Stepping in on short notice for the injured Gian Villante, Contender Series Brazil alum John Allan made his UFC debut a successful one as he decisioned Mike Rodriguez over three rounds in their light heavyweight bout.
Scores were 29-28 twice and 30-27 for Allan, now 14-5. Rodriguez falls to 10-4.
Rodriguez started out strong, using his reach advantage with kicks from long range. But soon Allan got warmed up and began landing the crisper blows in exchanges, and he then followed up with a takedown midway through the frame. Rodriguez eluded a subsequent guillotine choke attempt and rose to his feet, but Allan now had momentum on his side.
Shortening up his punches and sending them down the middle, Rodriguez scored well early in the second round before getting taken down again two minutes in. Rodriguez got up fairly quickly, but he ate a couple knees in the clinch before going to the mat again. This time, Rodriguez landed on top, allowing him to work some ground strikes. Allan stayed busy from the bottom, as well, and he nearly locked in an armbar before the two stood. Allan sought another submission, jumping guard as he locked up a guillotine choke, but Rodriguez easily slipped free.
A low knee by Rodriguez brought a halt to the action early in the final round, but Allan recovered and put the New Englander back on the canvas midway through. The two rose, but Allan was still pressing the action, landing some hard shots before another takedown that cemented an impressive debut for the Curitiba product.
