• UFC Live 5

Lytle secures $130,000 choke against Dan Hardy

ESPN staff
August 15, 2011

Chris Lytle and Dan Hardy stood toe-to-toe in a 14-minute war at UFC Live 5, but the fight eventually ended on the mat as "Lights Out" lived up to his moniker with a submission victory for the perfect end to his storied career.

As the judges ruffled their scorecards nervously in anticipation of a potentially controversial decision after a fight where both men stood in the pocket and absorbed countless blows to the head and body, Lytle suddenly came to the rescue with a counter-attacking guillotine that earned him £130,000 in bonuses, half for Fight of the Night and half for Submission of the Night.

Nearly every pre-fight prediction had suggested that Hardy would lose if the bout was decided on the mat, but this was not the way experts had pictured it.

Indeed defeat came when the Brit was enjoying his best moments of the fight. Arguably for the first time Lytle was taking a backward step, and Hardy seemed to be hunting him down. But then the Outlaw opted for a surprise takedown, landing him straight in Lytle's guillotine.

There were only 43 seconds left when the tap came, but Hardy was almost unconscious as Lytle managed to achieve what Georges St-Pierre failed to do in 25 minutes of trying - he submitted Dan Hardy.

The Brit has now lost four on the bounce and was expected by many to be cut, but UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta quickly confirmed on his Twitter account that Hardy would remain with the promotion.

Elsewhere in Milwaukee, Jim Miller was dominated by Ben Henderson as his lightweight title hopes went up in smoke after a 30-27 29-28 30-26 unanimous decision. So often the bully, Miller was clearly at a strength disadvantage as Henderson repelled clinch and takedown attempts.

Miller had his moments, offering several submission attempts, but Henderson's ground game is slick. The former WEC champion evaded trouble consistently and split Miller open with ground-and-pound when in a dominant position of his own, in what was arguably the best performance of his career.

Henderson is joined in the title picture by the ever-improving Donald Cerrone, who swarmed Charles Oliveira for a first-round TKO victory. Cerrone has twice lost to Henderson in the past, but this is a new model of the Cowboy, and he turned on the style against star-of-the-future Oliveira.

A straight right hand sparked the end as Cerrone rocked Oliveira's head off its axis, before drilling a knee to the body. From there he pounded out the victory in just three minutes and one second of the first round, extending his win streak to five.

UFC Live 5 results:
Chris Lytle bt Dan Hardy via submission (guillotine) - Round 3, 4:17
Ben Henderson bt Jim Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-26)
Donald Cerrone bt Charles Oliveira via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 3:01
Duane Ludwig bt Amir Sadollah via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jared Hamman bt CB Dollaway via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 3:38
Joseph Benavidez bt Eddie Wineland via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ed Herman bt Kyle Noke via submission (inverted heel hook) - Round 1, 4:15
Ronny Markes bt Karlos Vemola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jim Hettes bt Alex Caceres via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 3:12
Cole Miller bt TJ O'Brien via submission (guillotine) - Round 2, 2:38
Jacob Volkmann bt Danny Castillo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Edwin Figueroa bt Jason Reinhardt via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 0:50

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close