No. 8 ranked featherweight Jeremy Stephens kicked off the UFC 215 main card with a dominating performance against former lightweight title challenger Gilbert Melendez.
Stephens’ leg kicks were the story of the fight. He landed them hard and often. Midway through the opening round Melendez’ lead leg was badly swollen on the shin. Stephens continued to attack the legs of Melendez causing Melendez to fall to his back twice. Prior to the start of the second frame, the referee called in a doctor to check the leg. Melendez said he could continue and was allowed to.
In the second round, Melendez switched his stance to avoid taking more damage to his left leg. He pressured Stephens, but the leg kicks kept coming. Melendez would fall to the canvas twice in the second round due to leg kicks.
In the final round, Melendez had no movement left and Stephens picked up the pace. He delivered hard hooks to the body and continued to attack Melendez’ legs. Three times in the frame Melendez fell to his back after absorbing leg kicks.
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