UFC 243 results: Dhiego Lima batters Luke Jumeau's leg for third straight win

The best run of Dhiego Lima’s UFC career continued Saturday when he outworked Luke Jumeau to a victory at UFC 243.

Lima’s (15-7 MMA, 4-5 UFC) leg-kick game was the centerpiece of his offense as he kept Jumeau (13-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) guessing over the course of three rounds to win a split decision decision and extend his winning streak inside the octagon to three fights, which is quite the turn from his four-fight UFC skid that came prior.

The welterweight bout was part of the UFC 243 main card at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

The first round was a relatively uneventful frame. Lima immediately went to the leg kicks that have done him and his brother Douglas Lima so well in MMA, peppering Jumeau with shot after shot. Jumeau remained patient, though, trying to find his moments to counter-punch, but with little effect.

Jumeau tried to pick things up in the opening moments of the second round, but Lima kept him honest with more leg kicks, which began to take a noticeable tole and even dropped Jumeau at one point. The middle frame largely consisted of the Brazilian picking apart Jumeau. Jumeau appeared to stagger Lima with just over a minute remaining, but he couldn’t capitalize and spent the majority of the final 60 seconds on his back.

With Jumeau clearly hobbled going into the final round, Lima didn’t take any chances. He stayed on the outside and continued to work leg kicks and punching combinations. At about the midway point of the round, Lima tried to change course at the midway point with a takedown, but it was stopped and he spent the remainder of the fight implementing his existing game plan for what appeared to be a clear-cut win.

The judges clearly saw it as more competitive, though, because the scores came in as a split call with 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 scores.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 243 results include:

• Dhiego Lima def. Luke Jumeau via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Yorgan De Castro def. Justin Tafa via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:10
• Jake Matthews def. Rostem Akman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Callan Potter def. Maki Pitolo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Brad Riddell def. Jamie Mullarkey via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-26)
• Megan Anderson def. Zarah Fairn via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:57
• Ji Yeon Kim def. Nadia Kassem via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:59
• Khalid Taha def. Bruno Silva via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 3:00