Canadians Yohan Lainesse, Tristan Connelly lose on UFC Fight Night card
American (Gifted) Gabe Green survived an early onslaught to stop Yohan (White Lion) Lainesse in the second round Saturday on a UFC Fight Night undercard, handling the Montreal welterweight his first loss in his UFC debut.
Lainesse earned his UFC contract in November on Dana White's Contender Series by stopping previously unbeaten English fighter Justin Burlinson with a crushing left hook to the chin.
But Green (11-3-0) absorbed some big shots from Lainesse (8-1-0) before cutting him down with a string of body shots.
All three judges scored the first round for Lainesse.
Green, coming off a win over Philip (The Fresh Prince) Rowe in February at UFC 258, improved to 2-1-0 in the UFC. He has won eight of his last nine bouts.
Saturday's main event pitted American Rob Font, ranked fifth among bantamweight contenders, against No. 8 Marlon (Chita) Vera of Ecuador.
Veteran American featherweight Darren (The Damage) Elkins won a unanimous 30-27 decision over Canadian Tristan (Boondock) Connelly on the main card.
At six foot one, Lainesse had a three-inch advantage in height and reach. But the 29-year-old Quebecer was a slight underdog going into the bout.
Lainesse came out looking to land kicks but landed a big right two minutes into the bout. And he took Green down with two minutes left in the round. As Green got back up, Lainesse looked for a choke but gave it up quickly.
Green finished the round strongly with Lainesse breathing hard.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFCVegas53?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UFCVegas53</a> Official Scorecard: Gabe Green (<a href="https://twitter.com/giftedgabegreen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GiftedGabeGreen</a>) vs Yohan Lainesse<br><br>All Tonight's Scorecards: <a
