UFC Fight Night 78 results: Erick Montano ekes out split from Enrique Marin for 'TUF' title

Erick Montano

MONTERREY, Mexico – It’s not going to go down as one of the best “Ultimate Fighter” finale fights of all time, but it was good enough to make Erick Montano a “TUF” winner by the slimmest of margins as he eked past Enrique Marin.

With an emphasis on frustrating counter kicks and volume striking, Montano (7-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) edged out a split-decision win over Marin (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with scores of 28-29, 29-28, and 29-28.

The “TUF: Latin America 2” welterweight final bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC Fight Night 78 event at Monterrey Arena in Monterrey, Mexico. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

After a brief grappling exchange in the first round, the fight settled into a pattern wherein Marin would pursue Montano all around the cage, only to be stymied by an array of kicks to the thigh, knee, body, and head, disrupting his attack and keeping him just out of range.

Montano’s style didn’t make for a crowd-pleasing effort. He chipped away at Marin, bit by bit, frustrating him instead of hurting him. And while Marin continued to hunt Montano down, he couldn’t seem to launch much in the way of effective offense, despite having Montano’s back stuck to the fence for the better part of the final 10 minutes.

The contrast of styles and the lack of significant action made things tough on the judges. With two of the three siding with Montana, he becomes the “TUF: Latin America 2” welterweight winner, but it’s safe to say that he didn’t make a ton of new fans in the process.

The victory brings Montano’s winning streak as a professional to three straight fights. Marin loses for the first time in more than four years.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 78 results include:

• Erick Montano def. Enrique Marin via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Enrique Barzola def. Horacio Gutierrez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Leandro Silva def. Efrain Escudero via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Erik Perez def. Taylor Lapilus via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Bartosz Fabinski def. Hector Urbina via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Alejandro Perez def. Scott Jorgensen via TKO (injury) – Round 2, 4:26
• Andre Fili def. Gabriel Benitez via knockout (strikes) – Round 1, 3:13
• Alvaro Herrera def. Vernon Ramos via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:30
• Polo Reyes def. Cesar Arzamendia via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:42
• Michel Prazeres def. Valmir Lazaro via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 78, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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