Cigano (right) hits Carwin (left)
The Brazilian Junior Gypsy entered the octagon, this Saturday, to face Shane carwin, in the main fight of UFC 131, with the possibility of challenging for the organization's belt if he wins. Without being intimidated by the pressure, the athlete from Santa Catarina showed his well-known aggression, as well as good takedown defense and excellent physical preparation, to dominate the North American and win the duel with a unanimous decision from the judges. With the triumph, Cigano reaches his seventh victory in the UFC and will be the next challenger for the UFC belt. Cain Velazquez. The UFC 131 fight program, which took place in Vancouver, Canada, brought three more Brazilians into action, but the event was not good for the local athletes: Donald Cerrone derrotou Vagner-Rocha, Mark Munoz overcame Demian Maia e Kenny Florian won Diego nunes.
Gypsy dominates Carwin
Known for its knockout power, Junior Gypsy began the cautious combat in front of Shane carwin, as the North American is famous for his explosive start to the fight. But with good distance, the Brazilian didn't give space to his opponent's attacks and landed some punches at medium range. With just over a minute remaining before the end of the first round, Cigano applied a spectacular sequence of straights and crosses to knock his opponent down. Without wasting time, the athlete from Santa Catarina landed several blows on his opponent, which opened a huge bleed on Shane's face. In the second and third rounds, the pace of the fight dropped and the North American managed to connect and look for some takedowns, always defended by the Brazilian. With several successful jabs and a few takedowns, which surprised a large part of the audience, Cigano scored points and took the win in the judges' decision (30×27, 30×27, 30×26). After the triumph, the Brazilian did not miss the opportunity and challenged the champion Cain Velazquez, who had climbed into the Octagon. “Cain, I respect you a lot, but wait for me, I’ll come after you”, said Junior, in English.
Diego Nunes fights well, but is defeated by Florian
In his second UFC appearance, Diego Nunes started the duel in a surprising way against Kenny Florian. Without being intimidated by his opponent's experience and favoritism, the Brazilian began to unleash his game on the feet. With well-aligned boxing and good spinning kicks, Nunes controlled the first stage of the duel well, achieving a knockdown in the final moments of the first round, where the bell saved the North American. In the second round, Florian changed his strategy and tried to fight on the ground. After taking down the Brazilian, Kenny landed good elbows on Nunes, which opened a deep cut on the Rio fighter's head. In the third round, the North American repeated the strategy from the previous round and avoided striking. After taking the fight to the ground, Florian scored points by landing some blows from the top. At the end of the fight, after managing to get up, Diego went on the attack, threw good punches and even made his opponent bend his knee with a powerful right hand, but it was too late. In the end, victory Kenny Florian in the unanimous decision of the judges (29×28, 29×28 30×27)
Demian takes “turn” from Munoz
In the duel between two specialists in ground fighting, the first round of the fight was all about striking. Showing great evolution in his boxing game, Demian controlled the actions with good combinations of blows in front of a scared Mark Munoz. In the second round, the athlete of Filipino descent came back better and connected a good cross on the Brazilian, who felt the blow. With Maia shaken, Munoz looked for the takedown and worked well on top. Demian still managed a reversal, reached Mark's back, but was unable to stabilize the position to finish the fight. In the third round, “The Philippine Machine”, as Munoz is known, returned with the same strategy and took down the Brazilian. This time, without giving Demian any gaps, Mark controlled the last part of the fight to emerge victorious in the judges' decision (29×28, 29×28, 30×27)
Vagner Rocha debuts in the UFC with defeat
The first Brazilian to enter the Octagon, Vagner Rocha did not have the debut he expected in the UFC. In front of the experienced Donald Cerrone, the Rio fighter was unable to find his footing in the fight and take his opponent to the ground duel. With powerful kicks to the thigh, the American undermined Vagner's base, who seemed lost in the stand-up fight. At the end of the three rounds, victory for Donald Cerrone in the unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×26).
Check out the full results of the event below:
Main Card
Junior “Cigano” dos Santos defeated Shane carwin in the unanimous decision of the judges;
Kenny Florian defeated Diego Nunes by unanimous decision of the judges;
Dave Herman defeated Jon Olav Einemo via TKO in R2;
Mark Munoz derrotou Demian Maia in the unanimous decision of the judges
Donald Cerrone defeated Vagner Rocha via unanimous decision by the judges
Preliminary Card
Sam stout derrotou Yves Edwards by knockout in R2;
Chris Weidman submitted Jesse Bongfeldt with a guillotine choke in R1;
Krzysztof Soszynski defeated Mike massenzio in the unanimous decision of the judges
Nick Ring submitted James Head with a rear naked choke in R3;
Dustin poirier defeated Jason Young via unanimous decision by the judges
Joey Beltran defeated Aaron Rosa via TKO in R3;
Darren Elkins defeated Michihiro Omigawa in the unanimous decision of the judges;
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