Thominhas knocked out Morales in the second most important fight of the UFC Sao Paulo. (Getty Images)
Thomas almeida is back! Aggressive, the young promise of Chute Boxe knocked out Albert Morales in the second most important fight of the UFC Sao Paulo, held this Saturday (19), and returned to the path of victory after losing its unbeaten record. Number 11 in the bantamweight rankings, Thominhas reached an incredible record of 22 wins and just one defeat in his career, including five triumphs in Ultimate.
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“I came in calm, I did all the things I trained for, I didn't expose myself too much, I adjusted my game and got back on the path to victory. Every fight is a fight, I always want to win, I want to be champion. It was wonderful to fight at home, with the fans shouting my name. It’s always an extra motivation to fight and seek one victory after another”, said Thominhas after the victory.
The fight
The fight began with the two rotating in the center of the octagon, with Thominhas measuring the distance and leaving the range of action of his rival, who was taking more risks than the Brazilian. The fans started shouting Thominhas' name, who started hunting for Morales in the octagon and unleashing his game. Thominhas landed a good straight right on Morales, who felt it. The Brazilian went up trying to end the fight, but the North American survived. In the final seconds, the two began to engage in frank exchanges, with the advantage going to the Chute Boxe fighter.
Thominhas returned with the same posture, surrounding his opponent. Aggressive, the Brazilian landed a good blow on Morales, who felt it and retreated. It was enough for Almeida to attack and connect a barrage of blows, knocking out Morales while he was still standing, to the complete delight of the audience present in the Ibirapuera gym.
Strategic, Claudinha Gadelha beats Casey and wins again
Gadelha didn't give C. Casey a chance and won by decision. (Photo: Getty Images)
With a very strategic and confident performance, the former strawweight challenger Claudinha gadelha defeated Cortney Casey in a unanimous decision by the judges (triple 30×27) and recovered from the defeat suffered by the champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. With the victory, the Brazilian remains in first place in the strawweight rankings, and once again dreams of a new title fight. This was Gadelha's third triumph in Ultimate.
“I'm happy for the victory, but I want more than that. Regarding the kick, I was going to kick her body, I thought she was going to get up and the kick was going to hit her body. But she didn't get up and the kick ended up grazing her head. If I had acted maliciously, the kick would have gone straight to the head. I wanted to make it clear that it was an accident. Now I want to fight with Carla esparza”, declared the Brazilian.
Claudinha started the fight by pressing and landing a good right cross on Casey, who started to circle the octagon. The duel was studied, with both fighters studying their opponent's game. Claudinha went for the North American's legs and applied a beautiful takedown, bringing the audience to their feet. On top on the ground, the Brazilian controlled the actions, but without much effectiveness.
The second round started in a similar way, with the two studying each other and Gadelha landing good blows. The two tried a frank exchange, but the fight went back to the clinch. More comfortable in the fight, Gadelha landed another beautiful takedown, but the fight was only on the ground for a few seconds. Aware of the disadvantage, Cortney started to “hunt” the Brazilian in the octagon, but was taken down again, with around 30 seconds left.
Casey returned for the last round looking for more of the fight, but was being frustrated by the Brazilian with each attempted blow, which went by in vain. For the third time, Gadelha applied a beautiful takedown, but hesitated when she landed an illegal kick on her opponent, who was still on the ground. The fight was stopped for a few minutes until the North American was able to return to the duel. After the stoppage, Gadelha cornered Casey against the fence and threw strong blows, before taking the fight back to the ground. From below, Cortney “lassoed” Gadelha's neck, who managed to free herself and stood up. In the final minute, Claudinha fell and tried to get her back, but she didn't have time to work.
Jotko cancels Thales' game and engages fifth gear
Jotko (right) beat T. Leites (background) by unanimous decision. (Photo: Getty Images)
the average weight Thales leites couldn't handle the pressure game Krzysztof Jotko and ended up being defeated by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 29×27, 30×27). Thales suffered his third defeat in the last four fights, while Jotko achieved his fifth consecutive victory in the organization, moving closer to the top 10 in the division.
Thales started the duel by placing the Pole against the fence, trying to take the fight to the ground, but Jotko opened the base and managed to defend. With the fight in the center of the Octagon, Thales got into his opponent's legs and took him down. On the ground, he tried to apply an armbar, but Jotko escaped and fell on top, remaining trapped inside the Brazilian's guard until the end of the round.
Leites returned determined to take the fight to the ground and looked for the takedown early on, but was unsuccessful. Standing up, Jotko had the advantage in the duel, landing good blows on the Brazilian, which he felt. In desperation, Thales entered his opponent's legs, but ended up falling underneath. In the same way as happened in the first round, Krzysztof was controlling on top, with no effect, until Mario Yamasaki intervened and put the fight back on its feet. But for a short time, as Jotko surprised and took the takedown, guaranteeing the round in his favor.
