Demian (left) and LaFlare (right) take part in the main fight of UFC FN Rio. Photo: Produção SUPER LUTAS (Josh Hedges/UFC)
The UFC is back in Brazil to hold the second of seven events scheduled to take place in the country in 2015. This Saturday (21), UFC Fight Night 62, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), will be the first to take place in the capital fluminense without the presence of at least one of the organization's current champions. Until then, all other events in the city had Anderson Silva (while he was middleweight champion) and José Aldo, owner of the featherweight belt.
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This time, in a Fight Night event, considered inferior to the numbered events, the big star will be the top 10 welterweight Demian Maia. The Brazilian will fight in the main fight of the night against the undefeated Ryan LaFlare, with his eyes on a new victory and starting his journey towards a title fight.
Maia will have his first fight since May 2014, when he beat the Russian Alexander Yakovlev at TUF Brasil 3 Finale, in São Paulo. Since then, the jiu-jitsu black belt has had a fight scheduled against Mike pyle, but had to leave the commitment aside after suffering a shoulder injury followed by an infection there.
However, the fight against LaFlare could be decisive for the Brazilian veteran. Having suffered two defeats in his last three fights, Demian could see his chances of challenging for the title again become even more distant in the event of another setback.
The fight will also be the biggest moment of LaFlare's career so far. The 31-year-old American has already had four fights in the UFC, beating Ben Alloway, Santiago Ponzinibbio, Court mcgee and John Howard. In the last one, in Abu Dhabi, LaFlare went through difficult times, despite having won the unanimous decision of the judges. Therefore, the fight against Maia will be a turning point in his career, and will prove whether the American truly belongs to the welterweight elite.
Erick and TUF 1 veteran's fight is also highlighted
Lacking big stars, UFC Fight Night 62 draws attention for several smaller fights, which, nevertheless, have certain attractions for those who follow MMA more closely. This is the case of the fight involving Erick silva, who will try to win his second consecutive victory in Ultimate (something unprecedented for him until then) against the veteran Josh koscheck.
Since joining the UFC in 2011, Erick has alternated victories and defeats, beating Luís Beição, Charlie Brenneman, Jason High, Takenori Sato and Mike Rhodes and losing to Carlos Prater (disqualification), Jon Fitch, Dong Hyun Kim and Matt Brown.
Originally scheduled to face Ben Saunders, the man from Espírito Santo once again saw his opponent changed due to an injury. His new opponent, who fought for the welterweight title in 2010, is going through a delicate moment, with four consecutive defeats. The last one was less than a month ago, at UFC 184, when he was finished by Jake ellenberger. A new setback could represent the end of Koscheck's long career, one of the highlights of the inaugural season of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter.
TUF Brasil veterans fill out card in Rio
Speaking of TUF, some members revealed by the Brazilian editions of the program also have important fights at UFC Fight Night 62. Leonardo Santos, champion of the second edition of TUF Brazil, faces Tony Martin (who is coming off a submission victory over Fabrício Morango) in the third most important fight of the night. The Nova União athlete will try to maintain his unbeaten record inside the Octagon, as he has two wins and a draw.
Geoffrey Pepey, runner-up of TUF Brasil 1, tries to maintain his rise in the UFC in the face of André Fili. The Brazilian is coming off two resounding victories, with a submission and a knockout, and will have a decisive challenge against Fili, who is a training partner of names like Urijah faber e TJ Dillashaw at Alpha Male gym.
In the preliminary card, Francisco Massaranduba faces Akbarh Arreola, and Leonardo Macarrão faces Cain Carrizosa after training season at AKA, from Cain Velazquez e Daniel Cormier.
Check out the complete UFC FN 62 technical sheet:
DATE: 21/03/2015;
SCHEDULE: From 20pm (Brasília time);
PLACE: Maracanãzinho Gymnasium (Rio de Janeiro)
STREAMING: SporTV (preliminary card) and Canal Combate (full event).
Attraction fights:
MAIN CARD
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Demian Maia (77,5 kg) x Ryan LaFlare (77,5 kg)
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Erick silva (77,5 kg) x Josh koscheck (77,1 kg)
Light (up to 70,3 kg.): Leo Santos (70,7 kg) x Tony Martin (70,7 kg)
Roosters (up to 61,2 kg.): Amanda nunes (61,6 kg) x Shayna Baszler (61,6 kg)
Light (up to 70,3 kg.): Gilbert Durinho (69,8 kg) x Alex Cowboy (70,3 kg)
Feathers (up to 65,8 kg.): Godofredo Pepey (65,8 kg) x André Fili (65,8 kg)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg.): Francisco Massaranduba (70,3 kg) x Akbarh Arreola (70,7 kg)
Feathers (up to 65,8 kg.): Kevin Souza (66,2 kg) x Katsunori Kikuno (66,2 kg)
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg.): Leandro Buscapé (70,7 kg) x Drew dober (70,6 kg)
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg.): Leonardo Macarrão (70,3 kg) x Cain Carrizosa (70,3 kg)
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg.): Jorge Blade (70,7 kg) x Christos Giagos (70,3 kg)
Flies (up to 56,7 kg.): Fredy Serrano (56,7 kg) x Bentley Syler (57,1 kg)
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