UFC 206 results: Emil Meek cruises in UFC debut, takes decision from Jordan Mein

TORONTO – UFC newcomer Emil Meek was all too happy to take over the octagon when veteran Jordan Mein lost his drive.

After a crazy slugfest in the first round, Mein (29-11 MMA, 3-3 UFC) seemed to lose his motivation to fight and allowed Meek (9-2-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) to take the reigns, securing a unanimous decision.

The welterweight bout opened up the main card of today’s UFC 206 event at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

The final scorecards were unanimously 29-28 for Meek, a clear-cut tally for such an abrupt turnaround. Mein went toe-to-toe with the Norwegian in the first round, trading big punches and ducking under them to get takedowns. Mein hinted at a north-south choke and then got to Meek’s back after another takedown. In the latter scramble, Meek winced in pain. Yet he was able to survive and charge back and land a big right hand, apparently hurting the vet.

It was there that the fight shifted dramatically. Despite his injury, Meek came out guns blazing in the second and got a takedown. He spent the rest of the frame on top, nearly cinching an arm-triangle and doing damage with ground and pound between attempts. Mein did little other than to defend himself, only once trying to reverse.

An attempt by Mein to duck under punches in the third was thwarted, and he spent the rest of the fight trying to avoid damage as Meek worked ground and pound.

The listless performance raises questions about Mein’s desire to compete after taking almost two years off following a TKO loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 183, a bout he was winning until a sudden turnaround.

Meek, whose debut was marred by a compliance issue with UFC anti-doping partner USADA, makes it four in a row with a win in his promotional debut.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 206 results include:

• Emil Meek def. Jordan Mein via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Misha Cirkunov def. Nikita Krylov via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:38
• Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Drew Dober via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:57
• Viviane Pereira def. Valerie Letourneau via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Matthew Lopez def. Mitch Gagnon via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
• Lando Vannata def. John Makdessi via knockout (head kick) – Round 1, 1:40
• Rustam Khabilov def. Jason Saggo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Dustin Ortiz def. Zach Makovsky via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC 206, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s Dann Stupp and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on site in Toronto.)