C. Cyborg is the new UFC featherweight champion (Photo: Reproduction Facebook UFC)
July 29, 2017, Anaheim, United States. That was the date and place when Chris Cyborg, finally, joined the select group of UFC champions. After many years of waiting, the Curitiba native wrote her name in the history of the sport by knocking out Tonya Evinger at 1:53 of the third round, a triumph that earned her the organization's women's featherweight belt, in a duel that made up the main card of UFC 214.
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With an aggressive performance, as usual, Cyborg gave Tonya no chance, proving, once again, why she is considered by many to be the best MMA fighter of all time. This was the 18th victory of the Brazilian's career (16th by knockout), who has been undefeated for 12 years. She still has one loss – in her first fight as a professional – and one fight with no result. In Ultimate, there are already three positive results, the first in its division of origin – the first two were in caught weight, up to 63,5kg. Tonya, in turn, who debuted in the franchise, suffered the sixth defeat of his record, which still has 19 triumphs and one I didn't answer.
“A lot has happened in my career, before I was completely crazy in the octagon, but now I've learned to work calmly. I’m very happy to leave with the belt”, declared Cyborg, in an interview still in the Octagon.
The fight
Cyborg, as always, started the duel by putting pressure on her rival, landing strong blows on the North American, which she felt. Evinger began to circle the Octagon, escaping the Brazilian's range of action. Tonya clinched and got a takedown, but Cris quickly got up. The Brazilian claimed to have been poked in the eye, interrupting the fight. After recovering, Cyborg returned 'hunting' Tonya, but was unable to be forceful. The Curitiba native, once again, rocked her rival after landing a good combination of blows, but the American showed enough courage to survive the first round.
The second stage began with the two studying each other, but for a short time. Cris landed a good takedown blow on Tonya, who absorbed it well. Cyborg started to be more cautious, taking few risks. Investing in low kicks, Cyborg continued to score more, but without much effectiveness. The pace remained the same until the end, with the Brazilian putting pressure on her rival.
Cyborg returned more aggressively for the third stage, landing a strong right blow on Tonya, who felt it. Next, a high kick knocked the American down, who quickly got back on her feet. The native of Curitiba continued chasing her rival, until she landed a strong sequence of blows on Evinger, who this time did not resist, suffering the first knockout of his career.
Former champion Robbie Lawler defeats Donald Cerrone in violent duel
Lawler (right) beat Cerrone (left) (Photo: Reproduction/Facebook UFC)
Without fighting since July 2016, when he lost the welterweight belt (up to 77kg) after being knocked out by Tyron woodley, Robbie Lawler returned to the octagon with his right foot. With his usual aggressive stance, Ruthless defeated Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision of the judges (triple 29×28), after 15 minutes of a violent fight full of twists and turns. This was Lawler's 12th victory in Ultimate, while Cerrone lost his second in a row at welterweight, a category in which he still has four victories.
Volkan Oezdemir delivers lightning knockout to Jimi Manuwa
Oezdemir was not aware of Manuwa (Photo: Reproduction/Youtube UFC)
Fulminating! This is how the light heavyweight victory can be defined Volkan oezdemir, who took no notice of Jimi Manuwa and knocked out the Englishman just 42 seconds into the fight, in a duel that opened the main card. This was the Swiss's third victory in three fights in the UFC, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the company: in five months, he went from anonymity to 5th place in the under-93kg division. Manuwa, in turn, lost his third in nine fights in the company, having interrupted a sequence of two victories.
MAIN CARD
Light Heavyweight: Jon Jones derrotou Daniel Cormier by technical knockout at 3:10 of R3
Welterweight Weight: Tyron woodley won Demian Maia by unanimous decision (50×45, 2x 49-46)
Feather weight: Chris Cyborg defeated Tonya Evinger by technical knockout at 1:53 of R3
Welterweight Weight: Robbie Lawler derrotou Donald Cerrone by decision of the judges (29×28, 29×28, 29×28)
Light Heavyweight: Volkan oezdemir defeated Jimi Manuwa by technical knockout at 42 seconds of R1
PRELIMINARY CARD
Featherweight: Ricardo Lamas defeated Jason Knight by TKO at 4:34 of R1
Married weight (63,5kg): aljamain sterling derrotou Renan Barao by unanimous decision of the judges (29×28, 29×27, 30×26)
Feather weight: Brian ortega derrotou Renato Moicano by submission (guillotine) at 2m59s of R3
Feather weight: Calvin kattar derrotou André Fili by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×27)
Strawweight: Alexandra Albu defeated Kailin Curran by unanimous decision (29×28, 29×28, 29×28)
Flyweight: Jarred Brooks defeated Eric Shelton via split decision (29×28, 28×29, 29×28)
Lightweight: Drew dober defeated Josh Burkman by knockout at 3:04 of R1
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