Dan Hardy won the opening bout of the night on the UFC’s first televised card to take place in Germany on Saturday.

Hardy beat Marcus Davis via split decision (29-28 28-29 29-28) and afterwards praised his opponent, saying he didn’t want to win via decision but that Davis made it hard for him.

The win came after English MMA fighters had enjoyed a successful night in Germany ahead of the televised part of the card as all four fighters from England won in Cologne.

John Hathaway and Paul Kelly both won via decision against Rick Story and Rolando Delgado respectively, whilst Paul Taylor impressed against Peter Sobotta.

Terry Etim also gave a good account of himself as he beat Justin Buchholz.

The fight had gone back and forth, with Davis showing little interest in staying on his feet against the British kickboxer.

He had worked a solid ground game in the opening round, but Hardy defended well and scored with an elbow that cut Davis open.

The second round saw Hardy drop Davis with a huge knee to the head, but the ‘Irish Hand Grenade’ kept his guard.

Round three saw both fighters get takedowns before the fight was paused after Hardy scored with a brutal elbow shot that cut Davis and forced the doctor to inspect. The fight continued and as it went to the judges, Hardy picked up the decision victory.

Phil Lowe
phil@ifight365.com