UFC 227: Brazilians prevail and emerge with three victories on the preliminary card

S. Moraes (left), R. Carcacinha (cen.) and P. Munhoz (right) won on the preliminary card. Photo: Montagem SL MMA Press

The first three Brazilians to step into the Ultimate Octagon this Saturday (04) during UFC 227 emerged victorious. The first to appear was Sheymon Moraes who beat Matt Sayles by unanimous decision of the judges with a triple 29-28 in the featherweight division. Afterwards, it was time to Ricardo Carcacinha won Kyung Ho Kang by split decision (29-28, 28-29 and 29-28) in the bantamweight category. Finishing the preliminary card, in a great clash, Peter Munhoz derrotou Brett johns in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-26, 29-27, 29-26) also in the 61,2 kg division.

Sheymon's second appearance in Ultimate

S. Moraes (left) recovers and beats M. Sayles (right). Photo: Reproduction/FacebookUFC

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With 'boldness and joy', Sheymon Moraes was the first Brazilian to step into the Ultimate Octagon in Los Angeles. The carioca, in his second fight in the organization, faced Matt Sayles and came away with a unanimous decision victory from the judges (triple 29-28). The Brazilian increases his record to 12 fights, with 10 wins and two losses.

The Rio native didn't have an easy time in the cage against the former Contender Series athlete. He was superior in the first two rounds and resisted an attack from his opponent at the end of the third round.

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Sayles started the first round with low kicks, while the Brazilian connected with more forceful blows to the body. Sheymon applied a sequence of knees to the waist and a high kick that hit Matt's head, signaling that he had a hard head. Moraes landed a cross and a right that rocked his opponent, and he went to the clinch and landed short knees and elbows. In the final minute of the round, the North American landed a cross and put the Rio native against the fence, but was unable to take him to the ground.

The Brazilian started the second half with aggression and started with a strong kick to his opponent's ribs. In response, Matt threw a flying knee into the void and then immediately tried to catch the carioca's legs. Sayles threw a rotating punch and Sheymon threw an elbow in response. Upon realizing the end of the round, Moraes accelerated and threw some punches and kicks.

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In the final five minutes, Sheymon hit his opponent with a finger in the eye and the referee warned that he would take a point off if that happened again. As the fight resumed, Sayles applied pressure and put the Brazilian against the fence, but Moraes left the grip and returned to the center of the cage. The Rio native put a direct punch to the North American's face, who responded with a knee to the waist. Matt looking for a score threw boxing combinations. The Brazilian, on the other hand, waited for the round to end.

Carcacinha wins his third victory in the organization

R. Carcacinha in a balanced fight takes his third consecutive victory. Photo: Reproduction/FacebookUFC

Ricardo Carcacinha won Kyung Ho Kang by split decision (29-28, 28-29 and 29-28) in his toughest fight in his one-year stint in Ultimate. The Brazilian bantamweight achieved his third consecutive victory and fourth in his career on the preliminary card of UFC 227.

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Carcacinha started the round by showing his business card to the South Korean with a round punch that stopped in his opponent's guard. Ricardo connected a good combination of blows that trapped Kang against the cage bars. Even so, Kyung managed to react with half and two takedowns on the Brazilian that put him side by side on the scoreboard.

The South Korean returned for the second round looking to hit the legs of the Brazilian who imposed himself on him. Kang was placed on the railing again with hooks at his waistline. But Kyung connected with a blow to the base of the Brazilian who was left with his back on the ground. With an advantage and above Ricardo, his rival struck inside the guard. The São Paulo native locked one of his opponent's arms and reversed the position, placing the South Korean on the ground and trying to apply a leg lock. With just over a minute left before the round ended, Kang managed to stay on his feet and the fighters had a frank exchange. With just a few seconds to go, Carcacinha took a takedown.

In the final round, the fighters exchanged kicks. Showing more calm, the Brazilian waited for the South Korean to open up before hitting him in the face. Kang tried to win points with some kicks to the Paulista's legs. He also put a combination of jabs, straight shots and kicks on Carcacinha. With less than a minute left in the fight, Ricardo attempted a takedown, but his rival fell and quickly got back on his feet.

In a frantic fight, Munhoz wins victory over Johns

P. Munhoz shows his superiority over the Welsh and takes the victory. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook UFC

Showing your superiority, Peter Munhoz derrotou Brett johns in a unanimous decision by the judges (30-26, 29-27, 29-26). With the victory, the Brazilian recovers in Ultimate and wins his 16th career triumph. With his performance at the event in Los Angeles, the bantamweight should leave ninth place in the rankings.

In the first round, the Brazilian starts attacking his opponent with high and low kicks. Then, he connects a sequence of strong punches to Johns' face. In response, Brett closes the distance and tries to catch the Brazilian's legs. Pedro defends himself and attacks his rival again with punches. The fight remains frenetic with a round kick from Munhoz on the defending Welshman. In an open exchange, Johns connects two punches that rock Pedro. Munhoz maintains the advantage, landing better strikes. In the final stretch of the first five minutes, the Brazilian and the Welshman put in good shots.

The second round starts with a strong rhythm, with the opponents exchanging blows in the fight. Munhoz lands a kick to the waist that makes the Welshman fall and almost leads to a knockout. Pedro works on top in half guard and tries to land a guillotine, but his opponent defends himself. The Brazilian hits Johns' leg, which he feels and limps into the cage. Pedro puts the kick in again, knocks his rival down and tries to get a footlock, but the Welshman puts the fight on the feet. Munhoz, upon realizing that his opponent is vulnerable, lands many blows that knock him down. At the end of the round, the Brazilian ends up on top and hitting his opponent.

Brett starts the third half of the fight with his left leg back to defend himself from the Brazilian's kicks. The leg he had felt in the second round. Pedro lands a low kick that takes Johns down again and the Brazilian tries to lock in the guillotine. Showing his jiu-jitsu skills, Munhoz continues working on top and scoring over the Welshman. Pedro comes out of half guard and connects blows to Brett's face. Johns manages to get up and puts the Brazilian on the fence trying to grab Pedro's legs to take him down. In defense, Munhoz fences his opponent.