging away to the body again. Lytle comes across at an odd angle, landing another left hook before eating a harsh leg kick. Lytle mixes up a solid combination, rocking Hardy’s head. Lytle is still landing the crazy, wide punches, but is now making Hardy miss more. Just over a minute left and Hardy starts pressing, drops for a takedown, but Lytle locks in a guillotine choke that has Hardy tapping out. Chris “Lights Out” Lytle finishes his tenure in the Octagon with a late round submission finish and rides off into the sunset.

Chris Lytle def. Dan Hardy by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:16, R3