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McBride stopped short in UFC debut

CLEVELAND – Michael McBride made his UFC debut Saturday night at UFC 203 inside the Quicken Loans Arena.

McBride was stopped by Nik Lentz via TKO in the second round of their lightweight prelim fight on FOX Sports 1. He accepted the contest on just nine days notice as a replacement for Mairbek Taisumov.

The Webster City native was a heavy underdog entering the contest, but did put his submission skills – both offensive and defensive – on display for everyone watching several times in the fight.

“McBride, I’m really impressed with his defense,” UFC announcer Joe Rogan said during the fight. “He knows what he’s doing.”

Early in the opening round, Lentz almost connected on an illegal knee to a downed McBride, but

McBride (8-2) landed with a nice kick to the body early in the first round, but Lentz (29-7-2) showed off his wrestling skills with a takedown. He tried several times for a submission but was denied by McBride.

“He’s a super awkward fighter who is really long,” Lentz said of McBride after his win. “He is weak in some areas, but insanely strong in others.”

After surviving a deep guillotine attempt by Lentz in the first round, McBride came out in the second and took the back of the former University of Minnesota wrestler. He also had a kimura attempt in the round.

Lentz, though, used his experience to bring the fight to the canvas, earning the stoppage at 4:17.

McBride, who trains with UFC fighter Johnny Case, had not competed since last November when he scored a submission victory over Derek Loffer for Midwest Cage Championship. All eight of his career wins have been via submission, and he has also competed for Bellator MMA previously.

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