A near knockout early didn’t sway Pat Sabatini from his chosen game plan to put T.J. Laramie on the ground and maul him over the course of three rounds at UFC Vegas 51.
Laramie was hurt by a body shot, but Sabatini could not put him down despite all his efforts. Sabatini didn’t slow down in all 15 minutes. He kept going at Laramie with an agonizing ground game, and eventually won a close contest.
All three judges gave Sabatini the fight with scores of 30-26, which included a 10-8 second round thanks to the Philadelphia native’s overwhelming dominance on the ground.
“It feels good to get the win but definitely not happy with my performance,” Sabatini said about the fight. At least I won. He’s tough and has a lot experience. He was a great guy and fought hard.
” I will fight anyone, and my skills are only improving. Give me an opportunity and I will rise to the occasion
In the beginning, Laramie was the one who used his wrestling skills to get the fight to the mat. Sabatini tried to respond with submissions. While Sabatini wasn’t able to fully set up a triangle choke or an omoplata, it was enough to make Laramie scramble to break free and that allowed the fighters to get back to the feet.
Late in the opening round, Sabatini blasted Laramie with a body kick that looked like it might earn him the finish. With Laramie backing off and wincing from the pain, Sabatini pounced but rather than unload a barrage of punches, he decided to look for a guillotine choke and that allowed Laramie a chance to not only recover but he slipped free from the submission and actually ended up on top just before the horn sounded.
As round two began, Sabatini decided to show off his grappling skills. He immediately closed the distance before he tripped Laramie and attempted a takedown. Sabatini continued to maul Laramie, throwing punches at the top, and searching for submissions when he could.
It was all one-way traffic. Sabatini took over completely after finding his greatest advantage by placing Laramie on his stomach and holding him there. Sabatini was not only pushing the pace with superior conditioning but he was doing everything possible to break Laramie with relentless pressure from his top game.
While he didn’t get the finish, Sabatini punished Laramie for three rounds to secure his fourth straight win since joining the UFC roster and moving his overall record to 17-3.
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