T. Kennedy defeated R. Sapo by knockout. Photo: Esther Lin
Rafael Sapo had a mission ahead of him: defeat Tim Kennedy, a former US army sniper, inside a US military base. And despite a good start to the fight, the Brazilian was surprised by a left blow at the end of the first round and ended up knocked out. The fight was the main attraction of UFC Fight for the Troops 3, also called UFC Fight Night 31, an event held on Wednesday night (06), in Fort Campbell, in the United States.
The fight
Called just 30 days before the fight, Rafael Sapo The duel began by surprising the North American. With good movement in the stand-up fight, the Brazilian dodges Tim Kennedy's attacks and lands the best blows with beautiful combinations. Sapo still managed a takedown in the first round, but was unable to keep his rival on the ground.
Despite his control in the first round, the athlete from Minas Gerais was constantly warned by his team about his guard being down. And the punishment arrived for the Minas Gerais player in the final moments of the partial.
With 20 seconds left in the round, Tim Kennedy closed the distance, took advantage of the Brazilian's low guard and landed a powerful left blow. Sapo went to the ground and the American just landed one more punch to end the fight, knocking Rafael out.
The result marked Kennedy's second consecutive victory against a Brazilian – he had previously defeated Roger gracie in his UFC debut – and breaking Sapo's three-fight winning streak.
Cuban beats Ronny in comeback
Ronny Markes suffered his first defeat within the UFC. But before the setback, the potiguar even started the fight better against Yoel romero. The Brazilian found the distance in the first moments and landed a few blows on his rival. Furthermore, Ronny took advantage of the good moment and put the Cuban on the ground, but Romero managed to get up and keep the fight going.
At a disadvantage in the first half, Yoel romero turned the game around from the second round onwards. The Cuban returned to the fight with morale, dodging the Brazilian's takedown attempts and unleashing powerful blows against Ronny's face.
With confidence in the dispute, Romero lowered his guard and opened his arms whenever a blow from the Brazilian was landed. Markes seemed to feel the provocations and did not participate in the fight.
Just as he had done in the second round, Yoel marked the entry with two kicks to Markes' legs and ended the fight with a boxing strike. The right entry hit the Tupiniquim athlete on the chin, who was already knocked out.
Check out the results of the UFC Fight for the Troops 3 preliminary card below
Tim Kennedy defeated Rafael Sapo by knockout in R1;
Alexis Davis defeated Liz Carmouche by unanimous decision of the judges;
Yoel romero derrotou Ronny Markes by technical knockout in R3;
Rustam Khabilov defeated Jorge masvidal in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Michael chiesa submitted Colton Smith with a rear naked choke in R2;
Preliminary Card
Bobby Green defeated James Krause via TKO in R1;
Francisco Rivera defeated George Roop via TKO in R2;
Dennis Bermudez defeated Steven Siler via unanimous decision;
Amanda nunes derrotou Germain de Randamie by technical knockout in R1;
Lorenz Larkin defeated Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision;
Yancy Medeiros defeated Yves Edwards by knockout in R1;
Seth Baczynski defeated Neil Magny in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Derek Brunson submitted Brian Houston with a rear naked choke in R1;
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