Takedowns were the name of the game for Chinese UFC newcomer Wuliji Buren, but they weren’t enough to top Ronaldo Dy.

Buren (10-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) used his wrestling and solid scrambles on the ground to his advantage against Dy (9-6-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC), but it didn’t seem to resonate with the judges compared to Dy’s striking, which was on point early and late. Dy took the unanimous nod with a pair of 30-27 scores and a 29-28.

The catchweight bout (Dy missed the featherweight limit) was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 122 event at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Dy struck first in tight quarters with a left, and Buren threw a kick. But immediately after, Dy landed a heavy left hook and put Buren on his backside. But Buren recovered quickly and got back to his feet. There, he secured a takedown, then scrambled to take Dy’s back when Dy returned to his feet. But Buren dragged him right back down.

Dy got back to his feet and into the center of the cage midway through the round and wanted to exchange again. He kicked to Buren’s lead leg, then tried one to the body. With 45 seconds left, Buren landed a solid right, but couldn’t put a follow-up together. Dy tried a takedown late in the frame, but Buren avoided it.

Buren worked hard for a takedown right away in the second. He got it, but Dy reversed position and got on top. He had to contend with a headlock from Buren, but was in side control. He leveled knees to Buren’s left side and eventually popped his head out. Buren tried to scramble out and did with three minutes left. Dy threw heavy lefts, but Buren landed a right of his own. Midway through, Dy landed a two-punch combination and came behind it with a body kick. But not long after, Buren got Dy’s attention with a combo of his own and a heavy right hand. Another followed moments later, and he backed it up with a takedown – though he let Dy back up.

Buren dropped for a takedown to start the third. He had to work for it, but got it and went to work on top in Dy’s half-guard. Buren tried to pass to mount and stayed patient on top. Buren worked short punches to the body and head. Dy scrambled out, though, and back to his feet after referee Herb Dean urged more action from Buren.

But Buren cracked him with a right hand, then went back to work for another takedown attempt. It didn’t come, and with half a round left, they went back to the center of the cage. A Dy kick caught Buren too low, and Dean gave him a break. But with two minutes left, they got back to work. Buren shot for another takedown, but Dy stuffed it and for the first time Buren looked fatigued.

Buren went to his bread and butter with 75 seconds left, and again with 30 seconds left. But when he couldn’t land the takedowns, Dy smashed him with a pair of right elbows. They tied up late in the frame, but Buren couldn’t get a late takedown to influence the judges.

Dy snapped a two-fight skid and picked up his first win in the UFC. Buren had a two-fight winning streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 122 results include:

• Rolando Dy def. Wuliji Buren via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
• Cyril Asker def. Hu Yaozong via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:33

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 122, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in China.)

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