UFC 115: Martin Kampmann dominates Paulo Thiago

Martin Kampmann struck with surgical precision. His left jab kept Paulo Thiago at bay for much of the early rounds in their welterweight bout at UFC 115 in Vancouver.

And from that jab all else stems.

Kampmann exhibited a sound technical striking game, mixed in leg kicks on occasion and showed a solid ground/grappling game when needed. Add it up, and Kampmann slowed down the upward career path of Thiago.

Kampmann (17-3) won a unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 30-27.

Softened up by the striking, Thiago (13-2) tried in the third round to get the fight on the ground and use his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. No dice. Kampmann has a very underrated ground game. Thiago could not mount any sort of offense from his back.

This certainly makes the 170-pound division more interesting. Thiago was considered one of the potential breakout stars at welterweight. Now? Maybe that's Kampmann.

P.S. Hopefully you listened on Thursday when I told you Kampmann at +205 was the best value on the boards in the sports books.

Live UFC 115 video: Post-fight press conference at 1:20 a.m.