The bout started with Daiju clinching and attempting a takedown, which was quickly reversed by Newton. After establishing his guard, Daiju maneuvered Newton into a triangle, quickly switching to a modified armbar. Newton managed to escape, but the hold seemed to do some damage to Newton’s arm. Daiju was very content to just stay on the mat, close his guard to tie Newton up, and occasionally attempt submissions. Newton valiantly attempted to do something, nay anything, but all he could resort to were body shots.
The most exciting part of this (at least for the female fans) was when Newton’s shorts got pulled down, exposing way more of his butt than is allowed on cable. This is how most of the fight went. When the fight went to the feet, Newton was very content to keep it standing with his more precise striking. Takase desperately took the fight to the mat every time the fighters managed to get to their feet, mostly just pulling guard. Daiju even attempted a “Monkey flip kick” to triangle choke (as Matt Hume so eloquently explained), but unfortunately could not lock the triangle. This was a very close fight, with Takase attempting many submissions, and Newton shutting them all down.
The judges awarded the split decision to Takase, but this was only due to the fact that he “tried harder to finish the fight”. Newton was more aggressive throughout, whether he was attempting takedowns or striking during the brief periods of standup activity.
The judges unfortunately were too busy looking at Newton’s exposed behind to notice his aggressiveness or effectiveness, as they gave the fight to Daiju Takase for attempting submissions, not finishing them.