D. Lewis knocked him out with a comeback (PHOTO: Josh Hedges/Getty Images)
See too
UFC Halifax rocked this Sunday night (10) with an event full of good performances. The highlight is the turnaround achieved by Derrick Lewis in the main fight. The “Black Beast” defeated Travis Browne by knockout in the second round, after almost being knocked out by repeated kicks to the stomach during the opening round. In the second most important duel of the night, John hendricks debuted at middleweight with a good performance and his first victory since 2015, overcoming Hector Lombard, by decision.
Of the three Brazilians who fought in Halifax, only Thiago Marreta emerged victorious. He achieved a brilliant knockout after round kick, and having lost the first round to Jack Marshman. Reginaldo Vieira and Cézar Mutante, this one on the main card, lost to Aiemann Zahabi and Elias Theodorou, respectively.
The main fight
D. Lewis knocks out T. Browne (PHOTO: Josh Hedges/Getty Images)
With a smart strategy, Travis Browne started better than Derrick Lewis, hitting the opponent with kicks and keeping the distance, avoiding short exchanges. In the middle of the round, Hapa hit Black Beast with a hard kick to the stomach, and he felt it, almost going to knock him out. Browne repeated the blow, but Lewis resisted, despite feeling a lot of pain.
In the second round, after excellent intervention from his corner, Derrick Lewis came to kill or be killed. And he got another victory under his belt, after closing the distance and landing an impressive sequence of punches. Browne still attempted a takedown, but ended up on the bottom where Lewis settled the bill, putting himself once and for all in the discussion about the best heavyweights in the world.
Johnny Hendricks x Hector Lombard
J. Hendricks (left) won his first since 2015 (PHOTO: Josh Hedges/Getty Images)
In his debut at 84 kg, Hendricks started out fearful, with no time to fight. And Lombard, more adapted to the category, took advantage, starting the fight aggressively and trying to exploit his opponent's hesitation. Despite landing hard blows, he was unable to take the fight down and Big Rigg seemed at ease at the end of the opening round.
In the second round, Hendricks began to loosen up his game, attacking the Cuban's body with knees, as well as punch combinations. One of them hit Lombard, who almost fell, and continued to invest in takedowns – without success.
The third round was more of the same: despite getting a quick takedown and catching the American's back, Lombard, tired, was unable to surprise Hendricks, who seemed revitalized, feinting on takedowns to land uppercuts and straight shots. In the end, a fair victory for the former welterweight champion, now a category above.
Mutant x Theodorou
C. Mutante (left) lost to E. Theodorou (right) (PHOTO: Josh Hedges/Getty Images)
Despite his good performance, Cézar Mutante had his streak of three victories interrupted by the good performance of Canadian Elias Theodorou. The Brazilian started better, unleashing hard blows with his fists and making the home owner think twice before attacking. After a first round dominated by Mutante, Theodorou came back better, investing in takedowns and strikes in the clinch. The Canadian dominated the center of the octagon and, despite being clumsy, threw more blows than Mutante.
In the third round, the Brazilian made a mistake by investing in a guillotine that was not yet fair, and ended up on bottom. Theodorou took advantage to score points, but Mutante also took the back and almost finished. It wasn't enough to give the victory, which went to the owner of the house.
UFC Halifax results:
MAIN CARD
Heavyweight: Derrick Lewis beat Travis Browne by knockout at 3:12 of R2
Average weight: John hendricks won Hector Lombard by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Feather weight: Gavin tucker won Sam Sicilia by unanimous decision (3x 30-27)
Middleweight: Elias Theodorou won Mutant Caesar by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Bantamweight: Sara McMann won Gina Mazany via submission (Katagatame) at 1m14s of R1
Lightweight: Paul felder beat Alessandro Ricci by knockout at 4m44s of R1
PRELIMINARY CARD
Welterweight Weight: Santiago Ponzinibbio beat Nordine Taleb by unanimous decision (3x 29-28)
Straw weight: Randa markos won Carla esparza by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Bantamweight: Aiemann Zahabi won Reginaldo Vieira by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Average weight: Thiago Marreta beat Jack Mashman by technical knockout at 2:21 of R2
Average weight: Gerald meerschaert beat Ryan Janes via submission (armbar) at 1m34s of R1
Comments