UFC Fight Night 124 results: James Krause gets past gritty Alex White

James Krause was swollen and bloodied after three rounds with Alex White. But thanks to his grappling, he came away with a win.

Krause (25-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) avoided the worst of White’s (12-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) heavy hands by repeatedly taking their fight to the mat, earning a unanimous decision.

The lightweight bout closed out the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 124 event at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the main card on FS1.

The final scorecards were unanimously 29-28 in favor of Krause, who picked up his fourth straight win. The audience didn’t award the Missouri resident a hearty welcome when the decision was read. White, after all, had landed the most damaging blows.

Krause, who returned to the lightweight division after a try at welterweight, said White’s best path to victory was a slugfest. White had the same idea and chased Krause backward with flurries of punches. Relying on his head movement, Krause managed to dodge many of the shots that came his way. Many others slammed into his jaw.

From there, the path was clear. Krause pressured to the cage and tripped White to the mat. He had predicted he would have an advantage there, and it turned out he did. Although White was able to avoid submissions, he took punishment from the bottom. He also made Krause’s life miserable with shots from the bottom.

The fight followed a similar pattern in the second and third rounds, with White backing up Krause with a charge of punches and Krause trying to nab takedowns. At the close of the second, Krause nearly cinched a guillotine choke before running out of time.

The final frame saw White land his best blows of the night, forcing Krause to shoot in desperation. White managed to stay upright, though he was forced to fend off a slick leaping armbar attempt. After a scramble, Krause reasserted himself in top position, but ran out of time before he could try another finish.

White goes back to the drawing board after a second-round finish of Mitch Clarke this past September.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 124 results include:

• James Krause def. Alex White via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Marco Polo Reyes def. Matt Frevola via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:00
• Irene Aldana def. Talita Bernardo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Kyung Ho Kang def. Guido Cannetti via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:53
• Jessica Eye def. Kalindra Faria via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• J.J. Aldrich def. Danielle Taylor via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mads Burnell def. Mike Santiago via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 124, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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