Murilo against Erikson / Photo: Marcelo Alonso, Portal do Vale Tudo
Murilo Bustamante has sent word that he isn’t thinking about retirement yet. This Saturday at Amazon Fight Championship (AFC) in Manaus, Brazil, the Carlson Gracie black belt stepped in the cage to face Dave Menne and earned a unanimous decision after three rounds (watch the fight in the video below).
The bout was a rematch of a previous encounter between the two on January 11, 2002. On the occasion, UFC 35, Murilo scored a knockout in just 44 seconds and became the first Brazilian to hold a UFC title, which he would go on to successfully defend against Matt Lindland at UFC 37.
But the black belts accolades don’t end there. Bustamante was part of a time in MMA history when time limits didn’t exist, nor were there weight classes or gloves. His first official fight came in a Jiu-Jitsu-versus-luta livre challenge event in 1991, when he defeated Marcelo Mendes on a live nationwide television broadcast in Brazil. Another memorable moment came at the MARS event of 1996, in the USA, when he took on three opponents on the same night. In the tournament final, Bustamante went for 40 minutes against Tom Erikson, a giant 1.90 meters tall and weighing over 120 kilograms. With Carlson barking orders from the corner, Busta, at a slight 80 kilos, held out for the draw without taking any damage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcuqO78UUbQ
GRACIEMAG.com sends out its congratulations for the victory, at 45 years of age, of one of the gentle art’s great representatives.
Check out the complete results from the event:
Murilo Bustamante defeated Dave Menne via unanimous decision;
Thales Leites subbed Matt Horwich via arm triangle at 4:39 min of R2;
Patrick Cote defeated Gustavo Ximu via TKO at 2:44 min of R1;
Pete Spratt defeated Daniel Acácio via unanimous decision;
Ronys Torres defeated Ferrid Kheder via TKO at 0.22 min of R1;
Dileno Lopes submitted Javier Ocampo;
Emiliano Sordi defeated Fabiano Capoani via TKO;
Rivaldo Junior defeated Marcelo Rojo via unanimous decision;
Luiz Fernando defeated Pablo Javier via TKO.
