On an emotional night outside his adopted hometown, Phil Rowe put on a jaw-dropping performance to stop Niko Price in the main card opener at UFC Orlando.
After being nearly stopped moments earlier, Rowe blasted Price with a straight right hand that sent the veteran welterweight wobble and led to a dramatic finish. Once Price was hurt, Rowe just surged forward with a barrage of punches that continued to gnaw at Price until referee Marc Goddard couldn’t let him take any more punishment.
The stoppage came at 3:26 in the third lap.
Prior to the fight, Rowe acknowledged that his mother was battling two different forms of cancer, so she couldn’t be in the arena to watch him perform, but he paid tribute to her with his victory.
“It’s a dream come true,” Rowe said. “Orlando is for you guys. These guys have nothing for me here. If my mother can do what she does, no one will stop me here.
The fight started strong for Rowe as he tackled Price with several stinging punches in the first round while showing good accuracy and power. Unfortunately, Rowe wasn’t increasing his production, which allowed Price to stick around and use his conditioning to pick up the pace every minute of the fight.
Price wasn’t necessarily technical but he was relentless after Rowe which led to a combination that almost got him a knockout. A thump had put Rowe on rubber legs and it looked like Price might score the finish, but he ended up punching himself and left himself little gas in the tank to play defense when his opponent survived.
Rowe took full advantage of the laser-like precision that helped him score all night until he finally hurt Price against the cage. From there, Rowe kept firing in quick succession and Price couldn’t resist the onslaught.
The win is Rowe’s third straight UFC knockout, although he failed to make weight on Friday, so he won’t be eligible for post-fight bonuses handed out on Saturday.