ACB 87 results: Robert Whiteford earns split-decision nod over Kane Mousah

Robert Whiteford grinded his way to a split-decision win over Kane Mousah in the main event of ACB 87 on Saturday night in Nottingham.

The UFC veteran and the UK prospect shared an intense face-off at the event’s weigh-in the day before, but Whiteford’s ability in the clinch didn’t allow Mousah to let his hands go as he would have liked.

“The Hammer” glued himself to the All Powers fighter for the first two rounds. The Scot forced Mousah to carry his weight, but “The Danger” still appeared to be the fresher fighter in the final round when caught Whiteford flush with a left hand in the final two minutes.

Following the win, Whiteford addressed the animosity between him and his opponent ahead of their bout.

“He said an awful lot of sh*t, and a lot of people thought he was a pr*ck, and I was starting to believe it as well,” said Whiteford after the win. “Someone can’t be that much of a pr*ck, so I think it was all show.

“He turned up tonight and he put it on me, but I just feel like I was fighting for the people in here, ACB — he disrespected them also — and all of us UFC vets and other fighters around the world.”

Bellator veteran Fernando Gonzalez wasn’t able to disrupt Piotr Strus’s ACB winning streak when the middleweights clashed in the co-main event.

Gonzalez caused Strus some concern when he rocked him with a left hand, but the Pole’s size allowed him to dictate the distance and the pace of the fight as Gonzales looked to lunge in and land power shots.

With the win, Strus improved to 4-0 with the promotion since signing in early 2017.

Pietro Menga took his second loss in a row since his short lived stint with UFC when he lost a unanimous decision to Takeya Mizugaki.

Menga was on the verge of stopping the Japanese veteran when he dropped him in the early exchanges. He dived all over Mizugaki when he hit the ground and threatened briefly with a rear naked choke. However, Mizugaki regained composure and rallied in the final two rounds, scoring numerous takedowns to see himself to victory.

Menga stepped on short notice to face Tim Elliott at UFC on FOX 26, but Elliott refused to fight him when the British fighter was forced to stop his weight cut at 131 lbs. Menga was released shortly after.

UFC veterans Rob Emerson and Andre Winner also added notched to their win columns on the night. Emerson took a unanimous decision over Shamil Shakhbulatov after a competitive 15 minutes. Andre Winner reeled back the years with a slick back take before locking up a rear naked choke to stop Adam Aliev in the second-round of their lightweight meeting.

American Alex Giblin announced himself in the ACB featherweight division with third round ninja-choke finish of previously undefeated Russian, Adlan Mamaev.

Giblin signed with the promotion on the back of title winning run with Wisconsin-based promotion, Chosen Few FC. He looked dominant in the grappling exchanges and constantly forced his opponent on the back foot with forward motion.

Dean Garnett took a split-decision nod over Dominique Wooding in a meeting of top-ranked UK bantamweights.

“Black Panther” showcased his versatile striking in the final round, cutting Garnett with a flying knee and sending him down late with a head kick. Garnett was close to finishing a rear naked choke in the second round after Wooding had some success in the striking exchanges.

Two highly touted prospects, Adam Proctor and Ashley Reece, met earlier in the night in a memorable welterweight clash.

Alex Enlund protégé Proctor knocked Reece down in the first with a clean left hand and completely dominated him from mount in the second round. Reece was undeterred by the opening ten minutes and rattled Proctor with a flash knockdown at the beginning of the third. Proctor saw out the remainder of the fight with Reece in his guard to take the unanimous decision.

Full results:

Robert Whiteford def. Kane Mousah via split decision
Piotr Strus def. Fernando Gonzalez via split decision
Takeya Mizugaki def. Pietro Menga via unanimous decision
Ibragim Chuzhigaev def. Mike Rhodes via unanimous decision
Rob Emerson def. Shamil Shakhbulatov via unanimous decision
Andre Winner def. Adam Aliev via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:50 of R2
Alex Gilpin def. Adlan Mamaev via submission (ninja choke) at 0:54 of R3
Stanislav Vlasenko def. Sam Boult via split decision
Stephen Martin def. Regis Sudgen via submission (arm triangle) at 2:15 of R3
Dean Garnett def. Dominque Wooding via split decision
Adam Proctor def. Ashley Reece via unanimous decision
Carlos Abreu def. Chris Miah via split decision
Kevin Mullen def. George McManus via TKO (strikes) at 1:44 of R2
Murad Magomedov def. Paulinho Capoeira via unanimous decision