Lucedale resident goes the distance in UFC featherweight bout
It was a rough night for UFC featherweight contender Jason Knight.
The Lucedale native dropped a unanimous three-round decision to Gabriel Benitez at UFC Fight Night 123 on Saturday night at the SaveMart Center in Fresno, Calif. FS1 televised the co-main event.
Knight (20-4, 4-3 UFC) has dropped his last two UFC bouts and was dominated by Benitez. The three judges’ scorecards were 30-26, 30-26, and 29-27 as Benitez took the one-sided bout.
In the first round, Benitez took Knight apart on the feet and held off his takedowns. In the bout’s early portion, Knight bit his finger and lost a point on the scorecards.
Later in the bout, Knight accidentally poked Benitez in the eye. Benitez dominated the three-round bout.
Knight, 25, entered the bout as a slight betting favorite and ranked 15th among UFC featherweights.
Knight fights out of Alan Belcher’s MMA club in D’Iberville.
James Jones: 228-896-2320, @_jkjones
This story was originally published December 10, 2017 at 7:39 AM with the headline "Lucedale resident goes the distance in UFC featherweight bout."