Kevin Giuset vs. Bryan Fight, UFC Paris Ceremonial Credit: UFC
UFC welterweights Kevin Giuset and Brian Battle put aside talk of being “boring” fighters and threw it down Saturday at UFC Paris.
Jouse (10-2) earned his second straight win at UFC Paris with wins over Kiefer Crosby and Keenan Song. He mocked Battle by calling him a “boring” fighter and said he would find out Saturday who that boring fighter really was.
Battle (10-2) proved he knows what he’s talking about with a 5-1-1 UFC record entering this fight. He beat AJ Fletcher, Gabe Green, Takashi Sato, and Tresian Gore, and was set up on a date with Duncan in France.
TUF winner Battle started the match holding his center and then closed the distance to tie the score with Giuse and drive his opponent to the mat, but he quickly got back to his feet. A clinch battle developed from there, with Battle often taking control, but Giuse’s takedown defense looked decent. Battle used head position and over/under hooks to maintain control, but Giuset finally broke free with about 2:15 remaining.
They found space again, but the next takedown was just a mat return and both men quickly got back to their feet. The battle started with jabs, but Giuse found more success with right hands and mixed in body shots.
In the second round, Giuse connected with a flash right hand in the opening seconds. Battle, who once fought as a heavyweight, ate it up and fought back. But Giuse, who is training with City Kickboxing in New Zealand, showed improvement in his stand-up game, connecting with uppercuts and short combos. Battle responded by taking the fight to the fence, using shorts to the body and landing a flying knee, but it didn’t connect. After a while they returned to the center and Battle stood toe-to-toe and launched into a mighty swinging jousse! Giuset returned to the fence, but his body language was not good, as Battle turned and covered the moment he unloaded a flood of rights and lefts. Brian Battle had too much volume, so referee Herb Dean came in to shake things up!
The win marks TUF 29 champion Battle’s sixth appearance in the UFC, with only one loss and no contest in his previous fight.
Official result: Brian Battle def. Kevin Giuse, round 2, 3:47 TKO
