UFC 169 results, photos: Ali Bagautinov beats John Lineker with strong third

NEWARK, N.J. – Ali Bagautinov showed he can dish it as well as he can take it by enduring a tough second round and putting his ground game to good use to win a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over John Lineker.

The flyweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC 169 event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Bagautinov set the tone for the bout early on, immediately taking Lineker down and working his ground-and-pound from the top. In the second, however, Linker came back by attacking the Russian’s body with digging hooks, leaving Bagautinov bent over at the waist and in no small amount of distress at the close of the round.

But Bagautinov showed his mettle in the third, planting Lineker on the mat several times and maintaining top position to win the decisive round, all while Lineker winced in pain every time Bagautinov put him down. In the waning moments Lineker tried for one last hail mary leg lock, but Bagautinov spent that time flexing and flashing the thumbs down instead of defending, as if to rub a little salt in the wound.

“I’m extremely happy with this victory,” Bagautinov said. “I was sticking to the plan during the fight, thinking of knocking him out. I could not finish him. He put me in trouble, but I got a great victory. My goal is fight for the belt really soon.”

“I’m really sad,” Lineker said. “I thought I could submit him, but he had good moves for getting free on my attempts. Just God knows what is in my future. At the moment, I keep wishing for my title shot.”

Bagautinov (13-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) maintains his unbeaten streak in the UFC with the win. Lineker (23-7 MMA, 4-2 UFC) snaps a four-fight winning streak, suffering his first defeat since his UFC debut in May of 2012.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 169 results include:

• Ali Bagautinov def. John Lineker via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Abel Trujillo def. Jamie Varner via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:32
• Alan Patrick def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Chris Cariaso def. Danny Martinez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Nick Catone def. Tom Watson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
• Al Iaquinta def. Kevin Lee via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-27)
• Clint Hester def. Andy Enz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Rashid Magomedov def. Tony Martin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Neil Magny def. Gasan Umalatov via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

For complete coverage of UFC 169, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

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