UFC on FX 2 Prelims: Steven Siler Denies Vengeful Cole Miller

Cole Miller wanted revenge. Steven Siler refused to let him have it.

Siler battered the American Top Team veteran with powerful combinations throughout their 15-minute encounter and weathered a late surge to defeat Miller by unanimous decision at UFC on FX 2 “Alves vs. Kampmann” on Friday at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Siler (20-9, 2-0 UFC), who has rattled off six wins in seven appearances.

Miller (18-6, 7-4 UFC) spent much of the first two rounds eating punches and retreating in the face of heavy fire from his oncoming foe. Winging lefts and rights found their mark with regularity for Siler, who wobbled Miller with a sneaky right uppercut-short left hook combination late in round one.

“He’s a very, very tough cat,” said Siler, who eliminated Miller’s younger brother, Micah Miller, during qualifying for Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series. “I expected a war, and I got it. He’s tough as hell, and he is definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with in the featherweight division.”

Behind on the scorecards in his return to the 145-pound division, Miller made his move late in the third round, as he struck for a takedown with roughly half a minute to go and moved into mount. Punches and a brief choke attempt followed, but Siler refused to wilt and made it to the horn in one piece.

“I thought for sure I had the first two rounds,” he said. “I rocked him a lot more, and I thought I controlled the cage more. In the third round, I let him get that takedown. He’s tough on the ground, and I knew that, so I wanted to keep it standing. It was a hell of a fight.”

Te Huna Power Wrecks Rosa

Australia-based New Zealand native James Te Huna put his freakish punching power on display, as he blasted through Aaron Rosa en route to a first-round technical knockout. It was over 2:08 after it began.

Te Huna (14-5, 3-1 UFC) unleashed his hands from the start, tagging Rosa repeatedly with left hooks. The 30-year-old then moved into close range, as he tore into his foe with uppercuts and short punches from the clinch, burying Rosa (17-5, 1-2 UFC) under a savage barrage. A volley of ground punches on the downed and bleeding Texan finished it, as Te Huna won for the eighth time in nine fights. It was the seventh first-round stoppage of his 19-bout career.

Streak Stands at Three for ‘The Hippo’

Australia-based Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Anthony Perosh extended his winning streak to three fights, as he stopped Nick Penner with booming first-round ground-and-pound in their preliminary light heavyweight tilt. The bout was halted 4:59 into the opening frame, one second before time expired, with Penner bleeding heavily from the face.

Perosh (13-6, 3-1 UFC) opened a nasty gash underneath Penner’s left eye with a right cross, grounded the Canadian newcomer twice and outclassed him on the mat. The former heavyweight smashed Penner with short elbows, moved to mount and threatened him with an arm-triangle choke before ultimately bringing about the stoppage with a bevy of unanswered punches. The defeat snapped an eight-fight winning streak for Penner (11-2, 0-1 UFC).

“I think my ego just wanted to be a heavyweight, but, athletically, I need to be a light heavyweight,” Perosh said. “I’m strong, I’m fit, I’m competitive and nobody is going to outmuscle me in this division. I saw that I cut him with a right cross, and I knew that I had him from there.”

Craig Outduels Noke in Debut

Power punching, relentless aggression and superb submission defense carried Octagon newcomer Andrew Craig to a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 alum Kyle Noke in a competitive three-round middleweight matchup. All three judges scored it 29-28 for Craig (7-0, 1-0 UFC), a late fill-in for the injured Jared Hamman.

Noke (19-6, 3-2 UFC) started out the stronger of the two, as he scored with a first-round takedown, wheeled around behind Craig and went to work with his submission game. None of his attempts took hold, however, and Craig returned to his feet. By the end of the first five minutes, the Legacy Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder had found his groove.

“I tend to start pretty slow in the first round,” Craig said. “My coaches all told me to act like it was the second round, and I was so prepared to do that, but it didn’t happen, and he almost sunk in like three submissions on me.”

Rounds two and three belonged to Craig, as the 26-year-old Texan peppered Noke with clubbing power punches to the head and went all-in for a powerful double-leg takedown in the closing minutes of the bout. From there, he kept the Australian on his back, neutralized him with effective ground-and-pound and cruised to the decision.

“You really never know until they [announce the winner],” Craig said. “I really had no idea [who had won].”

Waldburger Armbar Taps Hecht in 55 Seconds

Former Shark Fights champion T.J. Waldburger barely broke a sweat, as he submitted Fiore MMA representative Jake Hecht with a first-round armbar less than a minute into their preliminary welterweight duel. Hecht (11-3, 1-1 UFC) asked out of the match 55 seconds into round one.

Waldburger (15-6, 3-1 UFC) scored early with a counter left hand, secured a takedown from a body lock position and countered a Hecht whizzer with the armbar. Hecht tried in vain to free himself, but Waldburger went facedown with the submission, tightened his grip and elicited the tapout. The 23-year-old Texan has won six of his past seven bouts.

“He gave me an arm,” Waldburger said, “and I took it.”

Pineda Triangle Armbar Submits Semerzier

Former two-division Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder Daniel Pineda submitted Mackens Semerzier with a first-round triangle armbar in their brief but action-packed featherweight encounter. Semerzier (6-4, 1-1 UFC) tapped out 2:05 into round one.

Pineda (17-7, 2-0 UFC), a late replacement for Robert Peralta, punched his way into the clinch and took command of the fight with power punches and well-timed leg kicks. A clean left hook dropped Semerzier and left him vulnerable to the aggressive Texan. Pineda moved immediately to mount and transitioned beautifully to a triangle choke as he settled onto his back. From there, he extended Semerzier’s arm for the submission and his seventh consecutive victory.

Jordan Stops Thompson in Second

Former Louisiana State University fullback Shawn Jordan won for the fourth time in five fights, as he stopped Oli Thompson on second-round strikes in their preliminary heavyweight bout. The end came 67 seconds into round two.

Jordan (13-3, 1-0 UFC) wasted no time in establishing himself in his promotional debut. The 27-year-old Strikeforce import floored Thompson in the first round, swarmed him with punches and left his face visibly damaged with subsequent knees. Jordan resumed his attack in round two, and though Thompson (9-3, 0-1 UFC) fought back valiantly, the 32-year-old Ultimate Challenge MMA heavyweight champion ultimately wilted under a series of uppercuts.