UFC Norfolk: Marlon Moraes beats Dodson and 'save' Brazilians on preliminary card

Marlon (right) won his first in the UFC (Photo: Reproduction/Instagram UFCBrasil)

The preliminary portion of the UFC Norfolk, held on Saturday night (11), in the state of Virginia, in the United States, saw the participation of three Brazilians, but only one left the octagon with his arm raised. In a very busy and balanced duel, Marlon moraes derrotou John Dodson in the judges' split decision, while Marcel Fortuna and Viviane Sucuri lost on points to Jake collier e Tatiana Suarez placeholder imagerespectively.

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Victories for Raphael Assunção and Mutante mark the main portion of UFC Norfolk

In the other four fights, highlights for the newcomer Karl Robertson, which ended Darren stewart in the first round, the promising Sage Northtcutt, who beat Michel Quiñones and won again after almost a year inactive, and Nina ansaroff, girlfriend of the bantamweight champion Amanda nunes, who defeated Angela Hill.

Marlon Moraes surpasses Dodson and wins his first UFC fight

In the duel that closed the preliminary card, better for the Brazilian bantamweight Marlon moraes, who achieved his first victory in the UFC octagon by defeating John Dodson in the judges' split decision (30×27, 27×30, 30×27), in a very balanced fight. The Rio native from Nova Friburgo recovers from the defeat against Raphael Assunção, last June, in his home debut, while the former flyweight challenger lost his second in four fights since moving up a division. After the victory, still in the octagon, Marlon asked to replace the injured man Dominick Cruz in the duel against Jimmie rivera at UFC 219, December 30th, in Las Vegas (USA).

Marlon started the confrontation more aggressively, using good low kicks, trying to undermine his rival's movement. Dodson responded with a strong left blow, which led to the Brazilian being knocked down. The Brazilian recovered well and started investing in kicks again, but missed one of the shots and caught the American's “low countries”, who needed more than a minute to recover. Upon returning, the two began to study each other more, with Moraes taking the initiative in the blows and Dodson responding with the counterattack.

The two fighters returned looking for open exchanges in the opening seconds of the second stage, with the advantage going to Marlon, who connected with a good right cross, followed by a kick to the waist. Dodson, as usual, continued to circulate around the octagon, until he surprised when he attempted a takedown, without success. Marlon tried a high kick, but his leg was blocked and he was taken to the ground, where he stayed for a short time. In the center of the octagon, Moraes landed a good high kick, which landed on his rival's shoulder. With 30 seconds left, Marlon went to the feathers and took the takedown, but was unable to work on top.

The last and decisive round began more cautiously than the initial ones, with a lot of study and little action from the fighters. Marlon landed a good jab on the American, who was trying to surprise with left hooks. Dodson landed a good shot on the Brazilian's waistline, who responded with a straight left. Marlon went to Dodson's feathers in search of the takedown, but was unsuccessful. In the second end, Dodson also fell, leaving the neck to Marlon, who quickly landed a very fair guillotine choke, but the final bell sounded shortly afterwards.

Tatiana Suarez dominates Viviane Sucuri from start to finish

Sucuri (right) lost his unbeaten record in MMA (Photo: Reproduction/CombatePlay)

Strawweight Viviane Sucuri's unbeaten run has come to an end. Completely dominated during the 15 minutes of the fight, the Brazilian was no match for the takedown game of the also undefeated fighter Tatiana Suarez placeholder image, who won by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×26). TUF 23 champion, the American, who hadn't fought since July 2016, won her second fight in the house, her fifth as a professional. Sucuri, who already has two victories in the franchise, lost for the first time in 14 fights.

Much bigger physically, Suarez started the fight by investing in low kicks. When trying to take the fight to the ground, the American ended up leaving her neck exposed to Sucuri, who tried to use the guillotine, without success. Tatiana took a takedown and landed on top, having good positional control. Suarez made a good transition and went to the back, closing the padlock at the waist line. Viviane, however, managed to free herself from the position in the final seconds.

Tatiana returned for the second stage determined to take the duel to the ground. And it didn't take long to be successful. Falling on top of the Brazilian, in half guard, Suarez swept and went to mount, where he started to land good blows. Sucuri managed to get out of position, but was stuck next to the railing, unable to show any power to react. The scenario was repeated until the gong sounded.

Aware of the disadvantage in the initial rounds, Sucuri returned to surround her rival in the octagon, but without effectiveness. Suarez, once again, tried to take the Brazilian to the ground, landing in the 100kg position. The American was looking for some transitions, always making use of her good positional control on top. Tatiana controlled the fight until the end, with little force.

With safe performance, Sage Northcutt defeats Quiñones by points

Sage won his fourth in six fights in Ultimate (Photo: Reproduction/Facebook SageNorthcutt)

Considered one of the UFC's main prospects, the lightweight Sage Northcutt made peace with the victory by dominating Michel Quiñones during the three rounds, coming out with the victory by unanimous decision from the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×27). The triumph serves as a recovery for 'Super', which had been finished by Mickey gall in December 2016. Now, Sage, just 21 years old, has a 4-2 record in Ultimate, while 'El Capo' lost his two fights in the organization.

