It’s easy to notice something
really special when the 32 men selected for the first edition of
The Ultimate
Fighter Brazil make their first walk towards the Octagon.
Some
athletes even let their emotions out, thanking God for the opportunity and even
letting a tear run down their face during the quick speeches of both coaches,
MMA legends
Vitor Belfort and
Wanderlei Silva. And this mix of emotion
and anxiety happens without the fighters even knowing who they are going to
fight or how it’s going to unfold until they get their hand raised (or not),
ensuring that they have a place inside the Ultimate Fighter house.
But in
spite of the emotions, silence reigned as Vitor and Wanderlei spoke. The same
can’t be said of the reaction to the remarkable introduction from
UFC president Dana White. Declaring what
he truly expected of the 32 fighters, Dana went straight to the
point.
“I’m looking for the next world champion. It’s the opportunity of
your lives. You made it this far. But it doesn’t end here; you will have to
fight to get to the house. No one wants to lose the chance to be in this show,
no one wants to be out of this. Today is the day! Today is the most important
day of your lives. You’ll give your best here today to get inside that house,
and maybe become world champions in the UFC. Are you ready?”
Without any
response, in a louder voice, White asked again, “Are you ready?”
Then the
excitement started taking over the 32 men standing in front of the president,
who responded loud and clear: “YES!!”
QUALIFIERSDivided
between featherweight and middleweight fighters, now came the defining moment
for the 32 chosen - a chance to prove that all your efforts will be rewarded or
overcome by the bigger will of your opponent.
Fight 1 [featherweight] - Rony
"Jason" Mariano (Quixada EC) vs. Dileno Lopes (Manaus,
AM)After a slightly better start, where he gave some
good kicks, Mariano caught two strong punches from Dileno's left hand and went
to the ground. Trying to finish with a ground and pound attack, Dileno rushed,
and even passing the guard, he could not keep his opponent on the ground.
Mariano got back up to his feet and showing he recovered well, struck with a low
kick, tried a flying knee and took advantage of a slip by Dileno to land a punch
that knocked him down, and was then declared a technical knockout winner in the
fight after two more punches.
Fight 2 [middleweight] Francisco
"Massaranduba" Drinaldo (Brasilia, DF) vs. Charles Maicon (Sorocaba, SP)
A frenetic and wide-open striking fight has only one
likely outcome...someone will fall. “Massaranduba” showed all his power when he
threw Charles on the floor, where he started the ground and pound and
implemented a sequence of left hands until the referee stopped the fight and
declared him the knockout victor.
Fight 3 [featherweight] Godofredo Pepey (Fortaleza, CE) x Johnny
"Cabeça” GoncalvesWith a sharp ground game, Pepey showed
his skills - even on his back – and he was able to get an armbar from the guard,
forcing Johnny to tap out in less than two minutes.
Fight 4 [middleweight] Cesar
"Mutante" Ferreira (Belo Horizonte. MG) x Gustavo "Labareda" Sampaio (Brasilia,
DF)With a big reach advantage , “Mutante” was aware that
striking could be the way to victory against the shorter Gustavo “Labareda.”
However, after dominating in the clinch with the best Wanderlei Silva Muay Thai
style, Mutante was forced to fight on the ground when his opponent decided to
pull into his guard. At that moment, the "mutant" was warned for delivering
blows to the neck and illegal elbows that forced the referee to stop the fight
to check a cut that was bleeding from Gustavo's head. In the next round,
“Labareda” found the distance to land low kicks, and Mutante was having a hard
time striking. In response, he decided to take the fight down to the mat, and
though Labareda tried to get up, but Mutante had the guillotine position ready
and he pulled to guard, which left Gustavo no alternative except to give
up.
Fight 5
[featherweight] Alexander "Sangue" Ramos (Curitiba, PR) x Hugh "Wolverine" Viana
(Salvador, BA)Understanding the need to put on an
exciting fight, “Sangue” and “Wolverine” began trading blows immediately. Sangue
attempted a flying triangle, which seemed good, but Wolverine resisted, defended
and escaped from the submission. Going into the guard of the man from Curitiba,
Wolverine showed some inexperience using his elbows, but he eventually figured
things out and put his opponent to sleep with three perfect elbows.
Fight 6 [middleweight] Daniel
Safarian (São Paulo, SP) x Richard "Monstrão" Moreira (Campinas,
SP)Ignoring Richard Monstrão's reach, Daniel Safarian
showed good footwork and was able to shake his opponent with a jab. On the
ground, Safarian had speed in his blows, but Monstrão went for his left leg with
a dangerous heel hook that was well defended by Safarian, who used it to stay on
top and get the mount. Monstrão tried standing back up when - with one hand on
the ground – he caught an illegal knee. After a few minutes to recover, Safarian
tried getting points, and doing damage, he set the pace, but was saved by the
bell when the fight went to the ground and Monstrão worked a second heel hook.
In the second round, Safarian continued pushing, took the fight to the ground
and punished Monstrão for five minutes, alternating blows from the mount and
into half guard, taking the first victory of the day by decision.
Fight 7 [featherweight] Fabricio
Guerrero (Santana, AP) x Rodrigo Damm (Vila Velha,
ES)The experience of fighting in Brazil, Japan, Russia,
Canada and U.S. that Rodrigo Damm had may have been crucial for him to overcome
Fabricio Guerrero's best striking, as he took advantage of the timing of
attempted kicks to counter attack with well-aimed punches. But Damm realized
that he wouldn't win standing up, and he used his wrestling as an ally combined
with his black belt in jiu-jitsu to get a rear-naked choke and finish the fight
in the second round.
