Round 1:
Alexander grazes Young with a head-kick and follows it up with a kick to Young’s lead leg. Young is still trying to find his range as he eats a kick to the body. A right hand just misses for Alexander and he lands an elbow coming inside for a takedown attempt against the cage. Alexander throws a knee to Young’s body but he’s able to break free of the clinch and continue striking. Another leg kick from Alexander and he misses a follow-up head-kick. A few missed overhands from Alexander to get back inside on a takedown attempt and it’s well defending from Young for the time being.
Alexander continues to work and finally drops Young to one knee but he’s back standing again as Alexander remains glued to him. They disengage and Alexander rips off another leg kick. A missed high-kick from Alexander and Young responds with one of his own but it’s blocked. A stiff jab lands for Alexander and he comes inside with a right overhand and another elbow before shooting in for a takedown. He gets Young down and mounts the back for a second before Young is able to et to his feet and disengage.
A missed strike to the body from young and Alexander presses forward with a leg kick and more wild hooks and elbows that land. Another takedown attempt against the cage from Alexander but Young is defending it well. Alexander rips off a hook to the body and just misses on a spinning elbow that allows Young to circle out. The round comes to an end with a missed high-kick and hook from Alexander.
Round 2:
A missed high-kick from Alexander to open the round but he’s able to land a nice front kick to the body. A nice jab from Alexander gets him inside for another takedown attempt against the cage, and he allows Young to escape with another missed spinning elbow. More leg kicks from Alexander and Young responds with one of his own. Alexander just misses on a hook to Young’s chin and also just misses on a hick-kick. He finally lands a nice right hook before going for another takedown on Young against the cage. Alexander trips Young for the takedown and is in half guard.
He stands and gets one shot in before Young stands. Alexander fails to get the takedown again and pulls back after landing a nice hook. Alexander’s range is just off on an uppercut but he presses forward to continuously trap Young against the cage. Alexander is giving Young no time or room to be the aggressor, as he lands another big hook before shooting in on a big takedown. Alexander lifts Young up away from the cage and takes him down, but Young scoots quickly to the cage and is back on his feet. Another lifting takedown from Alexander and he’s in Young’s half guard. Some ground-and-pound from Alexander now and after establishing mount for a few seconds Young pushes back into half guard. A big shot misses from Alexander and he hits the canvas instead. The round comes to an end with each man landing nice jabs.
Round 3:
Young starts things off with a leg kick and Alexander responds with two of his own and a missed hook. A nice couple of jabs land for Alexander and he gets Young against the cage. Alexander is in on the takedown now and rips off a nice knee to Young’s body and face, gets a nice upper cut in, and continues his attempt on the takedown. Alexander overextends on a strike and Young gets a takedown now. Alexander gets to his feet and sweeps Young, now in half guard and on top position.
Young gets his full guard now but Alexander slices through it and into half guard again. Alexander then focuses more on ground-and-pound rather than passing and Young is eating some shots. Alexander gets side control but Young is putting up a fight. A scramble ensues and Alexander now attempts to take the back. Young gets to his feet but still has Alexander leaning on him against the cage. The round comes to an end with Alexander landing a knee to Young’s body against the cage.
Official Result: Alexander Volkanovski def. Shane Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
