Khabilov, Hermansson win decisions, Danho-Colombo fight to draw in Hamburg

Lightweight Bout: Rustam Khabilov def. Leandro Silva via unanimous decision

Rustam Khabilov picked up a third straight win, even if it wasn't the breakthrough performance he was hoping for.

A fringe top-20 lightweight, Khabilov made up for a lack of effectiveness with enough aggression to take a unanimous decision over Leandro Silva in the preliminary opener of UFC Fight Night 93 in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday.

Khabilov is now 6-2 in the Octagon, with his last three wins all coming by way of unanimous decision.

The action picked up near the end of the first round, when Silva landed a solid left hook and followed up with a takedown. Khabilov was able to reverse position, though he couldn't deliver much offense before the buzzer sounded.

Both fighters struggled to land anything significant until Khabilov scored a takedown with more time to work in Round 2. He managed to score points with strikes from top position, but Silva used his potent guard to avoid serious damage.

The third round failed to produce any conclusive exchanges. Khabilov kept coming forward and throwing strikes from distance, while Silva couldn't muster up the counters needed to take the deciding scorecard.

With his second straight decision loss, Silva falls to 3-4 in the UFC with one no-contest.

Heavyweight Bout: Jarjis Danho vs. Christian Colombo ends in majority draw

A dubious penalty may have saved Jarvis Danho from another UFC loss.

Danho and Christian Colombo battled to a majority draw after Colombo was docked a point for an illegal knee in the first round of their heavyweight contest on Saturday.

The penalty occurred when Danho was hunched over with his fingers on the mat with Colombo standing over him. That position technically established him as a "grounded fighter", meaning knee strikes to his head would be forbidden. Unfortunately for Colombo, he connected with one that opened up a nasty cut on Danho's dome.

For much of the contest, Colombo continued to utilize his knees to punish the Syrian whenever he rushed in. Danho was left bumbling around in the second after Colombo blasted him with another knee.

Due to a pair of 10-8 scores in the first round, Colombo needed a finish or a dominant round of his own to take a decision. Danho stayed active to avoid such a scenario, even closing the third with a flurry of punches that put Colombo on the backfoot.

The draw snaps a six-fight winning streak for Colombo who was making his UFC debut.

Middleweight Bout: Jack Hermansson def. Scott Askham via unanimous decision

Jack Hermansson won his UFC debut on his own terms.

Hermansson found his range after the opening round to earn a unanimous decision over Scott Askham. "The Joker" took over the action in the middle frame, stalking Askham against the cage and teeing off on him in spurts.

The Swede replicated the formula in the third and looked to be a few strikes away from finishing Askham, but the Brit held on until the final bell.

Not to be easily outdone, Askham took everything Hermansson had and held his own in the sporadic grappling exchanges. The Brit looked his best in the first, keeping Hermansson on the outside and outstriking him, but he had no definitive answer for the rangy "Joker" as the fight progressed.

Askham falls to 2-3 in the Octagon, alternating wins and losses in every one of his UFC fights.