Barboza (left) beat Pettis (right) on the main card. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
With an impeccable performance, Edson Barboza achieved the most important victory of his career and gave the former lightweight champion no chance Anthony Pettis in the third-to-last fight on the UFC 197 main card. With the triumph, Barboza reached 17 wins in his career, compared to just four defeats.
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In a first round of much study and tension, the fans did not get the expected action. However, precision was the hallmark of the opening five minutes, with both athletes connecting strikes that were as quick as they were accurate. On Barboza's side, an open cut on the side of his rival's right eye. As for Pettis, some straight shots and an attempt at a very plastic flying kick in the final seconds.
In the second round, Edson found the distance better and hit his rival with a cross. Taking advantage of his rival's inattention, who ended up standing with his back to him, Barboza tried a high kick, but Pettis not only saved it but also gave a negative signal to his opponent. The Brazilian continued to defend his takedowns well and gained the upper hand from a short distance. In the final seconds, once again, Pettis tried to surprise with a heel strike after doing a somersault.
At the beginning of the third round, Edson dodged a high kick from Pettis well and responded with a lowkick so powerful that it knocked down the opponent. After a short break due to a blow to the genital region, Barboza came back well and landed a side kick that landed cleanly on the American's waistline. At the end of the fight, aware of the advantage, Edson consciously worked at distance and, with counterattacks, guaranteed the result – with two judges scoring 29×28 and one scoring 30×27.
After the fight, still in the Octagon, the Brazilian spoke about his performance. “I worked very hard to be here. I fight how I train. And if I fight like I train, no one will stop me. I don't think there's much way to explain my game, I always go out there and do my best, and if I do that I'll end up beating anyone”, he guaranteed.
Sapo shows chin, but ends up defeated by Whittaker
The Brazilian Rafael Sapo he even showed a lot of resistance and a chin of steel, resisting hard blows, but his willpower was not enough to guarantee victory for the Minas Gerais native in the second fight on the main card of UFC 197. Without being able to take the fight to the ground and make it count Due to his superiority in jiu-jitsu, Sapo ended up defeated by Whittaker in a unanimous decision by the judges.
In the first round, Sapo managed to keep his distance well, mainly thanks to his low kicks and his left-handed base, and avoid Whittaker's dangerous striking, but he let the New Zealander get closer in the final stretch and ended up suffering a tough blow. knockdown, which was followed by a good series of blows from the TUF Smashes champion, who got the better of the partial.
In the second round, Sapo insisted on low kicks again and caused a large bruise on Whittaker's left thigh. Quickly, however, the New Zealander began to land front kicks on the low kicks of the Brazilian in order to avoid the rival's main weapon. Even so, Sapo significantly injured his rival's leg and minimized his movement in the Octagon.
At the beginning of the third round, the Brazilian suffered a blow to the genital region, but recovered quickly. The dynamics of the previous rounds were maintained until the final minute, when Whittaker managed to land a precise high kick to Sapo's face, who suffered a knockdown immediately and ended the fight in a staggered fashion.
At the end of the fight, two judges saw Whittaker's victory in all three rounds and one thought that Sapo had the better of one of the partial rounds, thus guaranteeing the New Zealander's victory.
Check out the UFC 197 results:
MAIN CARD
Jon Jones x Ovince St Preux – fight for the interim light heavyweight belt;
Demetrious Johnson x Henry Cejudo – fight for the flyweight belt;
Edson Barboza; defeated Anthony Pettis in a unanimous decision by the judges (29×28, 29×28 and 30×27)
Robert whittaker derrotou Rafael Sapo in a unanimous decision by the jurors (29×28, 30×27 and 30×27);
Yair Rodriguez knocked out (flying kick) André Fili at 2:15 of R2
PRELIMINARY CARD
Sergio Pettis defeated Chris Kelades in a unanimous decision by the judges (30×27, 30×27 and 30×27);
Danny Roberts defeated Dominique Steele in a unanimous decision by the judges (29×28, 29×28, 29×28);
Carla esparza derrotou Ju Thai in a unanimous decision by the jurors (30×27, 30×27 and 30×27);
James Vick defeated Glaico France in a unanimous decision by the jurors (29×28, 29×28 and 30×27);
Walt Harris knocked out (punches) Cody East at 4:18 of R1;
Marcos Foot submitted Clint Hester with a katagatame at 4:35 of R1
Kevin Lee defeated Efrain Escudero in a unanimous decision by the judges (29×28, 29×28 and 29×28)
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