UFC 170 Results: Zach Makovsky Downs Josh Sampo by Unanimous Decision

UFC 170 Results: Zach Makovsky Downs Josh Sampo by Unanimous Decision
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Zak Makovsky staked his claim as a force to be reckoned with in the UFC flyweight division at UFC 170 downing fellow contender Josh Sampo in dominating fashion.

The former Bellator bantamweigh showed fantastic, well timed take downs to simply out classed his Mike Rogers' gym opponent on route to a clear cut unanimous decision victory. 

Sampo opened the bout with a switch leg kick which landed nicely on Makovsky before Makovsky shot in for a takedown which saw Makovsky pick Sampo up and slam his opponent down down to put Sampo on his back. Sampo showed some great offense from his back showing an active submission game before letting off some close call up-kicks, which narrowly missed and allowed Sampo to get to his feet. Sampo landed some pretty descent shots in the clinch once the bout returned to a standing position with Makovsky returing with a knee to the body to finish out the round. Makovsky takes this round 10-9.

Round 2 started with a big headkick from Makovsky which was partially blocked, before getting a takedown which Sampo was able to quickly bounced back up from. After trading a few jabs, Makovsky was able to land a couple more takedowns which although Sampo was able to get up from, they will have scored points on the judges score card. Sampo attempted a Kimura at the end of the 2nd but ran out of time. Makovsky takes round 2, to go 20-18 up.

Going into round 3 Sampo was easily 2 rounds down on the judges score, and needed a finish. Sampo came out aggressive throwing kicks and punches but could get much to land on the elusive Makovsky. 1 minute into the round the fighter meet throwing punches and Sampo was able to push Makovsky to the ground to land up on top near the cage.  Sampo tried to work Makovsky but couldn't manage to get anything going with Makovsky getting to his feet to land a take down of his own. The fight finshed how it started with Makovsky in top posistion with Sampo trying to get off offense from the bottom. An argument could be made for Sampo winning this round, but it wouldn't matter in the end.

After 15 minutes, the judges score the bout 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 in favor of Makovsky who improves to 18-4 and won't be far off a top 5 place in the flyweight division following this dominating victory over Josh Sampo. Sampo's record moves to 11-3. 

Josh Sampo before UFC 170 "Zach Can Expect Fifteen Minutes of Hell"

Kingdom MMA talk to Josh Sampo before his fight at UFC 170

by Chris Marzella @ChrisMarzella

The UFC flyweight division has seen a drastic improvement over the last six months or so, with fresh blood adding depth to the division and giving Sean Shelby more options with who he matches up with champ Demetrious Johnson.

At UFC 170 on Saturday night two more flyweights will battle it out to climb into the championship discussion as Zach "Fun Size" Makovsky meets Josh "The Gremlin" Sampo in Las Vegas.

Makovsky was impressive in his UFC debut, defeating veteran Scott Jorgensen in a unanimous decision back at UFC on Fox 9 in December.

Sampo was equally as impressive in his own UFC debut as he took a hard fought submission win over Ryan Benoit back at TUF 18 Finale in November.

Speaking to KingdomMMA.co.uk Sampo played down the significance of fighting on the major platform that is Fox Sports 1, saying:

"This fight is just the next fight in my fight career."

"If I was the first fight or the main event, I'm still going to fight exactly the same and leave it all in the cage so personally it's not that big of a deal other than friends and family getting to watch from home."

Sampo's UFC debut was as a late replacement despite turning in a FOTN performance and he expects no less heading into battle with Makovsky on Saturday night. He said:

"I feel my style has all that and more to be fight of the night, but your opponent has to bring an equally good fight to you to make the fight eligible to receive such honors."

"I feel this fight has all the ingredients to be that. We'll all have to see what happens, but I think that it has a strong chance."

Sampo had trouble making the flyweight limit for his fight with Benoit and found himself ineligible for the FOTN bonus. However, he has played down the significance of loosing such a large amount of money in his mind. He said:

"The Lord works in mysterious ways, and from what I've seen my opponent (Benoit) needed that money much more than I did. He's a very deserving guy and I'm glad the money went to a good place in taking care of his family and child."

"When it comes down to it, I would have paid that amount for that experience again and again."

Sampo fights out of St.Charles MMA and has worked meticulously with his team to formulate a plan to negotiate his way past Makovsky. He said:

"My coaches do an amazing job of breaking down his game and coming up with a good game plan to negate anything he might throw at us. I feel we match up well in all areas of skill. It's going to be a battle of nutrition and will."

 "I never give predictions. All I can guarantee is on February 22nd I'm going to bring everything I've got and leave it all in the cage. A hundred miles an hour from bell to bell. Zach can expect fifteen minutes of hell from me."

Despite being an ever expanding division, a couple of wins strung together and anyone can be in contention for a crack at Demetrious Johnson. A win here could propel either man into the upper echelons of the rankings. Sampo said:

"Ultimately that's not up to me, all I can do is show up and fight my butt off. When the dust settles I'll let you know where I stand."

"I feel Zach is an awesome competitor and this is going to be a great test telling me where I am in the flyweight division."

Sampo has already ruffled some feathers in his short UFC stint, weirdly calling out "Uncle Creepy" Ian McCall with a bizarre "moustache battle" challenge. Sampo said of the call out:

"I have no ill feelings toward Ian."

"He's been one of the top flyweights since I began my career. I wanted to fight him then and want to even more now. I want to fight the best. I figured bringing his stache into the mix would get some attention on the fight and could push it into actually happening.  Hopefully this is a fight that will come to fruition in the near future."

  UFC 170 takes place Saturday February 22 from the Mandalay Bay Events Centre, Las Vegas, NV.

Josh Sampo vs Zack Mackovsky Slated for UFC 170

Josh Sampo vs Zack Mackovsky Slated for UFC 170
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Rising flyweight prospects Josh Sampo and Zack Mackovsky have verbally agreed to face each other at UFC 170 according to Foxsports.com

UFC 170 takes place Feb. 22 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. It is not known yet if the as yet unconfirmed bout will feature on the main card or the preliminary card.

A pro since 2009, Sampo (11-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his UFC debut at Novembers TUF 18 finale defeating Ryan Benoit by Rear Naked Choke while putting on a fight of the night winning performance. However as Sampo missing weight before the bout, he forfeited his £50,000 bonus cheque to Benoit.

A Legacy FC and CFA veteran, Sampo is 8-1 in his last 9 fights, with 6 submission victories in his pro career.

Former Bellator and RFA champion Mackovsky (17-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his UFC debut last month against Scott Jorgensen at UFC on FOX 9 as a last minute replacement for injured John Dodson. The NCAA division 1 wrestler made the most of his debut defeating long standing top
10 Jorgensen by impressive unanimous decision to take his win streak to 3 since being released from Bellator following a title loss to Eduardo Dantas and a narrow split-decision defeat to Anthony Leone.

With the addition of Makovsky vs. Sampo, UFC 170 now includes:

Champ Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann – for Women’s Bantamweight Title
Daniel Cormier vs. Rashad Evans
Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rustam Khabilov
Alexis Davis vs. Jessica Eye
Mike Pyle vs. T.J. Waldburger
Zach Makovsky vs. Josh Sampo
Erik Koch vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Bryan Caraway vs. Lucas Martins
Raphael Assuncao vs. Francisco Rivera
Stephen Thompson vs. Robert Whittaker