FanSided | UFC Minneapolis: Jared Gordon overwhelms Dan Moret for Unanimous Decision

After a wild first round, Jared Gordon controlled and smothered Dan Moret with ground strikes en route to a clear decision victory.

by Ben Coate

Jared Gordon defeated Dan Moret via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) at UFC Minneapolis on June 29, 2019, live from Target Center in Minneapolis, MN.

“I’m a little upset with my performance,” said Gordon in his post-fight interview, clearly disappointed he couldn’t get the finish.

“How many mothers and fathers are in here, worried sick about their kids? So I’m here for you guys… I love you all and this is why I fight.”

Here’s how the fight played out.

Round 1

Moret, the southpaw, lands heavy punches early, but Gordon appears unfazed. At about 90 seconds in, Gordon eats a head kick from Moret to earn a takedown. Gordon tries to get something going from top half guard, but Moret is effectively controlling Gordon’s posture. With two minutes left in the round, Moret works his way back to his feet and immediately goes to wrok with knees to Gordon’s midsection. Moret lands some huge shots on the feet and hits a body lock takedown on Gordon, but Gordon is right back to his feet. The round ends with the pair exchanging punches and kicks.

FanSided scores the round 10-9 Moret.

Round 2

Gordon and Moret get right back where they left off, exchanging and landing strikes almost at will on the feet. Moret hits a beautiful headlock throw and moves directly into the full mount, then back of Gordon. Moret secures a body triangle, but Gordon is able to spin out of it and is working inside Moret’s closed guard with three minutes remaining in the round. Moret is active from his back, but Gordon defends well and lands steady shots from the top. Gordon moves to half guard, smothering Moret under a steady volume of ground strikes for the final half of the round.

FanSided scores the round 10-9 Gordon, and 19-19 overall.

Round 3

After a wild exchange, Moret jumps for a guillotine, but is unable to secure anything other than half guard, and Gordon escapes. Gordon now has more than four minutes to work from the top position. With the round half over, Moret is still active from his back, but Gordon stays safe and continues to smother Moret. Moret escapes back to his feet with 90 seconds remaining, and the Minnesota crowd loves it. With Moret scrambling for Gordon’s back, Gordon reverses position and finds himself again on top. The fight ends in a familiar position, with Gordon on top smothering and landing blows.

The Duke Roufus-trained Gordon came into the bout with a respectable 2-2 UFC record, but was riding a two-fight losing skid, suffering consecutive stoppage losses in 2018. FOTN against Joaquim Silva in last fight.

Minnesota’s own Moret came into this fight still searching for first UFC win, having lost to Gilbert Burns and Alex White. Minnesota native. Trains at the MMA Lab.

UFC Minneapolis took place on Saturday, June 29, 2019, live from the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your live results and highlights throughout the week.