Josias Musasa

Colby Thicknesse vs. Josias Musasa
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Musasa (-160); Thicknesse (+130)

Round 1
For most of the fights tonight, the matchmaking set a regional athlete against someone from elsewhere in the world. That trend continues in this bantamweight tilt, as Thicknesse (7-1, 0-1 UFC) reps the Down Under in a classic matchup of Australia vs. the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Musasa (8-1, 0-1 UFC), who calls himself “The K.O. Wizard,” will do everything in his power to channel that nickname and magically spark someone. Referee Jim Perdios draws the charge for this matchup, and they decide not to touch gloves to get started.
Musasa comes out with pressure, and Thicknesse is the one who strikes first with a quick head kick. Musasa takes a second kick upside the head and bashes “Slickness” with a heavy left hand. Thicknesse hits the deck and scrambles to get back up, where Musasa is chasing after him looking for bombs. Thicknesse spins with a kick, and Musasa pushes through it and smashes him in the jaw with another mighty left hand. Thicknesse takes a second huge left and whips two hooks back at his foe, but the power advantage is stark. Thicknesse circles on the outside and lumbers in behind a right hand, and Musasa reddens his nose with his power punches. Thicknesse pursues a takedown, getting a body lock and trying to trip the Congolese fighter up. Musasa keeps his balance and leans against the cage, but a second effort from Thicknesse drags the fight down to the canvas. Thicknesse does not need long to get to full mount.
Musasa flat on his back, he starts taking serious punishment from the Aussie, who is beating him down with punches and elbows. Musasa tries to scramble but actually puts himself in a worse position by trapping his own arm beneath Thicknesse’s legs. Thicknesse keeps bludgeoning him, and he turns to set up a mounted triangle but is more interested in ground-and-pound. Musasa bucks his legs up, but Thicknesse shrugs it off and keeps beating Musasa like a rented mule. The punches keep landing for Thicknesse, and Musasa feels it is in his best interest to swing back rather than defend himself. Musasa explodes to his seat, but Thicknesse sees an opening and wraps up a bulldog choke. Musasa offers a thumbs-up multiple times as his face starts to turn purple from the submission, and he miraculously survives it to the horn.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Thicknesse
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Thicknesse
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Thicknesse

Round 2
Musasa appears mad as a hornet after taking all that damage at the end of the round, as he lashes out with looping punches and whipping low kicks. Thicknesse does not like taking those kicks, and he gets in the pocket to trade. This is not in his best interest either, so he lowers himself down and shoots in on the hips of “The KO Wizard.” Musasa shoves him away and walks him down, where he plants a front kick in the face of the Australian. Musasa ducks under a strike coming his way and unloads with a hefty elbow, and he catches Thicknesse cleanly with another elbow and has him reeling. Thicknesse escapes as swelling appears to grow on the right side of his face, and Musasa is unloading on him with full power. Thicknesse desperately goes after a double, leaving his head low between Musasa’s legs to protect it from elbows.
Musasa defends the takedown but is still stuck against the cage taking knees to the thigh, and he offers one or two back. A stern knee to the jaw from Musasa forces another takedown shot, and Musasa somehow takes his back standing during the exchange. They split up, and Musasa connects on the break. The kicks from Musasa have caused some visible damage, as Thicknesse’s left shin is split open and bleeding down his leg. Thicknesse does not register the wound and spams knees when he gets back into the clinch, and uses the close proximity to move to a double. Musasa’s short strikes also bust open Thicknesse’s nose, which starts pouring blood down his face and chest. Thicknesse breaks with a spinning elbow, and the horn blares.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Musasa
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Musasa
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Musasa

