UFC 209 Results: Albert Morales defeats Andre Soukhamthath via split-decision

A bantamweight bout between Albert Morales and Andre Soukhamthath kicked off tonight’s UFC 209 prelims in Las Vegas.

Round one begins and Morales starts off quickly by pumping his jab. He throws a short leg kick inside that connects. Morales circles and lands a hard leg kick. Soukhamthath responds with a nice right hand but then misses with a leg kick. Albert connects with another hard low kick as Andre comes inside with an attempted jab. Morales lands a stiff jab and then another. Soukhamthath misses with a right and Morales quickly counters with a punch of his own. Albert is utilizing some good head movement. Both men come forward and connect with punches. Soukhamthath leaps forward and lands a hard uppercut. He follows that up with a hard right hand and then a body kick. Morales circles and then comes forward with a combination. He lands a leg kick and then a left jab. Soukhamthath responds with a leg kick of his own. Round one comes to and end.

Round two begins and Soukhamthath starts off quickly landing a hard right hand. Morales circles out and then comes forward with a left jab. Both fighters connect with right hands in the pocket. They exchange left jabs and then Soukhamthath connects with a nice leg kick. Andre comes forward and lands another low kick followed by a kick to the body. Albert shoots in and scores with a single leg takedown. Soukhamthath is quickly able to wall-walk and get back to his feet. Albert is still all over him along the cage. Morales is looking to score a trip here. He switches to a single leg and is able to get Andre back down. Soukhamthath quickly reverses the position and winds up on top. He begins working from full guard. He moves to half guard and begins raining down some solid ground and pound. Morales gets back up to his feet just seconds before the horn sounds to end round two.

Round three begins and Soukhamthath lands a leg kick to start. Both men stand in the pocket and trade. Andre lands a beautiful left hook to the body. He lands another and then another. Morales is hurt. Andre with a knee inside. Bother men are trading big punches now. Soukhamthath pushes Morales up against the cage. He shoots in for a takedown but Morales is able to reverse the position and take his back. Albert is landing some good shots from the top here. He switches to a rear-naked choke attempt. Albert lets that go in favor of more punches. He locks up a body triangle on Soukhamthath. One minute remains. Andre begins working some shots. He is still locked in a body triangle but that is not stopping him from throwing punches. The horn sounds to end the fight.