UFC 238: In a tense fight, Sterling beats Pedro Munhoz and keeps Brazilian away from a chance at the belt

P. Munhoz (right) is defeated by A. Sterling (left). Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @Ufc_brasil

The Brazilian Peter Munhoz was defeated after a duel against aljamain sterling, in the penultimate fight of the preliminary card at UFC 238. After three hard-fought rounds, the fight was decided by the judges, who chose the North American as the winner, this Saturday (8). With the defeat, the São Paulo native moves away from the chance to compete for the bantamweight title (up to 62,1kg).

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Throughout the fight, Sterling took advantage of his greater size and, during the three rounds, made it difficult for the Brazilian to land good blows or even try to take the fight to the ground, where Pedro is a specialist. Even though he was defeated, the São Paulo native left a good impression, as he never stopped going after Aljamain throughout the fight.

The last defeat of Peter Munhoz It had happened in March 2018, when the Brazilian faced John Jodson, at UFC 222. After that, the athlete managed to recover and achieved three consecutive victories, which allowed the São Paulo native to be in fourth place in the category ranking. The last one, including, about the former division champion, cody garbrandt, in March of this year.

Sterling, like Pedro, had three consecutive victories. His last defeat happened precisely to the next challenger for the bantamweight title, Marlon moraes.

The fight

The clash began with the fighters exchanging kicks in the center of the octagon in the first few seconds. With a lot of movement, Sterling sought to take advantage of his greater size to get closer to the São Paulo native. The Brazilian showed great caution, but received a cross to the tip of the chin, however, the athlete did not attack the blow. Little by little, Munhoz began to loosen up in the fight and didn't fall for the American's provocations. The athletes continued exchanging blows and looking for a knockout, making the fight very tense. Even though he was receiving good attacks, Pedro continued to walk forward and try to land a blow to end the duel. Sterling, however, looked very dangerous in his attacks.

With the possibility of having lost the first round, the Brazilian returned to the fight with the need to make up for the loss. Abusing his kicks, Sterling tried to get at the São Paulo native's legs, but Munhoz showed experience in defending the takedowns. Pedro found it difficult to connect his blows, but, halfway through the round, Aljamain began to show signs of fatigue, but even so, he remained dangerous with his rights and kicks. Reaching the end of the stage, Sterling landed good blows on the Brazilian's chin, which he shook twice. However, the São Paulo native showed a lot of heart and continued to attack the North American. In the fourth minute, Pedro hit Sterling with a low kick, knocking his opponent down. The Brazilian immediately tried a submission, however, he couldn't do it well and allowed his opponent to get up.

In the last stage, Pedro needed to achieve a submission or a knockout to win the duel. The athlete would then try to press the opponent against the cage and approach, kicking the opponent's body. Even though he was in good physical condition, Aljamain's size continued to be a problem for the Tupiniquim. Sterling's blows continued to hit Munhoz's face, which, despite not blaming, hurt the Brazilian's face. After three minutes, the North American was already showing a lot of fatigue, and Pedro tried to take advantage of the situation by attacking his opponent against the cage. In the final minute, the two combatants, already very worn out, exchanged punches in the center of the octagon. Aljamain tried to get the Brazilian's legs, who defended himself well.

Tatiana Suarez defeats Amanda Nunes' fiancée and gets closer to fighting for the title

T. Suarez (photo) defeats N. Ansaroff in UFC 238. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc_brasil

The bride of Amanda nunes had no luck in his fight in UFC 238. The North American succumbed to her compatriot's falls and was defeated by unanimous decision of the judges, this Saturday (8. After the setback, Tatiana approached a possible fight against the Brazilian Jéssica 'Bate-Estaca', current strawweight champion (until 52,1kg.).

The fight between the two athletes marked the meeting of two potential opponents to fight the current division champion. Before entering the octagon, Tatiana was in second place in the category ranking, while Nina was in third place. Both are only behind Rose namajunas, former champion, who revealed that she has no interest in a rematch at the current moment.

