Leo Santos submits Patolino and is the champion of TUF Brazil 2

L. Santos (photo) came on as a substitute in the final and was the champion of TUF Brasil 2. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter

Brazil already knows who the new one is Ultimate fighter the country. Leo Santos, from the Minotauro team, finished William Patolino in the second round and became champion of the second Brazilian season of the reality show. The fight was the co-main fight of the TUF Brasil 2 Finale, this Saturday (8), in Fortaleza (CE).

Leonardo was perhaps one of the most celebrated athletes in this edition of TUF, even before the program began airing. He gained attention after the video of his victory over Georges St Pierre No. Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) in 2005 went viral among MMA fans. The 33-year-old experienced fighter has a record of 12 wins and three losses. In addition to his competence, the Rio native had luck to be in the final this Saturday (8). Leonardo was called up for the duel after the Argentine's injury Santiago Ponzinibbio, who had defeated him in the semifinals of the TUF tournament.

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The fight

The two fighters started the fight studying each other and then went to the fence, where the Leo Santos, who is a world jiu-jitsu champion, tried to submit Patolino for the first time with a guillotine choke. Halfway through the first round, William scored the first takedown of the fight and took advantage of his position to hit his opponent with hard-hitting blows. In the final stretch, an unsuccessful takedown attempt by Leonardo resulted in the end of the first round with both athletes tangled up on the ground.

At halftime, Patolino's coaches were objective and demanded that the Rio native not allow the fight to go to the ground. And they were correct in his guidance. It was enough that Leo Santos managed to get his first takedown on William so that the Rio native could impose his experience in grappling. A few minutes before the end of the second round, Leonardo scored a katagatame very fair on Patolino and ended the fight, becoming the champion of the TUF tournament.

At the end of the fight, Leo left the octagon and went to the crowd, hugging his Nova União teammates, including José Aldo. In his interview after the victory, the new Ultimate fighter highlighted the Ultimate featherweight champion. “I have this kid like a brother. José Aldo He’s the people’s champion!” he said, bringing Aldo to tears.

The second edition of TUF

TUF Brasil 2, which had Leonardo Santos as the winner, was quite different from the first edition, shown last year, starting with the formula. This year, all participating athletes were from the same category (welterweight) – unlike 2012, in which the squad was divided between middleweights and featherweights. Another new feature is the coaches' duel, which did not take place last year due to an injury to Vitor belfort. Rodrigo Minotauro e Fabricio Werdum they arrived without any problems in combat.

Despite having good fights over the 12 weekends in which it was shown and featuring some athletes already known in the world of MMA, TUF Brasil 2 did not live up to audience expectations, which were high due to the success of the first edition. The program ended up being displaced in Rede Globo's programming schedule, airing in the early hours of the morning on Mondays.

The circumstances caused a rumor about the extinction of TUF Brasil to circulate, and the newspaper's “Outro Canal” column was even published. FSP. The information was promptly denied by the UFC, which reiterated its satisfaction with the Brazilian edition of the reality show and confirmed future seasons.