A brief flurry at the end of the first round may have been the difference between Sam Alvey getting his fourth consecutive victory and Nate Marquardt getting the win in his hometown of Denver.
Alvey battered Marquardt during the second round of their UFC on FOX 23 middleweight fight. Marquardt rallied for a strong third round.
So you had to rewind to the opening round of their fight to find the winner. There wasn’t much doing by either fighter in the altitude at Pepsi Center over the opening five minutes. But Alvey scored with a big finishing flurry in the closing seconds, closing the distance with punches and landing knees in the clinch right up to the horn.