UFC Fight Night 103 results: Joe Lauzon takes split from Marcin Held, admits he '100 percent' should've lost

PHOENIX – Takedowns were the name of the game for former Bellator submission standout Marcin Held against fellow grappling wiz Joe Lauzon. And somehow it didn’t pay off.

Held (22-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) landed five takedowns in the fight, which was contested mostly on the ground and in the clinch, and survived an early blitz from Lauzon (27-12 MMA, 14-9 UFC). But when the scores were read, it was Lauzon who took a split decision with a pair of 29-28 scores. Held won a 30-27 fight from a dissenting third judge.

After the fight, Lauzon shook his head and told play-by-play voice Jon Anik in the cage that the fight “100 percent” should have gone to Held, though he also admitted his split-decision loss to Jim Miller his previous time out should’ve gone his way, so maybe the MMA gods balanced one out for him.

The lightweight bout was the co-main event of today’s UFC Fight Night 103 event at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. It aired on FS1 following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Held initiated a clinch with Lauzon, but the longtime UFC fighter made him pay for it. Lauzon bombed away with elbows and put Held in trouble. When Held finally got out of danger and briefly tried for a foot, Lauzon landed a right hand off the break. But then he was able to slow the pace. He got underhooks and controlled Lauzon against the fence.

Midway through the round, Held used that position to take Lauzon to the canvas and put him on his back in guard. Lauzon worked to get back up and finally did with 80 seconds left in the frame. Held landed a solid knee with a minute left, but then had to go back to the center when Lauzon broke away. Lauzon landed a solid right hand just before the horn in a competitive back-and-forth first round.

Thirty seconds into the second, Held timed a perfect takedown, then worked to take Lauzon’s back in a seated position. Lauzon worked to defend a body triangle, then got out and went after a double-leg takedown. He got it, then moved back to the feet, where Held missed an elbow that allowed the two to clinch up again.

With 75 seconds left, Lauzon worked for an armbar, then a triangle, and briefly had Held in trouble. But the Polish fighter survived it and got back to top position to ride out the round.

The fighters traded punches early in the third, but two minutes in, Held scooped Lauzon up for a takedown. But Held only stayed there 15 seconds before letting Lauzon back up. Lauzon tried to take advantage and dragged Held down with two minutes left. But back on the feet, Held turned things around again and put Lauzon’s back on the cage. They went back to the middle with 75 seconds left, but with a minute left, Held shot for a perfect double-leg takedown that appeared to seal the deal.

But when the scores were read off, that deal was not to be found for Held.

Lauzon got back in the win column after his split-decision “Fight of the Night” loss to Miller this past August. He has alternated wins and losses for his past seven fights. Held now has lost both his UFC fights since moving over from a 14-fight stretch in Bellator. He has consecutive losses for the first time in his career.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 103 results include:

• Joe Lauzon def. Marcin Held via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ben Saunders def. Court McGee via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Sergio Pettis def. John Moraga via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Drakkar Klose def. Devin Powell via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Augusto Mendes def. Frankie Saenz via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Aleksei Oleinik def. Viktor Pesta via submission (Ezekiel choke) – Round 1, 2:57
• Tony Martin def. Alex White via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Nina Ansaroff def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:39
• Walt Harris def. Chase Sherman via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:41
• Joachim Christensen def. Bojan Mihajlovic via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:05
• Cyril Asker def. Dmitrii Smoliakov via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:41

For complete coverage UFC Fight Night 103, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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