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Antonio Carlos Junior and Eric Spicely was billed as a grappling battle and it lived up to the hype. Carlos Junior was the last man standing, as his high level jiu-jitsu was too much for Spicely, who tapped out to a rear naked choke at 3:49 of round two.
Matthew Lopez landed the takedown he was looking for from the get-go against Johnny Eduardo early in the first round and the rest was academic. Lopez finished Eduardo by TKO at 2:57 of the first round.
THEY SAID IT:
Matthew Lopez : “I didn´t know what to expect coming to this fight. I didn´t think he was going to throw that many leg kicks. But once I knew that is what he was going for, I knew that my takedowns were going to be off his leg kicks, so I wasn’t worried about them. He was 10; now I want the 9, the 8, the 7, until I get to No. 1.”
It was the perfect debut for Brian Kelleher in Brazil. The Long Island product choked out Iuri Alcantara with a guillotine choke at 1:48 of the first round. Alcantara came out firing big punches and kicks, but Kelleher weathered the storm and landed a big shot that led to the finishing scramble.
THEY SAID IT:
Brian Kelleher : “Actually, earlier in the day I felt really nervous, but once I was walking out I felt confident and knew I belong here. I had taken some losses early on in my career, then I went on a nice win streak. I flipped the mental switch, and I am ready to fight the best now. I think I went a little too far with the Brazilian crowd. I love Brazil. people have been nice with me here, but I was getting booed and I was excited, so I just responded.”
Viviane Pereira was too much in the striking department, outclassing Jamie Moyle on the feet to earn the unanimous decision win, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27. Moyle tried to get the fight to the ground throughout but Pereira was able to keep Moyle at range and elude all takedown attempts.
THEY SAID IT:
Viviane Pereira : “The strategy was to keep the distance and focus on my striking to avoid the clinch and the ground, which was her intention. I want to fight soon. I want to enter the top-15, then top-5 and then, of course, get the belt, which is what every high-performance athlete seeks. I do not choose an opponent, but I always want to face someone better.”
Luan Chagas picked up his first win in the UFC after an impressive performance against Jim Wallhead on UFC FIGHT PASS. Chagas was getting the better of the striking exchanges, using his speed advantage to land consistent counter punches. It was a counter left hook that dropped Wallhead in the second round and Chagas swarmed and sunk in a rear naked choke to earn the submission win at 4:48 of the second round.
THEY SAID IT:
Luan Chagas : „He surprised me at first – hit a few punches and I felt it. But I was very confident in my game, in my striking game, and my cardio was on point, so it was all good. I know that my situation inside the UFC was a bit tight, but I’m sure that after this great win, things will be firm again. Now the fans can only hope for wins until I get the belt. „
Deiveson Figueiredo put on a grappling exhibition in the second round of his UFC debut against Marco Beltran, attacking with submissions and ground and pound before finishing the fight standing by TKO at 5:00 of the second round. Figueiredo improves to 12-0 and established himself as a intriguing new fighter in the UFC 125-pound division. He likes to fight with his hands down and is always game for a brawl and his jiu-jitsu is next level. He almost finished the fight with a heel hook and his transitions were sublime in all the ground scrambles.
THEY SAID IT:
Deiveson Figueiredo : “My debut was exactly the way I wanted, with a show for the Brazilian fans. I can guarantee that from now on, whenever I’m on the card, one of the best fights of the night will be mine. I will always fight to give a show to the fans, to win bonuses. I just got here, and I accept whatever opponent the UFC wants to give me.”