Cane edges Cantwell in striking clinic

MMA fighters too often become one shot strikers when they hit the cage but not Luiz Cane and Steve Cantwell. They assaulted each other mixing in plenty of punch combinations and solid punch-kick combos over the course of three rounds to open the pay-per-view portion of UFC 97. Neither fighter got on enough of a roll simply  because they stemmed anu run by throwing shots right back. 

Cane set the pace in the first and then closed strong in the third to gain the unanimous decision win 29-28 on one card and 30-27 on the other two. Cage Writer scored it 29-28 for Cane.

Cane is technically unbeaten in the UFC, his only blemish was a disqualification when he landed an illegal knee against James Irvin. They’re both proficient with their hands and their kicks. Both can be dangerou matchups for much of the 205 class. This is a quality loss for a guy like Cantwell who is being thrown into the mix at a high level after moving over from WEC. The 22-year-old Cantwell is now 1-1 in the UFC. Cane's right eye was a mess after the fight if that was any consolation for Cantwell.

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