"You're down two rounds. You have to finish him."
Those were the words that came blasting from Ben Saunders' corner as he floated in the moments just before the final frame of his bout against Kenny Robertson got underway at UFC on Fox 16.
Despite his best efforts, Killa B had found himself on the business end of a few heavy exchanges with the former teacher-turned-UFC welterweight throughout the initial two stanzas, and time to turn things around was running thin.
Only five minutes remained, and the American Top Team representative's coaches were doing all they could to tell their fighter whatever energy and power he had left in the tanks needed to be expended with ill intentions toward Robertson. Saunders looked across the cage toward his opponent, and after a brief nod and a subtle smile to show the first 10 minutes had been a good time, it was time to let the urgency of moment take hold.
"I knew they wanted me to come out strong in that third round," Saunders told Bleacher Report. "I definitely came out there looking to finish the fight, but at the same time, I was kind of questioning the first round. I remember having a pretty good opening round. He did get the knockdown, but I immediately went to work off my back. I had him in trouble and almost in the triangle position at the end of the first, so I thought that was a round that I may have taken.
"Nonetheless, I listen to my corner and I agree with them. You never know how the judges may have seen things, and I went into the final round thinking I had to finish the fight to win."
The third and final round between Saunders and Robertson started with more exchanges on the feet until the Peoria-based fighter shot in for a takedown and brought the action to the canvas. Just as Robertson postured up to work his top game, Saunders set his high guard and threw up his legs to attempt a triangle choke.
Rather than catching one of Robertson's arms to lock in the submission, the South Florida native trapped both of his opponent's arms with his legs. Once the hold was secure, Saunders then began to pepper Robertson's head with an endless stream of elbows that opened a nasty cut that turned the remaining minutes into a bloody affair.
"I had both of his arms trapped and had a lot of options from that position," Saunders recalled. "I could go for the choke from there. I could go for armbars or omoplatas on either side. I could work different triangle variations or kimuras and different sweeps.
"There is a bunch of things that could be done from there, but I'm a big fan of reading off the energy someone is giving me. If I sit there and beat you up, you are going to give me some form of energy, and I'd rather go with the flow than force something to happen.
"Everyone is different with their reactions," he added. "Sometimes they try to buck out, and it gets slippery later in a fight. That was especially the case here because of all the blood. You have to be intelligent in that position, and I believe I was. We knew he was going to be a tough dude and I was going to be working a ton of submissions in the fight."
While Saunders was obviously in control of the round, the previous two frames left questions as to whether he had done enough to tip the balance. Being the finisher that he is, Saunders began looking for his window to lock in a fight-ending submission as the clock ticked down, and in the waning moments of the fight, he went for it.
Nevertheless, Robertson was able to escape, and the final bell sounded as he regained top position.
That meant the final outcome of the bout was going to play out on the judges' scorecards where Saunders would emerge victorious via a razor-thin split decision. Even though he wasn't able to put Robertson away, picking up his third straight win since returning the UFC last year is something the 32-year-old Orlando-based fighter gladly accepted.
Going into the fight, he knew Robertson was going to be a game opponent, but Saunders sees his gritty performance at UFC on Fox 16 as just another example of his overall mission to be a versatile and dangerous fighter anywhere the action takes place.
"I'm dangerous everywhere," Saunders said. "I'll pull guard on a dude or try flying submissions...you name it. I'm game to attack from everywhere, even in places where there doesn't appear to be anything there. Boxing has the rope-a-dope, and I'll do the cage-a-dope with squared-stance striking. It's more of a flow with me. I make myself very technical and I have a lot of different aspects to my game.
"It makes you question where the fight will come from or where you may want to take it, but at the same time, I'm comfortable everywhere. May the best man win, and I'm going to do my best to continue staying on point."
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com