Photo: UFC
As was to be expected, UFC Rio made history at the HSBC Arena this Saturday. The Brazilian crowd putting on a show of its own, while there was plenty of excitement on display in the octagon. Check out the results and synapse of the fights.
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami
Anderson Silva totally dominated on his way to his 14th victory in a row, eighth successful title defense. Following an extended feeling-out process, the “Spider” hit his mark with a resounding kick and looked good to finish, but the first round bell rounded. In the second, Silva came out guns blazinig, managing two knockdowns – the second with a jab. He followed up pounding on Okami on the ground, finalizing the knockout at 2:04 minutes.
Mauricio Shogun vs. Forrest Griffin
From the outset, Shogun landed the better share of strikes. Forrest seemed to be unable to find him, and after a failed attempt at dodging he took a salvo of strikes on the ground ending in a knockout. As he did following his loss to Anderson, Forrest darted out of the octagon, without waiting for his opponent’s hand to be raise. And the crowd changed: “The champion is back!” With the triumph, Shogun gets his comeuppance for his painful UFC debut in grand style.
“Thank you, Brazil! Forrest is a great fighter and I respect him,” said the Brazilian over the mic.
Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson
Three evenly-matched rounds that played out entirely on the feet. Edson tried spinning kicks and landed strikes that wobbled Pearson. However, it was Ross who pushed the pace the who time, and he also landed solid strikes of his own. After three rounds Barboza was deemed the victor by split decision.
“Each fight we move up a rung in the UFC ladder. I simply want more, I want to fight as much as possible and move up the ranks in the division,” commented Barboza.
Rodrigo Minotauro vs. Brendan Schaub
Both started with striking. Brendan came in with speed but Minotauro connected with a sequence of strikes that dropped his opponent. Schaub landed and Mino continued pounding away until the ref brought it to an end while still in the first round. The crowd went wild, chanting, “Minotauro is back!”
“I had three operations, spent a year on ice, four and a half months on crutches, and I only had three months to prepare. This was my 40th fight and my first in Brazil. I accepted the fight for you!” said Mino, addressing the crowd.
Luiz “Banha” Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov
From the outset, Stanislav landed better strikes than Banha did. Although he did enter the ring with Jiu-Jitsu black belt Bruno Bastos next to him, what Stanislav relied on was his boxing, connecting with two spot-on crosses that had the Brazilian reeling. He made the most of the situation by following up with more strikes for good measure and getting the technical knockout while still in the first round.
Thiago Tavares vs. Spencer Fisher
Thiago did a splendid job of landing takedowns and working the ground and pound. In the second round, the Ataque Duplo black belt repeated, making it to mount and striking till the ref intervened at the 2:21 minute mark.
Rousimar Toquinho vs. Dan Miller
Toquinho showed it’s not just his Jiu-Jitsu that’s up to speed, in facing Dan Miller. The black belt’s standup is find too, landing, for example, a front kick that dropped Miller in the first round. In the second round, something unprecedented happened: When he was close to sealing the victory by technical knockout, the Brazilian suddenly stopped and started celebrating, despite the referee having made no motion to intervene. “He shouted and I thought it was over,” he later explained.
Once the fight restarted, Toquinho exerted control and, despite a tough third round, managed to pull out the unanimous decision in his favor.
“It was a great feeling to fight in Rio,” the Murilo Bustamante student said, dedicating the win to a friend who recently passed away.
Paulo Thiago vs. David Mitchell
Received with heavy applause as he made his entrance to the theme music from theme music from the movie “Elite Force,” Paulo Thiago looked the part of the winner, while Mitchell was booed as he made his entrance to Jimmy Hendrix’s rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.” With every strike landed by the Brazilian the crowd chanted catch phrases from the “Elite Force” movie, demanding Mitchell, “Ask to leave.” Mind blown by the crowd, Dana White tweeted that he has never seen anything like the Brazilian crowd. In the three round, Paulo connected standing and took the action to the ground repeatedly. In the final seconds he nearly managed to sink a choke from back mount. The score cards came back and the officer from the special police task force Bope took the unanimous decision.
“It was a really important fight. I was in a rough spot, coming off back-to-back losses. My opponent was really tough. Now it’s on to the next one. Whatever the organization decides, I’m ready,” said Paulo.
Johnny Eduardo vs. Raphael Assunção
Johnny was doing alright in the first two round but Raphael managed to get the better of the action in the final instants of both of them. Assunção landed solid strikes while his opponent tried for a footlock. Johnny did manage to land a painful strike but it was too late. Raphael Assunção took the unanimous decision.
“It was a pleasure to fight Johnny Eduardo here in Rio, he’s really tough! I dropped down a weight class and it was rough,” said Raphael.
Erick Silva vs. Luis Beição
Beição went on the attack but Erick defended well. Erick followed up on a jab with a looping punch that landed square on its mark, dropping Beição and pounding away on the ground until the referee separated them.
Yuri “Marajó” vs. Felipe “Sertanejo”
Yuri saw the better of the action throughout the three round, landing takedowns and doing better in the standup department. Marajó took a well-deserved unanimous decision after three round.
Check out all the results:
Anderson Silva defeated Yushin Okami by TKO at 4:02 minutes of R2
Mauricio Shogun defeated Forrest Griffin via TKO in R1
Edson Barboza defeated Ross Pearson via split decision
Rodrigo Minotauro defeated Brendan Schaub via TKO at 3:09 minutes of R1
Stanislav Nedkov defeated Luiz “Banha” Cane via TKO at 4 min of R1
Thiago Tavares defeated Spencer Fisher via TKO at 2:21 minutes of R2
Rousimar Toquinho defeated Dan Miller via unanimous decision
Paulo Thiago defeated David Mitchell via unanimous decision
Raphael Assunção defeated Johnny Eduardo via unanimous decision
Erick Silva defeated Luis Ramos by TKO at 40s of R1
Yuri Marajô defeated Felipe Sertanejo via unanimous decision
Yves Jabouin defeated Ian Loveland via split decision