Amanda Nunes' girlfriend Nina Ansaroff beats Angela Hill

Nina (right) beat Hill by points (Photo: Reproduction/Twitter UFCEspanol)

In the first women's fight of the night, the strawweight Nina ansaroff, girlfriend of the bantamweight champion Amanda nunes, was higher than Angela Hill and emerged victorious in the judges' unanimous decision (29×28, 29×28, 29×28), achieving the second good result in a row, after losing the first two fights held in the franchise. Former Invicta champion, Hill remains unconvincing in Ultimate, with just one triumph in three fights in this second stint, numbers identical to her first participation in the house, in 2015.

Sean Strickland defeats Court McGee via unanimous decision

Strickland (right) defeated McGee (left) in the decision (Photo: Reproduction/CombatePlay)

With negative results in his most recent fights, Court mcgee e Sean Strickland They entered the octagon in search of recovery. And the one who came out on top was 'Tarzar' who won by unanimous decision from the judges (30×27, 29×28, 29×28), recovering from the defeat against Kamaru Usman, last April, and adding his sixth triumph in eight fights at home. TUF 11 champion, McGee lost for the third time in the last four fights, leaving him in a delicate situation. In total, there are seven wins and six losses in the UFC.

Interestingly, the result was announced as a majority draw by Bruce Buffer, due to an error in counting the points. Minutes later, after both fighters left the octagon, Strickland's victory was confirmed.

In an even fight, Jake Collier beats Marcel Fortuna on points

Fortuna (right) lost to Collier (left) (Photo: Reproduction/CombatePlay)

The first Brazilian to take action this Saturday, light heavyweight Marcel Fortuna was unable to impose his takedown game against Jake collier and was defeated in a unanimous decision by the judges (30×27, 29×28, 29×28). 'Mãozinha', who debuted in Ultimate in February this year, with a knockout victory (as a heavyweight), suffered the second setback in three fights in the company, while the North American triumphed for the third time in six fights.

The duel began with the two fighters exchanging good blows in the center of the octagon, with Fortuna landing good blows on his rival, who tried to respond with round kicks to the waistline. Collier began to grow in the exchange of blows, causing the Brazilian to look for a takedown, but to no avail. Standing up, Fortuna landed a nice round right blow on Jake, who absorbed it well and responded with a strong right, making Marcel retreat. The fight remained busy until the end of the round, but without any major moments.

In the first minute of the second stage, Marcel tried to look for a takedown and got on Jake's back, who managed to free himself from the position. With both fighters in the center of the octagon, the American continued to insist on kicks thrown at the waist line, succeeding in one of the attempts. Collier started hunting Fortuna around the octagon, pressing with straight line strikes. The Brazilian surprised and took the fight to the ground, falling on top, but was swept and was underneath the American, who ended the round by landing a good elbow.

Collier returned for a more aggressive third round, landing a good high kick followed by a strong right cross. Apparently more tired, Fortuna tried to get the takedown, but fell back to the bottom – Jake, however, didn't want to fight on the ground and let the Brazilian get up. Unable to take the fight to the ground, Marcel surprised by landing a strong right cross, which rocked his rival. Collier then retaliated with a strong left high kick, which stopped in guard. In the final seconds, it was the American who tried to take him down, but without success.

Karl Roberson debuts by submitting Darren Stewart in R1 

Roberson submitted Stewart in R1 (Photo: Reproduction/Instagram UFCBrasil)

Karl Robertson debuted on the right foot in the UFC. In the first fight of the night, the 27-year-old middleweight gave no chance to Darren stewart, submitting his rival with a rear naked choke at 3:41 of the first round. This was the sixth victory of Roberson's career, who has a 100% success record. Stewart, in turn, finds himself in a complicated situation after failing to win any victories in three fights in the organization. After debuting as light heavyweight in an unsuccessful fight against Francimar Bodão, the Englishman lost the rematch to the Brazilian.

UFC Norfolk results 

MAIN CARD 

Lightweight: Dustin poirier derrotou Anthony Pettis by technical knockout at 2:08 of R3

Welterweight: Matt Brown defeated Diego Sanchez by knockout to those in R1

Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski derrotou Junior albini by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 29×28)

Average weight: Cezar Mutant defeated Nate Marquardt via split decision (29×28, 28×29, 29×28)

Bantamweight: Raphael Assunção defeated Matthew Lopez by technical knockout at 1m50s of R3

Lightweight: Clay guida derrotou Joe lauzon by technical knockout at 1:07 of R1

PRELIMINARY CARD 

Bantamweight: Marlon moraes derrotou John Dodson by split decision of the judges (27×30, 30×27, 30×27)

Straw weight: Tatiana Suarez placeholder image derrotou Viviane Sucuri by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×26)

Lightweight: Sage Northcutt defeated Michel Quiñones by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×27)

Straw weight: Nina ansaroff derrotou Angela Hill by unanimous decision of the judges (29×28, 29×28, 29×28)

Welterweight Weight: Sean Strickland derrotou Court mcgee by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 29×28, 29×28)

Light Heavyweight: Jake collier derrotou Marcel fortune by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 29×28, 29×28)

Average weight: Karl Robertson derrotou Darren stewart via submission (rear naked choke) at 3m41s of R1