M. Nicolau (right) returned to Ultimate and beat M. Kape (left) in a split decision in the UFC Las Vegas 21. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
Back to Ultimate after almost three years, Matheus Nicolau He didn't have an easy time upon his return. Against the former RIZIN champion, Manel kape, UFC Las Vegas 21, held this Saturday (13), the Brazilian fought a real war in the octagon. After three rounds, the Minas Gerais native was declared the winner in a split decision by the judges.
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Considered a Brazilian promise at flyweight (up to 56,7kg), Nicolau was fired from the company in 2018, with just one defeat in two commitments. Now, the athlete is once again winning in the organization against one of the UFC's bets for the future of the organization.
In his second fight with Ultimate gloves, Kape remains without a win. After losing in his debut, in February this year, when he faced Alexandre pantoja, the Angolan sold his defeat dearly and managed to show his qualities. The fighter, however, has not won a fight since December 2019.
In an interview after the positive result, Nicolau spoke about the balance in the dispute. For the Brazilian, a draw would be a fair outcome.
“I think I could do a lot more, but he caught me in the second round, so it was a draw for me. But it was a close fight, I'm not here to judge, it's not my job here, my job is to fight until the end and I did that”, said the Minas Gerais native.
The fight
The confrontation began with the fighters saving their strikes and studying each other in the center of the octagon. Kape took the initiative with a shot at the Brazilian's waistline, who defended the attack well. With a low kick, Matheus knocked his opponent off balance, but Manel continued walking forward. After two minutes, Nicolau attacked his rival and managed to take the fight to the ground. The miner managed to drag his opponent to the bars and risked a guillotine. Kape managed to free himself and the duel was once again fought on the feet. After risking another kick, the Angolan had one of his legs grabbed by Matheus and was knocked down. From above, the Brazilian launched attacks, while his opponent defended himself. In the final seconds, Nicolau continued to press, but there was no more time.
In the second stage, Manel needed to recover from the damage from the previous assault. Walking forward, Kape tried to put pressure on the Brazilian, who was moving around the octagon a lot. The Angolan began to unleash blows and made the Minas Gerais player's actions difficult. With difficulty, Nicolau launched blows in the void, no longer finding his opponent in the duel. Halfway through the round, the Brazilian continued to be cornered by his opponent. The Minas Gerais native tried to take down the Angolan, but Kape defended himself well. In the final seconds, Manel risked a round shot, fell, but the timer reset.
The last round started similar to the previous round. Kape walked forward and tried to corner the Brazilian. Matheus, however, tried to find the best distance to fit his attacks. At a disadvantage in his striking, Nicolau tried to take him down again, but the Angolan didn't want to go to the ground against the Minas Gerais native. After almost three minutes, the Brazilian once again threw his rival off balance with a low kick. Kape recovered and the fighters began exchanging hard attacks in the center of the Octagon. The confrontation became tense at the end, with the athletes looking for a knockout. In the final seconds, the Angolan landed a clean knee on Matheus' chin, but the Brazilian absorbed the blow well. The assault ended with the flyweights facing each other in the Octagon.
Spann 'runs over' and recovers from defeat to Walker
Promise for the welterweight division (up to 93kg.), Ryan spann he didn't even break a sweat in the co-main fight. Opponent of Misha Cirkunov, he took all his aggression to the Octagon and gave his rival no chance. With a tough knockout, the North American won in the first round and recovered from the defeat he suffered against Johnny Walker.
Current number 13 in the ranking led by Jan Blachowicz, Spann returned to his winning ways and once again dreams of a future title fight. Before losing to Walker, in September 2020, the fighter was undefeated in Ultimate, with four consecutive victories.
Cirkunov, who was also a victim of Johnny, ended up getting into trouble in the organization after the negative result. The knockout to Ryan marked Miesha's fourth setback in her last six appearances.
Dan Ige annihilates rival with lightning knockout
D. Ige hits G. Tucker in the UFC Las Vegas 21. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
Just like the preliminary card, the main card also featured a lightning knockout. In the confrontation against Gavin tucker, Dan Ige he needed just 22 seconds to settle the score against his opponent. With a right hand, the American landed a clean blow to his opponent's face, which he immediately knocked out.
Current number nine in the featherweight rankings (up to 65,7kg), Dan has recovered from the defeat he suffered against Calvin kattar (July 2020) in style. The positive result marked the North American's fourth knockout in 15 professional MMA victories.
With the opportunity to reach the elite of the category led by Alexander Volkanovsky, Tucker had his dream postponed. The setback interrupted a streak of three wins in the Canadian's record, which he had not lost since 2017.
In an interview after the knockout, Ige challenged the 'Korean zombie' for a confrontation. The athlete's intention now is to climb the category even further, as the requested name appears in fifth position.
After illegal knee, fight ends in 'no result'
After an illegal knee from E. Anders (right), fight against D. Stewart (left) is 'no result'. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
A week after an illegal knee determined the outcome of a title fight, the attack happened again in the octagon. In the fight that opened the main card, Eryk Anderson dominated the confrontation against Darren stewart, but ended up breaking the rules in the first round. After a prohibited attack, the middleweight let the victory slip away and the confrontation ended 'without result'.
Needing to win to stabilize himself in the company, Anderson showed a lot of aggression against Darren. With powerful blows, the North American came close to a knockout, but after the illegal attack, he saw the triumph slip through his fingers. Now, the fighter has completed two fights without winning and has five defeats in the last 10 appearances.
Having his first fight in 2021, Stewart was unable to recover from the defeat he suffered against Kevin holland, in 2020. The fighter's last victory was last season, when he beat Maki Pitolo.
UFC Las Vegas 21 results
MAIN CARD
Welterweight Weight: Leon edwards e Belal Muhammad | ended in a result (No Contest) due to a finger to the eye applied by Edwards
Light Heavyweight: Ryan spann derrotou Misha Cirkunov by technical knockout at 1m11s of R1
Feather weight: Dan Ige derrotou Gavin tucker by knockout at 22sec. from R1
Bantamweight: davey grant derrotou Jonathan martinez by technical knockout at 3m03s of R2
Fly weight: Matheus Nicolau derrotou Manel kape in the judges' split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Average weight: Erik Anders e Darren stewart was declared a No Contest (no result) for an illegal strike by Anders
PRELIMINARY CARD
Straw weight: Angela Hill derrotou Ashley yoder in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Feather weight: Charles Jourdain derrotou Marcelo red by technical knockout at 4m31s of R3
Bantamweight: Rani Yaya submitted Ray Rodriguez with a katagatame at 3m09s of R2
Lightweight: Nasrat Haqparast derrotou Rafa Garcia in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Fly weight: JJ Aldrich defeated Cortney Casey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Straw weight: Jinh Yu Frey derrotou Glorinha de Paula in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Welterweight Weight: Matthew Semelsberger derrotou Jason Witt by knockout 16 seconds into R1
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