It was a scramble for LI's Chris Wade
(Hidalgo, TX., September 19, 2016) – Long Island’s Chris Wade entered the Octagon on Saturday night in what was his biggest fight to date. However, at UFC Fight Night 94, in what was an exciting three-round fight, Islam Makhachev took the fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Wade (11-3, 4-2 UFC) was looking to avenge his last fight when he lost on May 8 on UFC Fight Night 87 to Rustam Khabilov via unanimous decision, which snapped his four-fight winning streak to start his UFC career.
On Saturday, in a battle of exciting fighters, Makhachev proved to have the edge as both fighters fought off submission attempts and scrambled for top ground position throughout the 15 minutes of battle.
Early in round one, Wade was put on his back by Makhachev, who gave up the top control to go for a submission, while Wade switched to the top. Wade looked to land more strikes as he was on top, but the sub attempt by Makhachev made it a very difficult round to score.
In round two, Wade went for his own submission attempt as each fighter scrambled and tossed the standing game out the window. Wade worked hard for his own choke, but like in round one, the submission attempt was unsuccessful.
Round three saw Wade get drilled by a left hand and he seemed to look a little hesitant, as he was concerned about Makhachev’s next move. Both fighters dug deep for top ground control in what turned out to be a real fun wrestling & grappling battle. As much as Wade tried to get back into the fight, as most cards had it 20-18 for Makhachev, it proved to be too difficult as Makhachev showed off his grappling skills, which was in top form on this night.
It was a tough fight for the Islip native, as he was hoping to fight at UFC 205, at Madison Square Garden, but instead faced a very tough opponent who was on top of his game on Saturday in Texas.
Wade, who attended Islip High School, where he was a state champion as well as a two-time Suffolk County finalist and a Suffolk County Champion, will look to bounce back in the UFC in the near future.
Other notable fights on the card saw New York’s Randy “Rudeboy” Brown defeat Erick Montano via submission (guillotine) at the 0:18 mark of round three. With the win, Brown, who resides in Queens, moved his record to 8-1.
New York City’s Uriah Hall, who was the co-main event, was defeated by Derek Brunson via TKO at the 1:41 mark of round one. Hall, 32, saw his record drop to 12-7.
In the main event, Dustin Poirier lost to Michael Johnson in a lightweight battle via KO at the 1:35 mark of round one.
In a card that featured three New York fighters, including Long Island’s Wade, fans in Texas saw a lot of action. While Wade and Hall lost, and Brown won, New York should be proud of the effort and talent brought to Hidalgo.
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Photo credit: mmajunkie.com
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