Kevin Aguilar’s sprawl kept him upright, and his counter-striking left Enrique Barzola one round short after 15 minutes.
Barzola (15-3-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) was denied takedowns over three rounds as Aguilar (16-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) took home unanimous 29-28 scores in the final decision.
The featherweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC on ESPN 2 event at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. It aired on ESPN following additional prelims on ESPN+ and ahead of the main card on ESPN.
It took a while for the pair to get into second gear. Volleys of leg kicks served as the first half of the opening frame before one went south and paused the action. Aguilar introduced Barzola to his power punches enough to draw a clinch, and he began to find his range more frequently as the round came to a close. It wasn’t much of a slugfest, but it was a srong start for Aguilar.
Counter-punches continued to serve Aguilar well in the middle frame. But it was his sprawl that kept him from becoming Barzola’s grappling dummy as he sat down on punches. When Barzola managed to elevate on a single leg, he popped right back up and continued to keep distance with his fists. Midway through the frame, Barzola started bleeding above his left eye and drove again for the takedown. Aguilar took a pair of hard right hands in close, but managed to land his right hand regularly and stay upright.
Barzola landed a bruising hook to open round three and pressed the action, looking to open up a takedown attempt. Aguilar continued to stick a jab in his face and defended takedown entries as the action drifted to the fence. Barzola’s punches coming in proved more effective than his takedowns, and Aguilar’s nose bled generously as time ticked away. A hard right and leaping knee put an exclamation point on a strong final round for Barzola.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 2 results include:
- Kevin Aguilar def. Enrique Barzola via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Kevin Holland def. Gerald Meerschaert via split decision (29-27, 28-29, 30-27)
- Casey Kenney def. Ray Borg via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Maryna Moroz def. Sabina Mazo via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Alex Perez def. Mark De La Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN 2, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
