Formiga is defeated by Joseph Benavidez at UFC Minneapolis and moves away from a chance at the belt

J. Benavidez (photo) defeats J. Formiga in UFC Minneapolis. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @joejitsu

The Brazilian Jussier formiga won't have a night to remember after the UFC Minneapolis. The athlete from Natal (RN), despite having a good first round, suffered from the power of his strikes. Joseph Benavidez and was knocked out at the end of the second round, this Saturday (29), in the United States. With the setback, the athlete walked away from the chance to fight for the title against Henry Cejudo. Another Brazilian on the card, Demian Maia He put on a good performance and emerged victorious in his fight against Anthony Rocco and achieved his second consecutive triumph.

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Before the fight, Formiga was in first place in the flyweight rankings (up to 56,7kg) and believed that, if he won, he would be next in line to face Henry Cejudo by category title. The athlete had four consecutive victories and, after this Saturday's commitment, he must return to the battle to once again be a possible challenger.

Joseph, in turn, was in second place in the rankings and had two consecutive victories in the division. The athlete was once a title challenger, when the belt holder was the legendary Demetrious Johnson, in the year 2013.

The two athletes entered the octagon showing a great desire to achieve the knockout and fought an honest fight during almost the entire clash.

The fight

The athletes started the fight by measuring the distance a lot. Some blows were thrown in the void until they actually entered into an open fight. Benavidez threw high kicks that narrowly missed the Brazilian. Timid in the fight, Formiga waited for his opponent's actions to attempt a counterattack. After two minutes of duel, Jussier's belly was already red as a result of Joseph's kicks. The American, in turn, had a cut on his eyebrow, which seemed to bother the athlete. Sometimes Benavidez would put his hand to his eye to clean the bleeding that was obstructing his vision. With less than a minute remaining, the Brazilian tried to land a standing guillotine choke, but Joseph managed to free himself. The fighters exchanged dangerous blows again, but there was no more time.

On the way back to the clash, Benavidez once again bet on kicks to the Brazilian's waistline. The athletes showed a lot of desire to achieve the knockout, which made the fight very tense. After two minutes, Formiga managed to land a nice takedown on his opponent. Joseph, however, fell into a better position and began working to finish the athlete from Natal (RN). Jussier managed to get up and the duel was once again fought standing up. At the end of the stage, the duel was very balanced, but the Brazilian began to show signs of fatigue. With 20 seconds left, Joseph landed a nice shin to Jussier's head, who felt the blow and shook. Noticing Formiga's condition, Benavidez attacked the athlete and, after a straight shot, took the Brazilian to the ground. The North American was left to strike Jussier and wait for the referee to stop the fight.

Demian Maia dominates Anthony Rocco and wins at UFC Minneapolis

D. Maia wins in UFC Minneapolis. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc

One of the greatest representatives of jiu-jitsu in MMA, Demian Maia He asserted his reputation as a great athlete in the gentle art and put all his weapons on the line to beat Anthony Rocco in a welterweight duel (up to 77kg), in the UFC Minneapolis. Even though he wasn't able to finish, the athlete managed to get a good victory and managed to put an end to his opponent's four-game winning streak.

Maia, now 42 years old and in 12th place in the rankings, managed to overcome a difficult phase within Ultimate once and for all. Before this Saturday's match, Maia had won just one victory in his last three clashes. The triumph, however, represented Demian's second consecutive victory.

His opponent, Rocco, was enjoying great growth within the organization. The North American, however, succumbed to the experience of the São Paulo native and will have to wait for his next fight to try to get back into the category rankings.

The fight

The round started with the athletes studying each other hard. Martin was cautious and prevented the Brazilian from getting to his legs to work on his jiu-jitsu. Attentive, Anthony walked backwards and controlled the distance well to not let Demian get closer. In his first attempt, Maia managed to catch the American's left leg and managed to take down his opponent. The São Paulo native then started to fight in his comfort zone and look for the submission. On the ground and pressing his opponent against the fence, Demian threw blows at Martin, who tried to defend himself as best he could. With one minute left until the end of the assault, Rocco managed to get up, being immediately applauded by the audience present. However, the North American produced little in the remaining time.

The second stage began with Anthony taking more risks in the fight. The North American tried two high kicks, but they were well saved by the Brazilian. Demian continued to look for Rocco's legs and succeeded in the second attack. Even though he was knocked down, Martin showed that he was prepared for the São Paulo player's ground game. Once again on the cage, Maia was superior in the fight, but couldn't find the best position to perform his submission over Rocco. Dominant, but without much action, the referee stopped the fight and made the athletes return to their feet.

In the last round, the North American needed to overcome the damage suffered in the previous rounds. The fighter then started to provoke Demian, calling the Brazilian to fight. Maia, however, did not fall for his opponent's strategy and remained focused. Anthony started to throw some high kicks that exploded in the São Paulo native's guard. The fight remained tense in the last stage. Some of Martin's punches began to land on Maia's face. The Brazilian already showed some fatigue in the duel, but continued moving. In the end, the São Paulo native had a scare after suffering a blow while trying to get at his opponent's legs, but he managed the situation well until the end of the round.

UFC Minneapolis results

MAIN CARD 

Heavy weight (up to 120,2kg): Francis Ngannou derrotou Junior Gypsy knockout at 1m11s of R1

Flyweight (up to 56,7kg): Joseph Benavidez derrotou Jussier formiga by knockout at 4m47s of R2

Welterweight (up to 77kg): Demian Maia derrotou Anthony Rocco Martin in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Light weight (up to 70,3kg.): Vinc Pichel derrotou RooseveltRoberts in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Light weight (up to 70,3kg.): Drew dober defeated Marco Polo Reyes by knockout at 1:07 of R1

Light heavyweight (up to 93kg): Alonzo Menifield derrotou Paul Craig by knockout at 3m19s of R1

PRELIMINARY CARD 

Bantam weight (up to 61,2kg): Ricardo Carcacinha derrotou JourneyNewson in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Light heavyweight (up to 93kg): Erik Anders derrotou Vinicius Mamute by knockout at 1m18s of R1

Light weight (up to 70,3kg.): Jared gordon defeated Dan Moret via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

Light heavyweight (up to 93kg): Dalcha Lungiambula defeated Dequan Townsend by knockout 42 seconds into R3

Straw weight (up to 52,1kg): Amanda ribas derrotou emily whitmire via submission 3m10s into R2

Heavy weight (up to 120,2kg): Maurice Greene derrotou Junior albini by knockout at 3m38s of R1

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