Tatsuya Kawajiri grinds out Dennis Siver to win unanimous decision
Tatsuya Kawajiri showed tremendous wrestling and ground control to grit out a win over Dennis Siver in the UFC Fight Night co-main event from Germany.
Stepping into enemy territory as he faced Siver in his home country, Kawajiri never looked phased even when his German opponent stuffed his wrestling early in the fight.
Siver showed great wrestling defense throughout the first round as he stuffed Kawajiri's multiple single leg takedown attempts, displaying good balance and patience to shrug off the Japanese fighter's advances.
Siver countered with clubbing left and right hands that he swung hard and heavy at Kawajiri's head while tossing in his signature spinning back kick to the body.
Kawajiri's tenaciousness finally paid off in the second round as he put Siver down on the mat and looked to trap him against the Octagon while working to advance his position.
Kawajiri continued to press forward in the final round as he put Siver on his back while the German started to look for a guillotine choke. When Siver failed to get the submission, Kawajiri was left on top in a very advantageous position to rack up points on the judges' scorecards.
Kawajiri closed out the fight with a series of short elbows to the head and body, which likely sealed the round and the fight for him after 15 minutes.
The judges all saw the fight the same with 29-28 scores returned in favor of Kawajiri.
The veteran Japanese fighter now moves to 2-1 in the UFC while the loss drops Siver to 1-3 with one no contest in his last five fights during a particularly rough run in his career.
