UFC 124: Sean Pierson wins decision in debut

Credit Matthew Riddle for lasting as long as he did after eating a monster shot to the face after a missed flying knee early in the first round. That shot from Sean Pierson floored Riddle and sent Montreal crowd into a rage at UFC 124 on Saturday night.

Somehow, the gutsy Riddle made it to the second round. And the third round. And he seemed to get stronger as the lightweight fight continued.

Pierson and Riddle spent about more than two minutes of the third round literally exchanging punches to the face. By this point, MMA was gone, and this was just a schoolyard brawl . . . before the teachers got there to break it out.

Pierson won a unanimous decision over Riddle, with all three judges scoring it 30-27.

“It was great to be in there exchanging punches with Matt," Pierson said. "He’s very resilient, but I felt like I had the decision. The crowd was amazing. This was 14 years in the making. I’m extremely proud and happy to be in the UFC.”

UFC 124 fight-week photos
UFC 124 live video of post-fight press conference at 1 a.m. EDT