Cowboy: second victory in a row (Photo: Reproduction Instagram ufc_brasil)
The preliminary portion of the UFC Long Island there were five Brazilians in action. And the highlights were the brutal knockouts achieved by two of them. Newcomer Júnior “Baby” Albini and Alex Cowboy They arrived like underdogs against Timothy Johnson and Ryan LaFlare, respectively, but left the octagon with the biggest victories of their careers. Both “Baby” and Cowboy broke the bank with brutal knockouts, and stood out at the beginning of the event. The other Brazilian victory came at the hands of Elizeu Capoeira, who beat Lyman Good by split decision in a very balanced and exciting duel.
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In addition to them, two other Brazilians took action before the main portion of the show. The featherweight Geoffrey Pepey could not resist the boxing lined up Shane burgos and ended up defeated by decision. Rafael Sapo also lost, by knockout in the first round, to the debutant Erik Anders.
Brazilian victories
Making his UFC debut, heavyweight Junior “Baby” surprised with his game reading against Timothy Johnson. Knowing that his opponent is a wrestling specialist, the Brazilian accepted the clinch, but remained active, landing knees to the stomach. By breaking away from Johnson, “Baby” managed to impose his game and, after a beautiful sequence of knees to the body along with a right hook, he reached the knockdown. He quickly followed up with hammer blows from above and was soon interrupted by the referee, achieving the first victory for Brazilians on Long Island.
Cowboy suffered more than “Baby”, being dominated throughout the first round by LaFlare's superior grappling. The North American managed to stick to the Brazilian in the first minute of the fight and took him down with some ease. On top, he soon passed Cowboy's guard and flirted with some submission attempts, mainly with the katagatame and the north-south choke. In Cowboy's favor was the fact that LaFlare didn't throw many blows at the Brazilian, which allowed him to reach the second round in one piece.
After the first break, Alex Cowboy came back different. Much better in movement, Cowboy began to throw low kicks and confuse the opponent with his footwork. LaFlare tried two takedowns, without success, and when he tried another takedown, he was caught with an uppercut and fell unconscious. It was the first time that the American lost by knockout – the only defeat in LaFlare's career was to Demian Maia by decision in Rio de Janeiro.
Yes, Elizeu Capoeira it took all 15 minutes of fighting to overcome Lyman Good. The welterweight had a lot of effort to overcome the North American of Puerto Rican origin and, even so, he lost in one of the judges' sheets. However, the CM System fighter proved to be superior to Good in striking, with variations of blows throughout the fight, while his opponent only relied on his hands. Capoeira lived up to his nickname in several moments, especially in the third round, when he managed to connect many kicks and knees in the clinch.
Pepey and Sapo are overcome
S. Burgos (left) beat G. Pepey (dir) (Photo: Reproduction Instagram ufc_brasil)
Geoffrey Pepey He started the fight using plastic strikes, such as kicks and round punches, to surprise Burgos. With aligned boxing and heavy hands, the North American dodged the Brazilian's attacks and connected his jabs with ease. Pepey he even rehearsed takedown entries, but Burgos managed to prevent any attack from his opponent in this direction and was superior in the first round. The second round was similar, but this time, Pepey He invested more in trying to put the fight down, and the North American continued to punish the Brazilian on his feet and managed to prevent the duel from reaching the ground. In the end, the Brazilian managed to pull his guard, but Burgos quickly got up.
Already desperate, Pepey It was all or nothing in the third round, but he continued to suffer from his opponent's technical superiority on the feet. While releasing overhands violently, but without target, the Brazilian suffered from counterattacks and Burgos' jabs, which bothered his nose whenever they were connected. In the end, a direct shot to the liver knocked him down Pepey, who tried to pull guard – this time, Burgos accepted and punished the Brazilian from above until the end of the fight. The judges were unanimous in giving the victory to the North American.
Rafael “Sapo” Natal took action against Erik Anders after two changes of opponents. Perhaps that's why the Brazilian had difficulty finding his feet in the fight. Motivated by the chance, Anders, a former American football player, went up and, with nothing to lose, started hitting Sapo with hard hands. The middleweight was dizzy and the American took advantage of the opening and soon finished the fight on top, delivering strong blows to the Brazilian's head.
UFC Long Island Preliminary Results
PRELIMINARY CARD
Welterweight Weight: Elizeu Capoeira beat Lyman Good by split decision (2x 30-27, 28-29)
Average weight: Erik Anders won Rafael Sapo by knockout at 2m54s of R1
Welterweight Weight: Alex Cowboy beat Ryan LaFlare by knockout at 1m50s of R2
Heavyweight: Chase sherman beat Damian Grabowski by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26,30-27)
Feather weight: Jeremy kennedy beat Kyle Bochniak by unanimous decision (2x 30-27, 29-28)
Bantamweight: Marlon Vera won brian kelleher via submission (armbar) at 2m18s of R1
Heavyweight: Junior “Baby” Albini beat Timothy Johnson by knockout at 2:51 of R1
Feather weight: Shane burgos won Geoffrey Pepey by unanimous decision (2x 30-26, 29-28)
Lightweight: Chris Wade beat Frankie Perez by unanimous decision (2x 29-28, 30-27)
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