Nina's defeat could mean a temporary retirement for Ansaroff, who has already admitted in interviews her desire to be a mother.

Right at the beginning of the fight, Tatiana Suarez placeholder image looked for the legs Nina ansaroff and, after two attempts, he managed to put Nina on the ground. Ansaroff tried to defend himself, but Suarez continued to look for a submission on his compatriot. Nina managed to get up, but Tatiana tried again to take Ansaroff to the ground. The bride of Amanda nunes She was unable to show much of a reaction against her compatriot's sharp ground and the athlete was left to wait for the end of the round.

In the second round, Nina needed to fight back. The athlete began attacking her opponent with kicks and punches, but Tatiana again dove at Ansaroff's legs and tried to take her compatriot to the ground. In a situation similar to the first stage, Tatiana scored over Nina, who proved to be an easy target for Suarez's attacks. With just over a minute remaining, Tatiana began landing good blows on Ansaroff's face in an attempt to end the fight. The fight was interrupted with 56 seconds left after Nina hit him on the genitals. However, the fight returned after a short time.

Needing a knockout or submission to win, Nina entered the third round with the need to attack Tatiana. Suarez continued to show good physical condition and fought better on his feet. After two minutes of fighting, Tatiana returned to attacking Ansaroff's legs, who was no longer very active in the fight. With just under a minute left in the fight, Nina connected with a good kick to Suarez's head, who appeared to have felt the blow. In the end, Nina managed to land good blows on Tatiana, but there was no more time.

Eddie Wineland ruins Grigory Popov's debut with stunning knockout

E. Wineland (right) delivers a devastating knockout to G. Popov (left). Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc_brasil

The experienced Wineland managed to spoil the debut of Russian Grigory Popov in Ultimate. With all the expectations for the UFC 238, Popov was unable to impose his game and suffered his second career defeat.

The athletes showed the public a very busy fight. Eddie started taking the initiative, hitting Grigory and practically hunting his opponent around the octagon. In the first minutes, the Russian already had a cut on his face, which became a target for Wineland. The initial assault, then, was won with some ease by the North American.

In the second round, Popov sought to recover from the loss from the first stage. In the first few seconds, the athlete managed to knock Eddie down after throwing a great right punch. Wineland took the hit and visibly had his rhythm slowed down in the fight. After half the time, the athletes were already showing the public a very balanced fight. Little by little, the American loosened up again, but Grigory seemed attached. With one minute left until the end of the stage, Wineland managed to hit his opponent with a great sequence, who fell, but managed to get up. Popov, even standing up, showed that he was swinging at all the blows thrown by the American, who, with just 13 seconds remaining, managed the knockout.

UFC 238 results

MAIN CARD 

Bantamweight: Henry Cejudo derrotou Marlon moraes by knockout at 4:51 of R3

Fly weight: Valentina Shevchenko derrotou Jessica Eye by knockout at 26s of R2

Lightweight: Tony Ferguson derrotou Donald Cerrone by technical knockout (medical interruption) 5m from R2

Bantamweight: Petr yan derrotou Jimmie rivera in the unanimous decision of the judges ((29-28 30-27 29-28)

Heavyweight: Blagoy Ivanov derrotou Tai tuivasa unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 30-27 and 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD 

Straw weight: Tatiana Suarez placeholder image derrotou Nina ansaroff in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantamweight: aljamain sterling derrotou Peter Munhoz by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Straw weight: Alexa grasso derrotou Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Feather weight: Calvin kattar defeated Ricardo Lamas by knockout at 4:06 of R1

Straw weight: yan xiaonan derrotou Angela Hill in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Average weight: Darren stewart defeated Bevon Lewis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Bantamweight: Eddie Wineland defeated Grigory Popov by knockout at 4:47 of R2.

Fly weight: Katlyn chookagian derrotou Joanne calderwood in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)