Durinho (photo) lifted the crowd at Maracanãzinho with a victory over Giagos. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
With a show of submissions, the preliminary card of the fifth edition of UFC Rio, as UFC 179 became popularly known, filled the eyes of ground fighting fans present at the Maracanãzinho gym, in Rio de Janeiro. Four of the night's six opening bouts ended in submission, with the highlight being Gilbert Durinho, who starred in moments of pure technique in his victory over Christos Giagos.
Ward of Vitor belfort and the veteran's training partner at the Blackzilians academy, Durinho showed his already well-known jiu-jitsu skill with quick and accurate movements. The Brazilian took advantage of a hesitation from Giagos to lock in a tight armbar, forcing the North American to tap out in the final seconds of the first round and exploding the crowd in the arena with celebration.
Submissions were also present in the combats of Wilson reis and Yan Cabral. The Brazilian flyweight recovered from an early knockdown and made the tough Scott Jorgensen tap out three times with a katagatame; The Nova União athlete beat Japanese Naoyuki Kotani with a rear naked choke.
However, the night until then was not all joy for the Brazilian fighters. Fabrício Morango suffered his third consecutive defeat in the UFC, the second in a row by submission, when he succumbed to the kimura applied by Tony Martin. Felipe Sertanejo was defeated by André Fili in the judges' decision, while William Patolino was defeated by Neil Magny by technical knockout.
See how each fight on the UFC Rio 5 preliminary card went:
At the opening of the event, Morango is finished and gets complicated
Strawberry is submitted by Martin. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
The UFC 179 fights didn't start the way Brazilian fans wanted. In the “fight of the desperate” of the night, Fabrício Morango suffered his third consecutive defeat in the UFC against Tony Martin, who, in turn, is recovering from the two setbacks suffered in his last two fights.
More surprising than the result itself was the way in which the North American achieved victory. After a few moments of striking, Martin took Morango to the ground, the area where the Brazilian has his main weapons. After a kimura attempt by the Brazilian, the North American reversed position and began attempting the blow. Even though he was tight, the Brazilian didn't hit at first. However, after a few moments of resistance, Morango gave up and suffered his second consecutive submission (in his last fight, he had been submitted by Jim Miller).
Durinho achieves a beautiful finish and lifts the crowd
Gilbert Durinho made his debut in the UFC lightweight division on the right foot. The Brazilian achieved his second victory inside the octagon after landing a beautiful submission against his opponent, Christos Giagos.
The fight initially took place on the feet, with both fighters connecting good blows. After two minutes, Durinho managed a precise takedown and started working on his ground game – he mounted, and then took Giagos' back. In the final seconds of the first round, Giagos tried to “explode” to free himself from Durinho, but the Brazilian quickly secured an armbar and won the victory to the delight of the fans present in the Maracanãzinho gym.
This was the ninth victory in Durinho's career, who remains undefeated in professional MMA. Giagos suffered his first setback in his debut fight in Ultimate.
On the preliminary card, Team Alpha Male 1 x Brazil 0
In the first duel of the night between Team Alpha Male and a Brazilian athlete, the North Americans won. André Fili, team partner Chad Mendes, defeated Felipe Sertanejo in the unanimous decision of the judges.
With the exception of the first round, which took place most of the time standing up, most of the combat took place on the ground. Fili and Sertanejo alternated moments of dominance, but the North American spent more time on top and almost scored a shot in the final minutes. At the end of the three scheduled rounds, victory for Fili with a triple 29 to 28.
With the result, Sertanejo fails to achieve two consecutive victories in the UFC for the first time – in the organization, he has three wins, three losses and one draw. The North American is recovering from the defeat he suffered against Max Holloway in his most recent fight, going 2-1 in the Octagon.
Reis finishes with katagatame and sinks Jorgensen
Wilson reis concludes Jorgensen. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
The fourth fight of the night looked like it would be complicated for another Brazilian athlete. Wilson reis He began by taking a knockdown from the American Scott Jorgensen, but managed to recover and end the duel in his favor in the first round.
Standing up, Reis landed a nice shot on Jorgensen's ribs, which he clearly felt. As soon as the fight went to the ground, the Brazilian worked some strikes and landed a tight katagatame. Jorgensen hesitated, but had no choice but to withdraw.
This was Reis' fourth fight in the UFC, achieving his third victory. Jorgensen, who failed to make weight on Friday, continued his poor run of results in the Octagon – it was his sixth defeat in ten appearances in the Ultimate Championship.
Cabral resumes winning ways with rear naked choke in Kotani
In his debut in the lightweight division, Yan Cabral confirmed his favoritism and defeated Naoyuki Kotani in the fifth fight of the night. After a tepid start to the fight, the Brazilian took the Japanese down and went to his back, quickly securing a rear-naked choke.
With this, Cabral returned to his winning ways after losing his unbeaten record in his last fight, against Zak Cummings, in May. Kotani, in turn, suffered his second consecutive defeat.
Patolino doesn't think he's up against Magny and falls by technical knockout
In his first fight since December last year, William Patolino did not appear comfortable in the octagon in front of Neil Magny. Clearly lost on his feet against a bigger opponent, the Brazilian was unable to impose his game and ended up being nullified by the North American.
In the second and third rounds, Magny managed to take the fight to the ground and dominate Patolino, who did little to react. By insisting on applying ground-and-pound strikes, Magny had his victory declared at 2:40 of the final period.
The result crowns an impeccable year for Magny, who achieved his fifth victory in five fights in 2014. Patolino suffered his second defeat in professional MMA, both in three fights in the UFC. It was also the first time that the TUF Brazil 3 runner-up fell by knockout or technical knockout.
UFC Rio 5 preliminary card results:
Welterweights: Neil Magny derrotou William Patolino by technical knockout in R3;
Mild: Yan Cabral defeated Naoyuki Kotani via submission in R2
Flies: Wilson reis defeated Scott Jorgensen via submission in R1;
Feathers: André Fili derrotou Felipe Sertanejo by unanimous decision
Mild: Gilbert Durinho derrotou Christos Giagos by submission in R1;
Mild: Tony Martin defeated Fabrício Morango via submission in R1;
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