Last night the UFC hit The Arena Jaraguá in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil for the long awaited Octagon debut of Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, as he faced former UFC champion and Brazilian icon Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort in the main event of UFC on FX 8. The co-main event saw the UFC debut of another former Strikeforce titleholder, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Whenever the UFC comes to Brazil, the fighters in their home country try to put on a show for their countrymen, and this card was no exception. Here are the Highs and Lows of UFC on FX 8:
The Highs
The night started with a bout between The Ultimate Fighter Live’s Jeremy Larsen and Brazilian prospect Lucas Martins. On paper Martins looked like a shoo-in, but this was far from an easy fight for the Chute Boxe export. Larsen was the aggressor from the opening bell, landing numerous overhand rights, but on his way to the inside, he was caught by his opponent.
After a back and forth war, the fight was even entering the third round. Larsen went for the kill at the beginning of the round and brought the pressure, but this ultimately led to his downfall. While backpedaling, Martins threw a precise counter which rendered Larsen unconscious.
Although clearly talented, Martins showed a gaping hole in his defence last night, and this needs to be rectified if he is to ascend within the talent-rich lightweight division.
Also on the Facebook portion of the event, John Lineker faced the Russian master of sambo Azamat Gashimov, and even though it was a complete mismatch experience-wise, Lineker showed just how talented he is from the get-go.
From the beginning, Lineker showed off his power and boxing pedigree against his inexperienced adversary, Lineker mixed up power right straights with hooks to the body and hurt Gashimov on numerous occasions before finishing him off with a liver kick and vicious ground and pound.
Next up I would love to Lineker matched up with the ever-entertaining John Dodson.
In the talent-laden 135-pound division, two Brazilians paired off, as Iuri Alcantara faced short-notice replacement Iliarde Santos, and the fight ended early and brutally, as Alcantara matched his technical prowess with power, and delivered a beautiful knockout.
Alcantara has proven himself in the bantamweight division, and I believe it’s time for him to face a Top 10 opponent.
On the Fuel TV portion of the card, Gleison Tibau faced stockbroker-cum-mixed martial artist John Cholish, and Tibau looked rejuvenated and ready to go after taking a new approach to his training camp. He shifted his focus from lifting heavy to a more conditioning-based workout, and he seemed faster to the punch in this fight.
After a dominant first round, Tibau went in for the kill and jumped for a standing guillotine, which forced the tap from Cholish, who announced his retirement. I hope the perennial Top 15 UFC lightweight Tibau will finally string another few wins together and get himself into title contention.
In the co-main event, “Jacare” took on late replacement Chris Camozzi, which proved a great matchup to showcase Jacare’s obvious skill, but while it gave Jacare the platform to introduce himself to the UFC fanbase, he wasn’t ever really going to be challenged.
For what it’s worth, Jacare did what he does best, and took the fight to the ground, showing off why he is probably the best grappler in MMA. Next up, the UFC should match him up with Costa Philippou, as originally planned.
In the main event, former UFC champ Vitor Belfort faced the final Strikeforce middleweight champion in an unofficial number one contender bout, and the outcome was spectacular. Vitor Belfort continued his renaissance and landed a spinning heel kick KO that Uriah Hall would be proud of.
However, Belfort is in a precarious position, as at present Nevada seems reluctant to grant him a license to fight there, and in my opinion the UFC wouldn’t feel comfortable giving a title shot to someone who couldn’t fight in the “Fight Capital of the World.”
The Lows
Firstly, I realise that refereeing is probably the most difficult job in mixed martial arts, and over the years Kevin Mulhall has made minimal mistakes, but following his awful mistake in the Gian Villante vs. OSP fight at UFC 159, he again made decisions that I can only describe as bizarre.
In both the first and second rounds of the flyweight battle between Jussier Formiga and Chris Cariaso he stood up Formiga for no reason while the Nova Uniao BJJ specialist was implementing his trademark fast-paced jiu jitsu styling.
Hopefully refs will learn from the mistakes of Mulhall and prevent rash stand ups like that from being given in future, but one set of officials never learn, as the judges gifted Rafael Dos Anjos a decision against Evan Dunham later in the evening.
The literal low of the night came from Roger Hollett, as he threw a spinning back kick that wouldn’t look misplaced at an under 10’s Tae kwon do tournament. This low blow had a major impact on his foe Fabio Maldonado, as he struggled for the remainder of the first round. But as the second round got going, Maldonado finally recovered and began to unleash his trademark boxing-oriented onslaught. In the third, Maldonado put on a show and devastated Hollett with his non-stop body punishment; luckily Hollett’s low blow didn’t ruin the night for Maldonado.
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UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold took place on May 18, 2013 at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil.
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