P. Davis (photo) got the better of L.Machida in the co-main fight of UFC Rio 4. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
In his first fight as a UFC athlete on Brazilian soil, Lyoto Machida fought a tense fight against Phil Davis and ended up being defeated by “Mr. Wonderful.” The North American was declared the winner at the end of the match by unanimous decision of the judges (29-28), amid much booing from the public present at the HSBC Arena.
In a tense first round, Lyoto managed to connect good blows while standing, even landing a knockdown at the opponent after a good sequence. At the end of the round, however, Davis took him to the ground and finished the first round on top.
In the second round, the fighters studied each other a lot in the opening minutes. Even with a good punch on the counterattack, Machida was at a disadvantage and again finished on bottom, after suffering a fall from Davis in the final minute.
In the decisive round, the karateka didn't let Davis take him to the ground and still landed some good blows on the North American. But the last impression was not enough to convince the judges to give the Brazilian the victory. At the end of the fight, Lyoto ended up defeated on the judges' scorecards.
Mutante finishes in 47 seconds
More than a year after the TUF Brasil 1 title, and recovered from a shoulder injury that kept him out of combat, Cezar Mutant finally took to the octagon and showed the public that the wait was worth it. In just 47 seconds, Mutante submitted Thiago Marreta and achieved the fifth victory of his career.
Right at the beginning of the fight, the pupil of Vitor belfort he applied a powerful left cross to his opponent and made it appear that he was going to start striking. However, Mutante found Marreta's neck and, with a beautiful transition to the ground, finished the fight with a guillotine choke.
Thales leites returns to UFC with victory
One of the most electrifying fights of the night marked the return of the former middleweight title challenger Thales leites to the UFC. After three rounds of lots of action, and a real bloodbath, both Thales and the British Tom Watson, his opponent, reached the end of the confrontation exhausted.
The Brit showed excellent jiu-jitsu defense and resisted Thales' attacks, who had several chances to finish the fight on the ground throughout the match. Furthermore, the Brazilian was also superior in the stand-up fight, connecting good blows and opening a deep cut on Watson. After three assaults, Thales leites was declared the winner by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27).
Lineker beats “No chance” at bantamweight
The fight that opened the main card pitted two Brazilians in the bantamweight division against each other: José Maria “No chance” and John Lineker – who was the only athlete who did not make weight in the event, losing 20% of his purse. José Maria, who made his UFC debut, had a good first round and almost knocked out his opponent. However, Lineker lived up to his seventh place in the division rankings and managed to win in the second round via technical knockout.
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