Demian shined on the preliminary card. Photo: Divugacao
The fans present at the Arena da Baixada stadium celebrated the first fights on the UFC 198 card, an event held this Saturday (14), in Curitiba (PR). No Brazilian in the preliminary fights was defeated, with highlights for Demian Maia e Rogério Minotouro.
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Demian walked against Matt Brown, dominating practically all the actions until obtaining a submission in the final minute of activity. Minotouro quickly dispatched Patrick Cummins and won again after a long drought.
Furthermore, they also won Thiago Marreta, John Lineker, Francisco Massaranduba e Renato Moicano. In the only Tupiniquim duel on the preliminary card, Serginho Moraes and debutant Luan Chagas achieved a rare draw. Check out how the first fights of the night went!
Moicano opens the night with a narrow victory
The night started with a positive result for the noisy fans who already occupied the Arena da Baixada at the beginning of the event. Renato Moicano canceled the takedown game Zubaira Tukhugov and prevailed in a tight decision from the judges.
In the first round, Moicano bet on kicks, but Tukhugov scored an important takedown. Even though he didn't take much advantage of his position, the Russian remained on top until the end of the round.
From the second round onwards, however, Moicano effectively nullified his opponent's takedowns and punished him on his feet. Thus, two judges saw the Brazilian's victory in the fight, which was enough for him to remain undefeated in professional MMA.
This was Moicano's second victory in the UFC. Tukhugov lost for the first time in the organization, after three consecutive victories.
Serginho struggles and draws with debutant
The Brazilian fighters remained undefeated on the night even during the first Brazilian duel of UFC 198. Serginho Moraes He suffered against the debutant Luan Chagas and the fight ended in a draw.
In the first round, Chagas went all out on Serginho and came close to winning: he scored two knockdowns, one with a high kick and the other with a direct kick. In the remaining two rounds, however, Serginho grew and gained the upper hand, but without coming close to finishing the fight.
Each of the three side judges pointed to a different result. One gave victory to Chagas, another gave victory to Serginho and the third scored a draw. Thus, the fight ended in a split decision draw.
Minotouro knocks out and drives the crowd crazy
Minotouro won another fight in Brazil. Photo: Disclosure
Rogério Minotouro rediscovered his path to victory and delighted the fans in Curitiba in the third fight of UFC 198. With sharp boxing, the veteran knocked out Patrick Cummins in the first round and obtained his first positive result since February 2013.
With a calculating stance, Minotouro avoided getting overwhelmed at the beginning of the fight. Cummins, a wrestler by nature, surprised by accepting the striking and avoiding the takedowns. When the Brazilian started to gain distance and connect the first blows, the North American tried to grab it, but to no avail. Minotouro then landed a few more blows and forced the referee to end the fight even though Cummins insisted on staying on his feet.
Minotouro's last victory was at UFC 156, against Rashad evans. After that, he lost to Anthony Johnson e Mauritius Shogun. Cummins was knocked out for the second time in a row in Brazil, as his last fight, in São Paulo, had been a defeat to Glover Teixeira.
Lineker dominates Font and wins second in a row
Lineker (photo) is a UFC bantamweight fighter. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
John Lineker, from Paraná, won his second consecutive victory in the bantamweight category, dominating practically the entire fight against Rob font. Shorter than his rival, the Brazilian adopted a clear strategy: hunt Font in the octagon, without giving space, and attack relentlessly.
During the fight, Lineker landed good punches on Font's body and face, in addition to kicking more than he usually does. Font was unable to show any response to the Brazilian's game, as he tried to circulate and take advantage of any gap that appeared. After three rounds, Lineker won with a comfortable decision from the judges.
It was Lineker's second straight victory since moving up to the bantamweight division. Font lost for the first time in his third fight in the octagon.
Massaranduba beats Medeiros in fight
The fifth duel of the night inflamed the fans present at the Arena da Baixada. Francisco Massaranduba he fought a real war with Yancy Medeiros and prevailed in the judges' decision, thus achieving his sixth consecutive victory in the UFC.
Actually massaranduba he dominated much of the action, always landing powerful blows on Medeiros, who showed impressive determination in surviving. At the end of the second round, however, the Brazilian was knocked down and worried the crowd.
In the final round, the TUF Brasil 1 veteran continued hunting his rival and narrowly missed knocking him out. The victory of massaranduba came without any surprises in the judges' scores.
Marreta dispatches former challenger for the belt
Faced with the most renowned opponent of his career, Thiago Marreta It didn't take much work to knock out former title challenger Nate Marquardt. The Brazilian needed just a few minutes to find his timing and achieve victory in the first round.
Marreta started the fight by cornering Marquardt on the cage and landing good kicks. The North American seemed “stuck” and did not threaten the Brazilian. Just over three minutes into the fight, Marreta landed a good cross and took down Marquardt. The former title challenger got up, but took a right blow to the top of his head and fell, forcing the referee to stop the action.
Demian walks, submits and asks for the belt
One of the most acclaimed athletes on the preliminary card, Demian Maia completely dominated the action against Matt Brown, who was widely booed by the public due to his provocations during the weigh-in.
In the octagon, Demian took the fight to the ground with ease and has since sought the submission. Brown lived up to his nickname “Immortal” and just tried to survive, even when threatening the Brazilian.
In the third round, Maia was once again on Brown's back, but opened the way with punches and secured the rear naked choke. The North American had no alternative but to withdraw in the final minute of activities.
After winning again, the Brazilian asked the public to help him fight for the welterweight belt. “Everyone watching, let's ask Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, Joe Silva for me to fight for the belt. This is my dream”, said Demian, to widespread applause.
UFC 198 preliminary card results:
Demian Maia submitted Matt Brown with a rear naked choke at 4:31 of R3
Thiago Marreta knocked out Nate Marquardt with punches at 3min39s of R1
Francisco Massaranduba defeated Yancy Medeiros via unanimous decision by the judges
John lineker derrotou Rob font in the unanimous decision of the judges
Rogério Minotouro knocked out Patrick Cummins with punches at 4:52 of R1
Serginho Moraes tied with Luan chagas in the judges' split decision
Renato Moicano derrotou Zubaira Tukhugov in the judges' split decision
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