Now that the dust has settled in Rio de Janeiro, it’s time to go to the scorecard to recap the night’s biggest winners at UFC Fight Night: Oliveira vs Gamrot.
Charles Oliveira
Where else can we start but with the former UFC lightweight champion, who produced a vintage display to hand Poland’s Mateusz Gamrot the first stoppage defeat of his career.
Oliveira was taken down early, but looked by far the more dangerous man on the mat – even when fighting off his back – as he threatened Gamrot with a host of submission attempts.
Charles Oliveira Octagon Interview | UFC Rio
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Charles Oliveira Octagon Interview | UFC Rio
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Gamrot survived the first round, but Oliveira, roared on by a passionate Rio crowd, got the finish he, and the fans, wanted as he locked up a tight face crank/rear-naked choke to force Gamrot to submit for the first time in his career.
After his 21st UFC finish, the big question post-fight concerned what Oliveira might do next. Could retirement be on the cards? How about another run at the lightweight title? Thankfully, he had an answer ready, as he called on the UFC to book him against Max Holloway for a BMF title fight.
Count. Us. In.
Deiveson Figueiredo
After dropping back-to-back losses to Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen, “Deus Da Guerra” had his back against the wall heading into UFC Rio, and the former undisputed flyweight champion stepped up to the challenge.
Figueiredo took on the streaking Montel Jackson and did enough over the three rounds to outwork the in-form contender and snap Jackson’s six-fight win streak.
It meant Figueiredo returned to the win column with an important victory, and put him back on track in his quest to become a two-division champion.
Mario Pinto
Those who weren’t already aware of the Portuguese heavyweight finisher prior to fight night in Rio got a great first look at a man with a ton of fighting talent, and a personality to match.
Pinto threatened to tear Jhonata Diniz’s arm clean off at the shoulder as he cranked and twisted one of the nastiest Kimuras we’ve seen in a while. Remarkably, Diniz didn’t tap, but that didn’t deter the London-based heavyweight, who switched submissions for strikes and finished the fight with some nasty ground and pound.
Mario Pinto Octagon Interview | UFC Rio
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Mario Pinto Octagon Interview | UFC Rio
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It was a one-sided win against a fellow hot heavyweight prospect and delivered a real statement to the rest of the heavyweight up-and-comers. But, to underscore his performance, he delivered the goods on the microphone with a great bilingual interview as he spoke passionately about his performance in his native Portuguese.
Then, after initially telling Michael Bisping that he can’t speak English, proceeded to cut a brilliant promo, complete with London accent, as he revealed his English was every bit as good as his Portuguese.
He’s a big, undefeated heavyweight prospect with a big personality, he’s one to watch, and after that performance – and that interview – he’ll have plenty of people following his journey.
Vitor Petrino
The preliminary card saw Brazilian heavyweight Petrino produce one of the scariest knockouts of the year as he face-planted Thomas Petersen in devastating fashion to claim a highlight-reel KO.
After the first two rounds of their heavyweight matchup, Petrino looked to be on his way to a decision win, but early in the final frame he loaded up and put Petersen in airplane mode with a stunning combination that saw the American fall awkwardly, face-first, into the canvas.
Vitor Petrino Lands Statement KO In Round 3 | UFC Rio
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Vitor Petrino Lands Statement KO In Round 3 | UFC Rio
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It was a nasty finish, and one that showed just how dangerous Petrino’s striking power can be. And, during his post-fight interview, he set his sights on a staple of the heavyweight rankings as he called for a fight with Poland’s Marcin Tybura.
It was a smart call-out, and if Petrino’s wish is granted, he’ll find himself with a potential gateway into the heavyweight top 15.
Joel Alvarez
His UFC welterweight debut may have had elements of controversy about it – due to the officiating, rather than his own performance – but Joel Alvarez’s first UFC outing at 170 pounds suggested big things could be in the Spanish athlete’s future.
His 30-26, 30-26, 30-26 victory over Vicente Luque saw Alvarez showcase excellent stand-up and superb wrestling and ground control skills as he dominated a veteran of the division.
The only thing that was missing was a finish, but under different officiating circumstances, he might, and perhaps should, have got that in the first round, when his legal punch was treated as an eye poke, with Luque unable to continue until being given time to recover.
The upshot is Alvarez claimed his first-ever decision victory in professional MMA, but despite the loss of his 100 percent finish rate, his performance was plenty good enough to show that he’s going to be a dangerous addition to the already stacked 170-pound class.
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