Brazilian crowds bring an energy to UFC events that’s unmatched anywhere else in the world. The passion, noise, and atmosphere create an intimidating environment for visiting fighters. Rio de Janeiro has hosted countless memorable UFC cards over the years, producing moments that fans still talk about. Saturday night at Farmasi Arena continued that tradition with another electric UFC Rio fight card. Brazilian fighters needed to deliver for their home crowd, and the pressure was on.
UFC Rio results saw Charles Oliveira dominate Mateusz Gamrot in the main event while Deiveson Figueiredo grinded out a decision over Montel Jackson. The preliminary card featured Brazilian fighters winning six out of seven bouts, sending the crowd into a frenzy. When the main card started, things got tougher for the home country athletes early on. But two former champions closed the show with victories that sent everyone home happy!
Charles Oliveira wrapped up the main event with a second-round submission victory over Mateusz Gamrot at 2:48 of the round. ’Do Bronx’ was aggressive from the opening bell and never letting Gamrot find any rhythm. Oliveira chased submissions and found dominant positions in both rounds before finally getting Gamrot’s back and locking in a rear-naked choke. The win moved Oliveira (36-11-0-1 NC) into a tie for second-most wins in UFC history with 24 victories, just three behind Jim Miller.
In the co-main event, Deiveson Figueiredo halted his two-fight losing streak by outpointing Montel Jackson via split decision with scores of 28-29, 29-28, and 29-28. The former flyweight champion relied heavily on his grappling at bantamweight, mixing timely takedowns with solid striking moments. Jackson stayed too inactive throughout the fight, allowing Figueiredo to control the pace and stay out of danger in the third round.
Joel Alvarez earned the first decision win of his career, dominating Vicente Luque over three rounds in his welterweight debut by unanimous decision with all judges scoring it 30-26. The Spaniard hurt Luque early and controlled the striking exchanges before taking over on the ground in the third round.
Portuguese heavyweight Mario Pinto battered Jhonata Diniz before stopping him via TKO at 4:10 of round two, improving to 11-0 overall. Turkish fighter Kaan Ofli opened the main card by surviving early submission attempts from Ricardo Ramos. He then secured his own rear-naked choke finish at 3:02 of the first round.
Michael Aswell Jr. closed the prelims with a spectacular performance, blowing through Lucas Almeida with a first-round TKO at 1:42. He hurt the Brazilian early with clean boxing and never let him recover. Jafel Filho displayed slick Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills by submitting Clayton Carpenter with a first-round kimura, getting the tap with just seconds remaining in the opening round.
Vitor Petrino delivered a statement knockout against Thomas Petersen. He landed devastating left and right uppercuts just 26 seconds into round three that left his opponent face-down on the canvas. Bia Mesquita showcased world class grappling in her UFC debut, dominating Irina Alekseeva before locking in a rear-naked choke at 2:14 of round two. The ten-time IBJJF world champion looked smooth and composed, immediately establishing herself as a threat in the women’s bantamweight division.
Lucas Rocha secured his first UFC victory with a clean unanimous decision sweep over Stewart Nicoll. All three judges scored it 30-27. Julia Polastri earned a dominant TKO victory over divisional veteran Karolina Kowalkiewicz. She battered the Polish fighter before landing a heavy head kick and finishing with strikes at 2:56 of round three. Opening the card, Luan Lacerda returned after more than two years away and forced Saimon Oliveira to verbally submit to an armbar at 3:55 of round two, collecting his first UFC victory in his hometown.
(Image Credit: Sergei Belski – Imagn Images)
mma 
