Ricardo Carcacinha beats pressure and debuts with victory at UFC Houston

Carcacinha (right) defeated M. Tanaka at UFC Houston. Photo: Jeff Bottari/UFC

The Brazilian Ricardo Carcacinha debuted in Ultimate with the right foot. The São Paulo native was not intimidated by his first fight in the Octagon and defeated the tough Japanese Michinori Tanaka in a unanimous decision by the judges (29×28, 30×27, 29×28). The fight was an attraction on the preliminary card of UFC Houston, an event held on Saturday night (04), in the United States. With the triumph, Carcacinha, just 21 years old, became the youngest Brazilian to have a triumph in the octagon

The fight

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With no pressure to make his debut, Carcacinha started the fight with everything. The Brazilian pressed Tanaka against the bars and began to unleash his blows. The Japanese tried to react, but with a beautiful counter blow Ricardo took his rival to the ground. The Brazilian went up and landed several blows on his rival on the ground, but the Japanese athlete resisted bravely and managed to stay on his feet. In the final seconds, Carcacinha managed to land another punch and knock his rival down for the second time.

After the Brazilian's great performance in the first round, the second half was much more balanced. Tanaka quickly shortened it and looked for the takedown, but it was Carcacinha who came out on top. He quickly passed guard and tried to end the contest with an armbar. But Michinori managed to get out of position and, on top of the ground, landed some great blows.

With the intense pace in the first few stages, the third round started warmly. The Brazilian took the initiative and chased the Japanese around the octagon, but without much force in the attack. Referee Herb Dean even warned Tanaka's passivity, who reacted afterwards. The Japanese athlete went up in the final 15 seconds, took down the Brazilian and landed some punches until the end of the dispute. But, despite the aggressiveness at the end, the side judges scored the victory for the Brazilian Ricardo Carcacinha unanimously (29×28, 30×27, 29×28).

With the triumph, the Brazilian added his 10th victory as a professional. He still has one defeat. In turn, the Japanese, who has a professional record of 11 wins and three losses, suffered his second consecutive loss in Ultimate – previously he had been defeated by the Brazilian Rani Yaya.

UFC Houston preliminary card results:

Heavyweight: Curtis blaydes defeated Adam Milstead via TKO (injury) 59 seconds into R2

Featherweight: Chas Skelly submitted Chris Gruetzemacher with a rear naked choke at 2m01s of R2;

Bantamweight: Ricardo Carcacinha defeated Michinori Tanaka via unanimous decision (29×28, 30×27, 29×28)

Straw weight: Tecia torres defeated Bec Rawlings via unanimous decision (30x27, 30x27, 30x27)

Welterweight Weight: Niko Price derrotou alex morono by knockout (punches) 5 minutes before R2

Light Heavyweight: Khalil rountree defeated Daniel Jolly by knockout at 52s R1

Fatal change? Makhachev ignores warning and could end tragically at welterweight!