Ali Alqaisi was diligent trying to put Andrew Whitney away. It didn’t happen, but Alqaisi’s work for 25 minutes got him a title.
Alqaisi (10-5) outworked Whitney (16-9) to take the vacant featherweight title in the UFC Fight Pass-streamed Titan FC 71 main event at InterContinental Miami. Alqaisi won with a 50-45 score and a pair of 49-46s.
Alqaisi had Whitney in trouble midway through the first round with ground-and-pound, but Whitney survived, shook Alqaisi off, then wound up on top. Alqaisi worked for a triangle choke, but Whitney worked around it. Alqaisi stayed busy going for submissions from his back, then worked his way back to his feet with a guillotine choke. Whitney tried to spin out of it, but Alqaisi kept after it with a minute to work. Whitney survived the round.
In the second and third, Alqaisi’s hopes for a submission were plentiful, but Whitney consistently survived them, from chokes to armbars and back again. In the fourth, Whitney mounted a bit of a rally, and he stayed in it till the end of the fifth. But he was fighting from behind on the scorecards.
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Titan FC 71 results included:
- Ali Alqaisi def. Andrew Whitney via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) – to win vacant featherweight title
- Ryan Kuse def. Amir Naser Kazemi via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:44
- Nate Marquardt def. Michael Cora via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:39
- Richie Lewis def. Ernesto Rodriguez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:57
- Adrian Garcia def. Shojin Miki via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Devon Dixon def. Brandon Lopez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)