Alex Oliveira, Little Nog highlight Sao Paulo victories

Surging welterweight contender Alex „Cowboy“ Oliveira made quick work of Italy’s Carlo Pedersoli Jr. in Saturday’s UFC Sao Paulo co-main event at Ginásio do Ibirapuera, stopping him in the first round.

A brief feeling out process to start the bout ended when Rio de Janeiro’s Oliveira caught a right kick from Pedersoli and proceeded to drill his off-balance foe with a right hand to the head. Pedersoli fell to the mat and Oliveira didn’t let him off the hook, as a series of unanswered blows ended the bout. The official time of referee Jerin Valel’s stoppage was 39 seconds.

With the win, the No. 14-ranked Oliveira improves to 19-4-1 with 2 NC. Pedersoli falls to 11-2.

NOGUEIRA vs ALVEY

Back in the Octagon for the first time since November 2016, Rogerio Nogueira delivered an impressive victory for his home country fans, as he halted Sam Alvey in the second round of their light heavyweight bout.

LITTLE NOG DOES IT!!@MinotouroMMA still got it at 42!! #UFCSP pic.twitter.com/jZqsTSc6DP

— UFC (@ufc) September 23, 2018

It was a fairly slow first round, with Alvey edging it thanks to a couple hard punches that momentarily shook Nogueira. Nogueira returned the favor early in round two, though, kicking off a frenetic sequence of Nogueira chasing Alvey and Alvey then standing and trading with the Brazilian star. But Alvey wasn’t able to stop his opponent’s charge, with a wild left hand dropping the Californian and prompting referee Marc Goddard to step in and stop the fight. The official time of the stoppage was 1:00 of the second round.

With the win, the 42-year-old Nogueira moves to 23-8. Alvey falls to 33-11 with 1 NC.

EWELL vs BARAO

UFC newcomer Andre Ewell scored the upset in his first trip to the Octagon, winning a three-round split decision over former world bantamweight champion Renan Barao.

Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Ewell, now 14-4. Barao, who came in overweight for the bout at 141.75 pounds, falls to 36-7 with 1 NC.

Ewell stunned Barao 30 seconds in with a left to the jaw that dropped the Brazilian. Barao recovered quickly and locked up with his foe. Ninety seconds in, Barao got the bout to the mat, and with a little over a minute left, he got into the mount before looking for an armbar. Ewell escaped and got back to his feet, but Barao put him on the deck again, this time until the horn sounded.

Ewell’s striking remained sharp in the second, as he tagged Barao several times. But with a minute remaining, it was back to the mat courtesy of another Barao takedown. In the third, Ewell controlled matters at range, sealing the biggest victory of his career.

MARKOS vs RODRIGUEZ

Strawweights Randa Markos and Marina Rodriguez battled to a three-round majority draw in the main card opener.

Scores were 29-28 Markos and 28-28 twice.

Markos provided a rude welcome to Rodriguez, taking her down early in the fight and keeping her there until the end of the frame. It was a different story in the second, as the combatants remained standing, finally allowing Rodriguez some daylight to get her strikes off. A bloodied Markos did get it back to the mat in the second minute of round three, but with a little over two minutes remaining, Rodriguez fought her way back to her feet, and she was clearly the fresher fighter down the stretch, allowing the Brazilian to pull even on two scorecards, producing the draw verdict.

The No. 13-ranked Markos moves to 8-7-1. Rodriguez moves to 10-0-1.