UFC Fight Night 47 results, photos: Frankie Saenz cruises past Nolan Ticman

BANGOR, Maine – Frankie Saenz wanted a highlight-reel finish to make the list of bantamweights to watch, but fellow UFC newcomer Nolan Ticman refused to play the victim.

Saenz threw the kitchen sink at Ticman and nearly finished the fight on two occasions, earning a shutout on judges’ scorecards despite going the full 15 minutes.

The bantamweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 47 at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine. It aired on FOX Sports 2 ahead of a main card on FOX Sports 1.

The final scores were unanimously 30-27 for Saenz, a former wrestler at Arizona State University, who was determined to play the bull to Ticman’s matador, chasing him across the ring with hard kicks and flying knees. Ticman tried to counter with a heavy right hand, but often found himself cornered against the cage, where he took heavy elbows as Saenz hammered away.

Slams from the ASU alum punctuated his dominance as Ticman’s counters increasingly lost steam in deep waters. Although he nearly succumbed to a flurry ground and pound in the second frame and hard elbows in the third, he managed to survive the distance.

Ticman (4-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) goes back to the drawing board in his first MMA fight since Oct. 2012, while Saenz (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) picks up his first UFC win and now has won five straight fights.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 47 results include:

• Frankie Saenz def. Nolan Ticman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

For more on UFC Fight Night 47, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s Matt Erickson and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on-site in Bangor.)