UFC Fight Night 26 results and photos: Michael McDonald taps out Brad Pickett

BOSTON – Judging by the way Michael McDonald blitzed Brad Pickett with strikes in the first round, you might have been forgiven for assuming that this one was going to end with a knockout, and quickly.

But somehow, Pickett survived into the second frame and even nabbed a takedown, only to be submitted with a late triangle choke just when he was threatening to make a comeback.

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

McDonald got his offense going early, much to Pickett’s dismay. A series of powerful flurries and counters left Pickett bloodied and battered and barely clinging to consciousness after being dropped several times in the first round.

Still, Pickett kept coming forward in the second, and even secured a takedown that allowed him to work from McDonald’s guard for much of the round. McDonald stayed patient, however, locking up a triangle choke late in the round that Pickett couldn’t escape.

“I’ve never hit anybody that many times and that hard without them falling and staying down,” McDonald said. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why are you getting up and how are you not unconscious?’ It was very frustrating for me. He’s so tough. I still have some things to work on, but I have a long career ahead of me and I’m looking forward to it.”

 
“It was a tough fight,” Pickett said. “I didn’t underestimate him, but he definitely surprised me out there. I always seem to start slow, and that annoys me. Sometimes it takes getting dropped a couple times to wake me up, and I definitely need to work on that.”

McDonald (16-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) bounces back from his loss to UFC interim bantamweight champ Renan Barao with the win. Pickett (23-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has now lost two of his past three.

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

• Michael McDonald def. Brad Pickett via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:43
• Conor McGregor def. Max Holloway via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Steven Siler def. Mike Brown via KO (punches) – Round 1, 0:50
• Diego Brandao def. Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• 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.