UFC 208 results: Wilson Reis outgrapples Ulka Sasaki for unanimous decision

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Ulna Sasaki had the right idea against Wilson Reis: Crouch low and fight long.

Reis (22-6 MMA, 6-2 UFC) had trouble early getting past Sasaki (19-4-2 MMA, 2-3 UFC) early on. But when he did, he ran a grappling clinic to secure a unanimous decision.

The flyweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 208 event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn N.Y. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.

The final scores were unanimously 29-28 for Reis, who was supposed to get a title shot against Demetrious Johnson before an injury forced the champ to withdraw. Reis saw his opportunity go to the winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 24” and took the fight with Sasaki to stay fresh.

The unranked Japanese fighter certainly made things interesting early on, peppering Reis with straight punches. Meanwhile, he clowned Reis with an outstretched tongue and shrugged off early takedowns. None of his punches slowed down Reis, but it was a rough start.

Reis needed to make an adjustment, and that’s exactly what he did in the second frame, nabbing multiple takedowns and threatening chokes from back control.

Sasaki tried to delay a trip to the mat by hunting for an uppercut in the final round. Reis replied with a heavy overhand right and nixed that possibility. It looked like the Brazilian would close out on top, but a last-minute scramble had him in trouble as Sasaki got his back and threatened a choke. It wasn’t a great look to end the fight, and yet it wasn’t enough to even the scores.

Reis now has won three straight and stays in the hunt for a shot at gold, while Sasaki drops to 1-3 in his past four outings.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 208 results include:

For complete coverage UFC 208, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Brooklyn.)