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UFC 178 Prelims: Masvidal, Thompson, Ebersole notch victories

Jorge Masvidal rode his technically superior striking to a dominant unanimous decision win over a very game, but ultimately over-matched James Krause.

Masvidal floored Krause with a fantastic combination in the waning seconds of Round 2, sending the Glory MMA product careening to the canvas in the most effective moment of offense in the fight to that point.

GameBred's superiority continued into the third round, as he outstruck and outgrappled Krause, lumping his face and bloodying his nose.

Masvidal's win likely propels him into a Top-10 matchup in the shark tank known as the UFC's lightweight division.

Stephen Thompson def. Patrick Cote via unanimous decision

Wonderboy! What is the secret of your power?

Stephen Thompson outclassed Patrick Cote over three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory in a matchup of welterweights on the opposite sides of their UFC careers. 

The famously iron-chinned Cote ate a few hard shots in the second round without batting an eye, but didn't have an answer for Wonderboy's superior striking.

Cote tried to bait Thompson into engaging in an all-out firefight, but Thompson was able to dance in and out of range and beat the Canadian to the punch time and time again over the course of the 15-minute scrap.

With a minute and a half left in the final round, Thompson lamped Cote with a vicious left hand, but wasn't able to put the ultra-durable Cote away, despite the latter's legs looking as if they were made of jelly.

Brian Ebersole def. John Howard via split decision

Veteran welterweight Brian Ebersole, and his trademark chest hair, eked out a split-decision win over John Howard in the first fight of the televised prelim portion of UFC 178 on Saturday night.

Ebersole was the more active fighter in the first round, using an effective mix of striking and wrestling to keep "Doomsday" off guard.

Howard controlled Ebersole's back for parts of the second frame, but was never able to cinch-in the rear-naked choke, and was eventually reversed before the end of the round.

The two men kept the fight standing for most of the third round, with Howard throwing more power strikes and effective leg kicks, while Ebersole was more about volume and doled out the crisper, more accurate shots.

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