Darrick Minner bests Charles Rosa in grappling clinic

Darrick Minner gave Charles Rosa little space on the ground in a dominant three-round decision win at UFC Fight Night 185 on Saturday, Feb. 20.

Minner never let up the pressure as he swarmed Rosa on the ground. The 30-year-old kept transitioning to back control and full mount, favoring the head and arm choke.

Minner never submitted Rosa, but picked up his second-straight victory. The Glory MMA product improves to 2-1 inside the octagon, 26-11 overall.

Rosa falls to 13-5, dropping to 4-5 under the UFC banner.

Charles Rosa vs. Darrick Minner Preview

A clash of ranked heavyweights headline UFC Fight Night 185 on Saturday, Feb. 20. 

The second ranked heavyweight Curtis Blaydes searches for his fifth-straight victory against No. 4 Derrick Lewis on ESPN+. The co-main event features two-ranked women bantamweights in No. 6 Ketlen Vieira and No. 7 Yana Kunitskaya inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

A pair of established featherweights meet when Charles Rosa faces Darrick Minner on the main card.

Rosa looks to put together back-to-back UFC wins together for the first time in his octagon career. The Massachusetts product is coming off a split decision victory over  Kevin Aguiar at UFC on ESPN 10 last June.

He rebounded from a unanimous decision loss to Bryce Mitchell at UFC 249 in May of last year.

Minner is is coming off his first octagon victory after he submitted T.J. laramie at UFC Fight Night 178 last September. In his UFC debut, Minner tapped to now-teammate Grant Dawson at UFC 169 in Feburary 2020.

Here is how the featherweight bout between Charles Rosa and Darrick Minner went down at UFC Fight Night 185, including round-by-round scoring. For full results of the event, check them out right here.

Darrick Minner dominates ground game in second-straight victory

ROUND 1

Minner puts out his glove, but Rosa goes right to  the action. Minner lands a leg kick early and the two clinch up. The pair break free quickly. Minner lets his hands fly early and Rosa answers back with a flurry of his own. Rosa eats a counter as he comes in. Minner drops for a takedown. Rosa gets to his feet, but Minner lifts and returns Rosa to the canvas. Minner ends up in full guard. Minner transitions to side control. Rosa able to get his legs around Minner for full guard. Minner is controlling from the top position. Rosa Scrambles, but Minner remains on top. Minner puts his arm in the chin, possibly a head and arm choke. Rosa give sup his back and attacks Minner’s foot. Minner lands some punches. The two finish the round in that position. 

MyMMANews.com scores it 10-9 for Minner

Relentless pace in RD 1 from these two! ⚡️

[ The main card continues live on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/eZW45OZETr

— UFC (@ufc) February 21, 2021

ROUND 2

Rosa lands a low kick early, but eats a left and right hand. Minner rocks Rosa with two right hands. Minner swarms Rosa and Rosa gives up his back. Rosa give sup full mount as Minner transitions smoothly. Minner looks to seclude the left arm for another head and arm choke attempt. Rosa scrambles out of full mount. Minner keeps Rosa to the floor. Rosa is on his side. Rosa gives up his back and goes to his feet. Minner latches on and gets his hooks in. Rosa goes back to the mat. Minner transitions to full mount. Minner is favoring the left arm of Rosa again. He sinks in the head and arm choke on Rosa. Rosa escapes and tries to finish an arm bar, but Minner escapes. Juts seconds later, Rosa slaps on another arm bar, but Minner escapes with the horn.

MyMMANews.com scores it 20-18

ROUND 3

Minner lets his hands go and clips Rosa early on. Rosa drops levels and Minner takes top control. Rosa rolling and gives up his back. Minner transitions to side control. Rosa looks to attack Minner’s right arm for a kimura. Rosa lest go and eats a right hand. Minner glued to Rosa on the floor. Minner splits a cut open on Rosa’s face with ground and pound. Rosa rolls again, but Minner maintains control with about a minute left. Rosa gives up his back. Minner has one hook in. Rosa looks to attack the right arm again. Minner lands elbows as Rosa rolls under. Rosa is landing punches behind him as the final horn sounds. 

MyMMANews.com scores it 30-27 for Minner

Official result: Darrick Minner def. Charles Rosa via unanimous decision [30-26, 30-27, 29-27]

Absolutely dominant performance! 💢@DarrickMinner locks in the UD win.

[ We continue the action on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/e897EwRcOC

— UFC (@ufc) February 21, 2021

Connor Northrup

Connor Northrup once covered municipal meetings and promised himself never again. He is now combining his passion for Mixed Martial Arts and reporting all into one.

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