Fight 8 [featherweight] Wagner's
"Galeto" Santos (Pines, PR) x Fernando Guerra (Dourados,
MS)Although we didn’t see much of the performance
expected - Wagner “Galeto” and his combinations appeared to have him heading
towards the knockout. But it was difficult to define a winner after two rounds
of five minutes each, and an extra stanza was needed. In it, Galeto seemed to
have enough gas to give a final sprint and show everything that he hadn't done
before. Fernando resisted, but ultimately did not convince the judges, who gave
the victory to his opponent. Before the verdict, Fernando tried to verbally
convince the judges that his opponent did not fight, but just tried to manage
the fight, creating some tension between the two, but it was left
alone.
Fight 9
[middleweight] Sergio Moraes (Sao Paulo, SP) x Thiago Rela
(Itatiba, SP)You shouldn't ignore it when they say "Do
not go to the ground with a renowned black belt in jiu-jitsu." If he is a
three-time world champion, it’s even worse. Thiago Rela started well, trading
blows in an unusual position on the floor - with one closing a triangle on the
other’s leg. But Sergio Moraes’ moment soon arrived, and shortly after he sunk a
heel hook in, submitting Rela and stamping his "passport" into the Ultimate
Fighter house.
Fight 10
[featherweight] Rafael Bueno (Bragança Paulista, SP) x Anistávio "Gasparzinho"
Medeiros (Natal, RN)Gasparzinho was not as nice a guy as
his nickname (Casper) would denote, and with enough versatility he confused
Rafael's striking and got the best of him in the first five minutes. After that,
Rafael hit back, and despite being punished by the end of the round, he had done
enough to take the fight to the third. In that tiebreaking round, "Casper"
showed a lot of aggression and almost managed to finish with an armbar, but won
by decision.
Fight 11
[middleweight] John "Tuba" de Souza (Curitiba, PR) x Thiago "Bodão" Perpetual
(Santo André, SP)Tuba from Curitiba wanted to show what
he had early in the match and he took Thiago Bodão to the ground and went to
half-guard while hammering him. Bodão rebounded in the same way, reversing the
position and punishing from the passed guard. In the second round, Bodao
repeated the successful formula of the previous frame: ground and pound. Tuba
was a warrior and survived, only to lose the decision to Bodão.
Fight 12 [featherweight] Geovani
"Soldado" Souza Jr. (PB,) x John "Macapa" Teixeira (Macapa,
AP)A trade of low blows started this bout off in bizarre
fashtion, but on the second restart, an exchange of heavy blows ended with a
clinch and a takedown by Macapa. Soldado reversed the position, but Macapá
locked in an armbar that ended the fight.
Fight 13 [middleweight] Delson "Pé de
Chumbo" Heleno (Teresopolis, RJ) x Gilberto Galvão (Camburiú,
SC)In a battle between two of the most physically strong
fighters in the competition, Pé de Chumbo got the best of his foe as he put into
practice a successful strategy of takedowns and a fine ground game to dispatch
Gilberto via judges’ decision.
Fight 14 [middleweight] Fabio Bolinho
(Natal, RN) x Renee Forte (Fortaleza,
CE)Punishing Renee's left leg with very heavy low kicks,
Fabio seemed to have found the path that leads to the house of The Ultimate
Fighter. Renee wouldn't surrender the easy way though, doing justice to his name
and finding the distance to adjust with good uppercuts, shaking his opponent on
some occasions, and earning the decision win.
Fight 15 [featherweight] - Marcus
"Vina" Pancini (Curitiba, PR) x Pedro Nobre (Rio de Janeiro,
RJ)A right hand that landed perfectly on Pedro's face
was the beginning of Vina’s path to the house. Even dizzy on the floor, Pedro
tried to work a leg lock, but many right hands sealed the end of the fight by
technical knockout in favor of Vina.
Fight 16 - [middleweight] Samuel
Trindade (Boa Vista, RR) x Leonardo "Macarrão" Mafra (Camburiú,
SC)The last elimination of the night was considered "Fight
of the Night." A duel of back-and-forth exchanges left White, Silva, and Belfort
on their feet applauding at the end of two remarkable rounds. In the tiebreaking
round three, fatigue had Samuel and Macarrão seemingly moving in slow motion,
but that didn’t mean the fight was no longer exciting, as the two continued
trading punches. With less than 12 seconds left, Samuel took his foe down and
got the mount, going for a triangle, but time ran out. The final attack was not
enough and Macarrão emerged victorious by decision.
If adrenaline was sky
high after the first episode, rest assured that you will have a hard time
handling the excitement coming up. In the weeks ahead, we will have Wanderlei
and Vitor choosing their team members, their training sessions, a look at the
fighters living in the house together, and the fights that will determine the
first two Ultimate Fighters of Brazil.
Here are your final 16
competitors:
Middleweight
César Mutante
Leonardo Macarrão
Francisco Massaranduba
Delson Pé de Chumbo
Daniel Sarafian Sérgio Moraes
Renée
Forte
Thiago Bodão
Featherweight
Wagner Galeto
Anistávio
Gasparzrinho
Hugo Wolverine
John Macapá
Godofredo Pepey
Rony
Jason
Marcus Vinícius Vina
Rodrigo Damm
