Francis Carmont and CB Dollaway are two middleweights near the top of the division that both entered their UFC Fight Night 41 showdown in Berlin trying to take the next step towards title contention.
Carmont, with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in his corner, was looking to rebound from the first loss of his UFC tenure. Dollaway, the runner-up from The Ultimate Fighter 7, was trying to build some momentum after defeating Cezar Ferreira his last time out.
Carmont looked like he might take control of the fight early, countering a successful barrage of leg kicks from Dollaway by rocking him with a heavy right hand. Dollaway, however, regrouped and a short time later dropped Carmont with a left hook. He followed with a flurry of punches, but Carmont survived the onslaught to regain his footing.
Dollaway was working really hard on his feet to try and close the distance on his much rangier opponent, but as the fight wore on Carmont started to take more control of the stand-up game. His kicks were fluid, and his low kicks in particular landed with tremendous force.
Noting this, Dollaway shifted gears in the latter half of the fight, utilizing more and more of his wrestling skills to negate Carmont’s striking. He was unable to mount much damage on the mat, but he succeeded in taking the French fighter out of his element and controlled him en route to a unanimous decision victory.
CB Dollaway has now won in four of his last five trips to the Octagon. He believes he should be a Top 10-ranked fighter, and has regained some of the momentum he had earlier in his career.