Marajó submitted Sanders at UFC 209 (PHOTO: Jeff Bottari/UFC)
The Brazilian Iuri Marajó was one of the highlights of the preliminary portion of UFC 209, held this Saturday (4). Jiu-jitsu black belt, Marajó submitted Luke sanders with a kneebar, after overcoming a very bad first round and an illegal blow from his opponent. Luis Henrique KLB, another Brazilian in action at the event, was defeated by the Pole Marcin tybura by technical knockout in the third round.
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Facing a previously undefeated athlete, the Brazilian started fast, with the intention of intimidating Sanders. The two exchanged blows, but the American got the upper hand and dominated Iuri on top. From then on, he began to deliver an impressive sequence of punches to Marajó's head and, twice, referee Marc Goddard came close to stopping the fight. At the end of the first round, however, Sanders threw a knee to his rival's face, while he was in a position on all fours and lost a point for the illegal strike.
In the second round, Sanders gained new dominance, until Marajó reversed his opponent's dominant position and pulled his leg, immediately placing a kneebar that forced the North American to tap, thus losing his unbeaten record. After the fight, he asked to fight at UFC 212, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, on June 3.
“Dana White and Sean Shelby (matchmaker), I know I don't deserve to ask for an opponent because I fought very badly. But I really want to go back to Brazil and fight in the UFC in June (UFC 212). I think I deserve this for everything I've done. I just want to ask for a guy who is above me in the rankings”, commented Marajó after the fight.
Brazilian defeat
The heavyweight Luis Henrique KLB was the victim of yet another upset, this time in favor of the Pole Marcin tybura. Just like in his only previous defeat in the UFC, for Francis Ngannou, KLB started better, using the clinch to damage his opponent.
Against Tybura, however, the Brazilian was less effective as the fight went on and, in the third round, he was already tired, allowing the Pole to react. Thus, KLB's opponent grew, managed a good takedown and knocked out Luis Henrique from guard. In four fights, KLB has two wins and two losses in the UFC.
One more twist
Elkins, the biggest underdog at UFC 209, faced one of the biggest featherweight prospects in Mirsad Bektic and started badly, being dominated on the ground, his specialty. Bektic threw elbows throughout the first round, cutting Darren Elkins' face in more than one place. In the second round, more of the same, but in the third Elkins came back better.
The American still suffered from Bektic's standing strength, but managed to get a good angle to strike his opponent, who turned his back after the clinch. Elkins landed a kick to Bektic's face, who fell unconscious, also losing his unbeaten record.
UFC 209
PRELIMINARY CARD
Heavyweight: Marcin tybura wins Luis Henrique KLB by technical knockout at 3:46 of R3
Featherweight: Darren Elkins defeats Mirsad Bektic by knockout at 3:19 of R3
Bantamweight: Iuri Marajó wins Luke sanders by submission at 3m13s of R2
Heavyweight: Mark Godbeer defeats Daniel Splitz by unanimous decision (3x 30-27)
Light Heavyweight: Tyson Peter wins Paul Craig by knockout at 4m10s of R1
Bantamweight: Albert Morales defeats Andre Soukhamthath via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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