Round 3
The bantamweights tap gloves to greet one another after 10 minutes of close combat. They trade leg kicks, and then hurl body kicks at the same time. Musasa slips a punch and cannot get out of the way from a low kick, so he advances and snaps the head back with two punches. Thicknesse fires off a front kick that drills Musasa square in the groin, and the Congolese fighter goes down in a heap. You can’t get kicked much harder to that spot, and Musasa knows it and appears to dry heave once or twice. Thicknesse drops to his knees as Perdios calls time, and Perdios knows there is nothing he can do or say to make the agonizing pain go away. Musasa needs over a minute to even get back to his feet, but he cannot stand on his own power and falls to his seat. Shaking his head and trying desperately to recover, Musasa is able to stand. Musasa asks if he can take a bathroom break, and Perdios laughs him off. Musasa still has a few minutes to go, and Perdios tells him to take the time he needs. Musasa bounces on his heels and again mentions that he needs to urinate. Perdios tells him to do so after the fight, and Musasa leans against the cage wall and is still feeling it. Thicknesse, who was on his knees the whole time respectfully while Musasa recovered, gets up at the four-minute mark and starts pacing. Musasa signals that he is good to go, and after 4:20 of a break, they resume combat—with about four minutes left in the round.
Kicks fly from both sides, as they are not afraid of another landing low. Musasa winds up a monster right hand and belts Thicknesse with it, and Thicknesse slumps forward and tries to go after a takedown. Musasa wants nothing to do with it and he connects with a heavy body kick. Thicknesse reels and shoots for a takedown, doggedly chaining attempts together so he does not get punched again. Musasa defends by putting his back against the wall and elbows his man in the side of the head repeatedly.
Thicknesse stays pursuant to a takedown, and Musasa’s defense is holding up but precious seconds are ticking off the clock in a round that could still go either way. Thicknesse moves the pendulum his direction by using a body lock to wrestle Musasa to the floor, and he secures full mount when hitting the ground. Thicknesse lands a few ground strikes, and those lead to several more when he postures up. Thicknesse clubs and batters Musasa for the remainder of the round, and Perdios watches on as Musasa is tough and can take it. The final horn sounds, and we go to the judges in what still could be a fairly close one.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Thicknesse (29-28 Thicknesse)
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Musasa (29-28 Musasa)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Thicknesse (29-28 Thicknesse)

The Official Result
Colby Thicknesse def. Josias Musasa via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Josias Musasa (136: Missed Weight) vs. Carlos Vera
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Musasa (-650), Vera (+470)

Round 1
The biggest betting favorite on the lineup, Musasa (8-0, 0-0 UFC) out of the African Knockout promotion is hoping to score one of those big stoppages in his debut, having earned seven of eight wins by strikes. Vera (11-4, 0-1 UFC) has never been knocked out, but he will have to keep his chin off the gunnery range for as long as Musasa swings for the bleachers. Keeping his head on a swivel will be referee
Herb Dean
, who is paying close attention to the bantamweights and what comes next. No glove touch happens, and instead Musasa introduces himself with a sweeping kick. Vera fires back with a kick with a wide arc, and he works the body and legs before shooting for a takedown. When Musasa steps away, Vera somersaults to channel his inner
Ryan Hall
—who is his teammate—and try to take the fight down. Musasa walks away and make Vera stand up, and they chop at one another with heavy kicks. Musasa opens up with a pair of punches over the top, and Vera stomps at his foe’s knee a few times. When Musasa bears down on his foe, Vera spins with a wheel kick that smashes square into the face of “The KO Wizard,” who does not so much as flinch. Vera hits his back and motions for Musasa to come at him, but Musasa wants nothing to do with it. Vera fires off a few more kicks when upright, and Musasa catches one and slings him to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Vera again stands up, and he receives a pair of chopping leg kicks on his inner thigh. “Pequeno” comes out swinging, and he misses with his big fists while Musasa sticks him with power leg kicks. Vera tries to punches his way to a clinch, and Musasa has having none of it. While Musasa turns to the side to dodge a right hand, Vera blasts him in the face with a head kick. The debuting Musasa crumbles to the mat, and Vera knows exactly what he needs to do next.
Vera leaps down to immediately assume back control, where he wraps up the body triangle and instantly snatches up a rear-naked choke. Still trying to shake off the cobwebs, Musasa successfully fights the hands well enough to stop the submission from choking him out. Vera calmly adjusts his grip and allows Musasa to twist and buck, and he fastens the submission completely under the chin. After a few seconds, Musasa knows his goose is cooked and taps out.
Ever the sportsman, Vera releases the grip immediately before Dean even gets to them. This is a big win for Vera, who springs the major betting upset while knocking Musasa out of the list of undefeated fighters.

The Official Result
Carlos Vera
def.
Josias Musasa
R1 3:16 via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)