Rampage Jackson (left) defeated Matt Hamill (right)
With boos from the public and fights without much emotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returned, this Saturday (28), to Las Vegas, the city that hosted the event the most, for UFC 130. In the main fight of the night, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson managed to impose his game against Matt Hamill and won the fight with a unanimous decision from the judges. Among the Brazilians on the fight program, on the preliminary card, Renan Barão defeated Cole Escovado and Gleison Tibau submitted compatriot Rafaello “Trator” Oliveira. On the main card, the results were not good for the national athletes: Jorge Santiago was knocked out by Brian Stann, while Thiago “Pitbull” Alves was defeated by Rick Story.
Rampage overrides Hamill and wins by decision
While promoting the event, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson promised to beat Mat Hamill, but inside the Octagon what we saw was a weak duel without great emotions. At the beginning of the fight, Hamill took the initiative with low kicks and mid-range punches. Already Rampage, he waited for Matt to move to strike on the counterattack. The fight progressed without action, but as time passed, Jackson nullified his opponent's takedown attempts and unleashed his arsenal of boxing strikes. Lost in the octagon, Hamill was unable to close the distance to seek the takedown and became an easy target for Jackson's attacks. At the end of 15 minutes of competition, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson won the fight, amid boos, in a unanimous decision by the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×27).
Mir defeats Nelson
In the second most important fight of the night, the former champion Frank mir, despite a poor performance, managed to impose his game and, without taking risks, defeated the dangerous Roy Nelson. Taking advantage of his physical strength, Mir attacked his opponent with knees in the clinch and punches at close range. After Frank's advantage in the opening round, both fighters showed fatigue in the following rounds and the duel became quite monotonous. Mir still managed some takedowns, but he didn't develop his fight on the ground. In the end, Frank won the unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×27)
With perfect strategy, Story beats Pitbull
Brazilian Thiago “Pitbull” Alves is feared and respected for his efficient Muay Thai, but North American Rick Story managed to devise a game plan to nullify the Brazilian striking. With a perfect strategy, Story closed the distance, with jab and straight combinations, to get closer to Pitbull and look for the takedown. Thiago even managed to avoid most of the attacks, but with excellent conditioning, Rick left no space for the Brazilian to unleash his blows. After not finding himself in the first two rounds, Pitbull let the game loose in the third round and managed to land good punches and knees on the North American, but it was too late. At the end of the fight, the three judges declared Rick Story's victory (29×28, 29×28, 29×28). With the setback, the Brazilian reaches his third defeat in his last four appearances.
Jorge Santiago makes his UFC debut with defeat
Jorge Santiago's debut in the UFC didn't go the way he expected. Facing the tough Brian Stann, who is a former Marine in the United States, the Brazilian athlete was unable to find his footing from the start of the fight and ended up dominated by the North American. Bigger and stronger, Stann started the fight controlling well from a distance and applying good boxing blows, while Santiago tried to surprise with mid-range kicks. With just over a minute remaining before the end of the first round, the American landed a beautiful cross, which led to the Brazilian being knocked down. With a sequence of punches in the ground fight, Brian punished Santiago, who managed to defend himself and continue the fight until the end of the first round. At a disadvantage after the opening round, “Jorginho” changed his strategy and tried to take Stann down, but the American defended himself well and kept the fight standing. Superior in the fight, Brian continued to dictate the pace of the second round, until with just over two minutes left in the round, in a quick counterattack, the North American applied a beautiful cross and took the Brazilian to the ground again. Without wasting time, Stann applied several blows in the ground fight until the referee ended the fight and declared a technical knockout.
Tibau beats Trator in the event's Brazilian duel
In the event's Brazilian duel, Gleison Tibau from Rio Grande do Norte got the better of the Pernambuco native Rafaello Tractor. After a more balanced first round, Tibau unleashed his takedown game and used strikes in the ground fight to control the fight. After reaching Trator's back, Gleison wasted no time and ended the fight with a beautiful rear naked choke.
Renan Barão wins on the preliminary card
The first Brazilian to step into the Octagon, Renan Barão debuted on the right foot in the UFC. Facing the American Cole Escovedo, the Nova União black belt abused takedowns to take his opponent to the ground and control the fight. After taking advantage in the first two rounds, Renan came back more loosely in the last round. With flying knees, rotating punches and a lot of movement, the athlete from Rio Grande do Norte guaranteed victory in the unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×27).
Check out the full results of the event below:
main card:
Quinton Rampage Jackson will face Matt Hamill;
Frank mir derrotou Roy Nelson in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Travis Browne defeated Stefan struve by knockout in R1;
Rick Story defeated Thiago "Pitbull" Alves in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Brian Stann defeated Jorge santiago by technical knockout in R2;
Preliminary Card:
Demetrious Johnson defeated Miguel Torres via unanimous decision by the judges;
Tim Boetsch defeated Kendall Grove via unanimous decision;
Gleison Tibau finished Rafaello “Tractor” Oliveira with a rear naked choke in R2;
Michael McDonald defeated Chris Cariaso via split decision;
Renan Barão defeated Cole Escovedo via unanimous decision by the judges.
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