A welterweight bout between Michael Graves (6-0-1 MMA) and Bojan Velickovic (14-3-1 MMA) served as the second fight of tonight’s UFC 201 pay-per-view event in Atlanta.
Round one begins and Graves starts things off with a front kick to the leg of Bojan. Velickovic misses with a high kick but follows up with a kick to the body that lands. Graves eats a leg kick but responds with a nice kick of his own. Another nice inside leg kick from Bojan. Velickovic misses with a front kick and then with a head kick. He finds success with another kick to the leg of Graves. Michael shoots in for a takedown but Bojan is able to stuff the attempt. Velickovic turns Graves against the cage and starts working some short shots from the clinch. Graves is able to break free but eats a jab. Michael misses with an axe kick. Graves lands a nice kick to the body and circles away. Velickovic presses forward and lands a nice leg kick. Graves lands a head kick to end round one.
Round two begins and Velickovic lands a leg kick to start. Graves shoots in and grabs a hold of a leg. Bojan defends but Michael is relentless and drags him to the floor. Graves moves immediately to the back of Velickovic. Graves locks in both hooks and begins working for a rear-naked choke. Bojan tries to stand up but Michael stays locked on his back. Velickovic scrambles and is able to get back to full guard. Bojan tries to get to his feet but Graves won’t let him and is able to take his back. Michael is working on a rear-naked choke attempt. Velickovic is defending well. One minute remains. Short shots from the back by Graves. He tries to sink in a rear-naked choke. Bojan defends and fires back with some shots. Graves lands a couple of short strikes as round two comes to an end.
Round three begins and Velickovic is able to get a hold of Graves. He is looking to take Michael’s back but Graves switches the position and then scores a takedown. Graves tries to take the back of Bojan but is too high and rolls off. Both fighters are back to their feet. Velickovic misses with a high kick. Graves shoots in and grabs a hold of a leg. He presses Bojan against the cage. The fighters battle for position. Not much for significant strikes from either fighter in this round. The horn sounds to end the fight.
Graves and Velickovic battle to a majority draw (30-27, 28-28, 28-28)