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Bassil Hafez’s loss in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut does not appear to have been as demoralizing as it might have been for other promotional newcomers. Why? The performance he put forth in defeat was worthy of praise.
Hafez pumped the brakes on Jack Della Maddalena’s run of first-round finishes and pushed the Australian to the brink in a narrow split decision setback at UFC on ESPN 49. He managed to shake off any first-time jitters and established himself as a person of interest moving forward, as he secured three takedowns against Della Maddalena and racked up nearly seven minutes of control time.