If there was one thing I learnt very well from this UFC Fight Night is that timing and surprise can really win you some fights, in both main event and non-main event bouts. A pretty decent main card in Belo Horizonte Brazil, almost all of the fights were highly entertaining, on both striking and grappling.
Glover Teixeira started off seemingly going to lose at standup, ate some pretty heavy clean shots by Ryan Bader. Teixeira dropped to one knee when he got caught with Bader's counter left hook and Bader thought he could finish him, tried to take him down but Teixeira managed to stand up with back on the fence. Bader kept throwing uppercuts and power rights but Teixeira burst out of sudden with a one-two that landed right on the button, dropping his opponent in return. The local finished off with some ground and pound. All of that, within Round 1. Glover Teixeira will face whoever that wins in the next UFC main event for the Light Heavyweight title. I'd put my money on Jon Jones to beat Alexander Gustafsson.
In the first main card bout between flyweights Ali Bagautinov and Marcos Vinicius, it looked like it was going to end with the judges decision. Vinicius had his hands up the entire time and yet Bagautinov still somehow got his face with his right punch. Straight between his gloves, dropped him and finished off with a Hiroshima's.
In the co-main event, we saw Ronaldo Souza dominated the former Middleweight belt contender Yushin Okami by TKO as well. The Japanese just couldn't seem to find a weakness of his Brazilian opponent, throwing only high-fives to check the reactions but Souza didn't give no attention to that. Okami threw a pathetic light body kick when Souza was closing in and got countered with a one-two which the two, was nothing but power, and dropped him right away. I was like, wow! The referee stopped the fight as Okami failed to respond to Souza's ground and pound. Souza's a real deal, people. Look out, Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva.
That's what I'm trying to say, timing and surprise, proved that they're everyone's weaknesses here.
UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Bader RESULTS
Fight of the Night: Rafael Natal vs. Tor Troeng
Knockout of the Night: Glover Teixeira
Submission of the Night: Piotr Hallmann
MAIN CARD
Light Heavyweight: Glover Teixeira def. Ryan Bader via TKO (punches) - R1 2:55
Middleweight: Ronaldo Souza def. Yushin Okami via TKO (punches) - R1 2:47
Flyweight: Joseph Benavidez def. Jussier Formiga via TKO (knee to the body and punches) - R1 3:07
Lightweight: Piotr Hallmann def. Francisco Trinaldo via Submission (kimura) - R2 3:50
Middleweight: Rafael Natal def. Tor Troeng via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Flyweight: Ali Bagautinov def. Marcos Vinicius via TKO (punches) - R3 3:28
PRELIMINARY CARD
Featherweight: Kevin Souza def. Felipe Arantes via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Bantamweight: Lucas Martins def. Junior Hernandez via Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) - R1 1:10
Welterweight: Elias Silvério def. João Zeferino via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Welterweight: Ivan Jorge def. Keith Wisniewski via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Welterweight: Sean Spencer def. Yuri Villefort via Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
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