UFC Fight Night 26 results and photos: Manny Gamburyan survives Cole Miller

BOSTON – It was a grueling and, at times, bizarre fight, but Manny Gamburyan emerged with a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) over Cole Miller, thanks in large part to a steady diet of takedowns and top control.

The featherweight bout took place today at UFC Fight Night 26 at Boston’s TD Garden. It streamed on Facebook ahead of additional prelims and a main card on FOX Sports 1.

It seemed like a controversial ending might be in store at the close of the first round, when Miller landed two elbows behind Gamburyan’s ear just before the horn sounded. Gamburyan then sank to the mat holding the back of his head, and spent almost the entire minute between rounds being tended to by officials before ultimately being permitted to continue.

“I’m feeling great after getting the ‘W,’” Gamburyan said. “You always feel good after winning a fight. It’s when you go home that you start to feel it. It was very hard being out for the last year due to injury, and now that I’m healthy again, I’m ready to go. As far as the shot to the back of the head goes, it was bad. I was hurting and they probably could have stopped it. With Ronda (Rousey) in your corner yelling at you to keep going, there’s no way I was going to quit.”  

Miller took issue with the decision.

“I thought the decision was way off,” Miller said. “I’m here in Boston trying to box, kick, knee, elbow and play my game, and I thought I would get some love from the judges here in Massachusetts. This is a fight town rich with boxing history. Respect to Manny. He fought his game and got the win. I’ll have to look at the tape, but look at my face and look at his face then tell me who won that fight.”

No points were deducted, however, and the fight went on. Though cut and obviously damaged by several of Miller’s strikes, Gamburyan continued to commit himself to the takedown, stymying Miller’s offense with his own suffocating top game. In the end, that proved to be enough for the judges.

Gamburyan (13-7 MMA, 4-5 UFC) has now won two in a row in the UFC. Miller (19-8 MMA, 8-6 UFC) has lost three of his past four.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 26 results include:

• Manny Gamburyan def. Cole Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ovince St. Preux def. Cody Donovan via KO (punches) – Round 1, 2:07
• James Vick def. Ramsey Nijem via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:58

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 26, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on-site in Boston.