The last round began with Jotko, once again, landing good blows on the Brazilian, who was visibly tired. However, the Pole lost his balance and fell to his knees in front of Thales, who tried to apply a guillotine, but was unable to do so. Jotko applied another takedown to Leites, who remained on the bottom without showing much of a reaction, and Krzysztof continued scoring with ground and pound.
Warlley Alves is dominated and loses the second consecutive
Warlley (left) was countered by K. Usman (right). Photo (Getty Images)
It wasn't this time that Warlley alves returned to the path of victories. Defeated for the first time in his career at UFC 198 in May, the TUF Brasil 3 champion was dominated by Kamaru Usman and lost the second in a row, also by unanimous decision (30×27, 29×28, 30×26), leaving him with a record of four wins and two losses in Ultimate. Usman, in turn, recorded his fourth straight victory and is starting to think about the top 15 in the welterweight division. At the end of the fight, the Nigerian still challenged Demian Maia
The two fighters started the fight cautiously, with little action on either side. Little by little, Usman began to surround the Brazilian against the fence and throw some blows, but Warlley responded with kicks to the leg. With little effectiveness in the fight, the public booed a few times. The Nigerian continued taking actions, while the Brazilian only acted in the counterattack. In the final stretch of the round, Warlley still landed a good knee on his rival.
The second round started in the same way as the first, with Usman pressing and looking for the clinch, but Warlley defended well. Alves continued to accept the opponent's pressure game, and even felt a right cross. Bleeding, the Brazilian received hard blows and almost fell. The rhythm of the fight remained the same until the horn sounded.
Usman returned for the final round looking to end the duel and again punished the Brazilian, who was trying to defend himself. In the clinch, Warlley took guard and tried a guillotine, which ended up being well placed, but the Nigerian managed to escape and was on top, throwing elbows at the Brazilian, who was barely defending himself. There was still time for Kamaru to try a katagatame, but Alves resisted until the end.
Serginho Moraes overcomes Ottow in an even fight
Serginho (right) beat Ottow (left) in a split referee decision. (Photo: Getty Images)
In the first fight of the main card, the welterweight Serginho Moraes defeated Zak Ottow via split decision (30×27, 28×29, 30×27). With the positive result, Serginho recorded his fifth victory in Ultimate, increasing his unbeaten run that has already lasted six fights – he still has one defeat and one draw in the organization.
The fight started with the two circulating in the center of the cage, with a lot of study on both sides. Serginho tried two high kicks, well saved by the American. Ottow threw a kick to the waist, but Moraes grabbed his rival's leg and took the fight to the ground. On top, Serginho worked inside the opponent's guard, who tried to block the Brazilian's attacks. The fight continued with little action until the end of the round.
Ottow came back more aggressive, cornering the Brazilian, who responded with a flying knee. The two continued exchanging blows in the center of the octagon, with the advantage going to the American, who cornered Serginho against the cage and landed a good high kick. At a disadvantage on the feet, Moraes attempted the takedown, without success. The fight remained ongoing until the horn sounded.
The last round started with Serginho landing good blows on Ottow, who shook. Serginho went up trying to give final numbers to the fight, but Zak took guard and defended himself from below. With the fight back on its feet, the American landed a good shot on the Brazilian's waistline, who responded with a good left cross. Visibly tired, the Brazilian was trapped against the fence, while Ottow took the opportunity to strike. In the final 10 seconds, the two started to exchange franks, but without much effectiveness.
UFC SÃO PAULO
MAIN CARD
Light Heavyweight: Ryan bader knocked out Rogério Minotouro 1m10 from R3
Bantamweight: Thomas almeida knocked out Albert Morales (punches) at 1min37s of R2
Straw weight: Claudia Gadelha defeated Cortney Casey via unanimous decision (triple 30×27)
Average weight: Krzysztof Jotko derrotou Thales leites in the unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 29×27, 30×27)
Welterweight Weight: Kamaru Usman derrotou Warlley alves in the unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 29×28, 30×26)
Welterweight Weight: Serginho Moraes defeated Zak Ottow via split decision (30×27, 28×29, 30×27)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Middleweight: Cézar Mutante submitted Jack Hermansson (katagatame) at 2min11s of R2
Light Heavyweight: Gadzhimurad Antigulov finished Marcos Foot (guillotine) at 1min07s of R1
Bantamweight: Johnny Eduardo defeated Manny Gamburyan by technical knockout (punches) at 46 seconds of R2
Heavyweight Luis Henrique KLB submitted Christian Colombo (guillotine) at 2min12s of R3
Bantamweight: Peter Munhoz submitted Justin Scoggins (guillotine) 1min59s into R2
Light Heavyweight: Darren stewart defeated Francimar Bodão by technical knockout at 1min34s of R1;
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