UFC Fight Night 82 blog: Locals Roy Nelson, Mike Pyle turn back clock

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016 | 7 p.m.

Updated Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016 | 10:25 p.m.

Note: Full results from the preliminary card available at the bottom of the page.

Few fighters have trained out of Las Vegas for as long as Roy Nelson and Mike Pyle.

The two local UFC ironmen showed they’re in no hurry to stop anytime soon Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Both the 40-year-old Pyle and the 39-year-old Nelson snapped recent skids with victories of UFC Fight Night 82.

Nelson won a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) over Jared Rosholt in the heavyweight co-main event after Pyle opened the main card by finishing Sean Spencer via TKO at 4:25 of their welterweight bout.

“I’m fighting tough guys at this age in the UFC,” Pyle said. “I’m just thankful I’m able to be doing what I love.”

Pyle came in riding the first two-fight skid of his career and vowed not to make it three in a row. Spencer knocked him down in the first round, but Pyle relied on his striking to come back and win the final 10 minutes, his finishing sequence of strikes being set into motion by a spinning elbow.

Nelson also hadn’t won a fight since early 2014, enduring a three-fight losing streak that made the matchup with Rosholt crucial. He responded by pushing the action, which was enough to get the decision in a bout in which Rosholt was tentative for the entirety.

“I changed his whole game, and he ran the whole time so there’s nothing I can do about it,” Nelson said. “I’m like a fine wine: I just get better and better.”

The crowd was restless with Nelson’s slow-paced victory coming directly after a lethargic light heavyweight affair between Ovince St. Preux and Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante. St. Preux twisted his ankle early on, but Cavalcante remained as reluctant as Rosholt to attack.

St. Preux won a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) that received even more boos than Nelson’s fight.

Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson ended all the complaints all in the main event. The kickboxing and karate technician pulled off a major upset in knocking out former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks at 3:31 of the first round.

Thompson dissected Hendricks with his kicks before landing a left hand to end the fight. It was Thompson’s sixth straight victory and might put him in a bout against welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.

“I didn’t look for the knockout,” Thompson said. “I just let it happen. Hopefully I’ll get that title shot, baby. That’s what I want.”

Flyweight Joseph Benavidez and light heavyweight Misha Cirkunov took their own step forward on the main card. Benavidez teed off on Zach Makovsky in the third round to win a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) right after Cirkunov finished opponent Alex Nicholson with a rear-naked choke at 1:28 of the second round.

The 28-year-old Cirkunov is one of the top prospects in the 205-pound division, a new face that might compete in the UFC for years to come. He can only hope to have a career that lasts as long as those belonging to Nelson and Pyle.

“I want to keep performing like that,” Pyle said. “I’m 40, so I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to hang with these 20-year-olds.”

Check below for live coverage of the main card as well as results from the preliminaries.

Canceled cards are an undesirable last resort for the UFC.

The locally based mixed martial arts promotion prides itself on resilience, and it’s that pride that delivers tonight’s proceedings at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. This year’s Super Bowl weekend card doesn’t carry the same stature as the ones that have annually come before it.

But it’s happening, and that’s what the UFC wanted more than anything — going on with the show.

The event felt in doubt all together two weeks ago when both heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and challenger Cain Velasquez consecutively pulled out of the scheduled main event with injuries. The UFC tried to salvage some matchup to keep tonight’s card on pay-per-view, but was ultimately unsuccessful.

That’s why UFC 196 became UFC Fight Night 82, shifting from pay-per-view to cable television on Fox Sports 1. And while the main card, which begins airing at the top of the hour, no longer contains any championship stakes, it’s chock full of mid-tier matchups that could help deliver veterans closer to titles.

Only slightly more than a year has passed since the main event’s red-corner fighter, Johny Hendricks, held the welterweight championship bout. He’s single-minded in his goal in getting another shot at champion Robbie Lawler to complete a trilogy that has seen each of them win once against each other.

Hendricks will have to get through karate wiz Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC Fight Night 82. Thompson rides a five-fight win streak with three coming by knockout, including a heel-kick knockout over Jake Ellenberger in this same building last July.

Local heavyweight mainstay Roy Nelson competes in the co-main event, taking on former Oklahoma State wrestling great Jared Rosholt. The second-biggest weight class, light heavyweight, will also warm the cage as Ovince St. Preux and Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante battle.

Perhaps the most decorated fighter aside from Hendricks is flyweight Joseph Benavidez, who’s only career losses have come to current champions Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson. Benavidez seeks a fifth straight win when he fights Zach Makovsky, who might be one of the bigger names to have never faced Johnson for the 125-pound title.

Local Mike Pyle takes on fellow veteran Sean Spencer to open the main card before light heavyweight prospects Misha Cirkunov and Alex Nicholson tangle.

Stay tuned to lasvegassun.com for live round-by-round coverage of the main card, and look below for full results from the preliminary card.

Josh Burkman defeated K.J. Noons by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in a lightweight bout. The fight between two veterans may have been to maintain a roster spot, as the win was Burkman's first in the UFC since October 2007 and leaves Noons without an octagon victory since April 2014.

Heavyweight Derrick Lewis said his aim was to knock his opponent's head off in five seconds. He only took a little bit longer. Lewis destroyed Damian Grabowski with ground and pound, picking up a TKO victory at 2:17 of the first round.

Justin Scoggins vowed he would win the flyweight title before the end of the year after dismantling Ray Borg. Scoggins mixed his striking throughout the 15-minute affair to beat the favored Scoggins via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26).

Diego Rivas put himself in strong consideration for a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. After getting smothered and arguably losing the first round 10-8, Rivas came back to knock out Noad Lahat via flying knee 23 seconds into the second round of their featherweight bout.

Mickey Gall will get exactly what he wanted — a bout against CM Punk. Gall submitted Mike Jackson via rear-naked choke 45 seconds into the first round of their welterweight bout to earn the fight to welcome the former WWE star to the octagon later this year.

Alex White opened the card by winning every second of his featherweight bout. The judges noticed, giving White a unanimous-decision victory (30-27. 30-27. 30-27) over Artem Lobov.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.