The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to Jornalista Felipe Drumond Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil tonight for UFC 147: “Silva vs Franklin 2.” The event was headlined by a catchweight rematch between veterans Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva and Rich “Ace” Franklin.
Also on the card, the TUF Brazil middleweight winner was determined when Sergio “Serginho” Moraes faced Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira, while Rony “Jason” Mariano Bezerra battled Godofredo “Pepe” Castro in the TUF Brazil featherweight final. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC 147.
Rich “Ace” Franklin vs Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva
Round 1:
Silva countered a body kick with a nice right hook one minute into the fight. Franklin landed left hands and Silva circled away. Franklin caught a head kick and both fighters landed punches before Silva could pull his leg free. Both fighters landed right hooks and Franklin tagged Silva with two hard punches in close. Franklin jabbed and Silva answered with a right hook. More punches were exchanged and Silva landed a head kick. Franklin landed a head kick of his own and a combination. 10-9 Franklin.
Round 2:
Silva opened the action with a lunging left-right combo in round two and followed with a head kick. Silva landed a kick to Franklin’s knee and appeared to injure his foot. He regained his footing and landed a right cross. A front kick grazed the chin of Franklin and he countered with a combination. Franklin unloaded with punches to the head and body, but Silva defended. Silva landed a flurry of his own, but Franklin remained the aggressor.
Head kicks were exchanged and Franklin flurried to the body. Silva tagged him with two solid punches and Franklin jabbed. Right hooks connected for both fighters and Silva rushed in with big right hands and a knee. Silva floored Franklin with a huge right hook and swarmed with punches on the ground. Referee Mario Yamasaki was seconds away from stopping the fight, but Franklin managed to defend just long enough to make it to the bell. 10-9 Silva, if not 10-8.
Round 3:
Round three began cautiously with jabs from both fighters for the first 75 seconds. Silva threw a head kick and Franklin blocked it. Franklin landed a jab and a body kick. Another body kick and a series of jabs scored for Franklin. A head kick landed for Franklin, but did not appear to hurt Silva at all. Both fighters jabbed and Franklin landed another body kick. He took Silva down and landed short elbows from half-guard. He landed big punches before the bell. 10-9 Franklin.
Round 4:
Silva ducked under a left cross and landed a right hook in round four. Franklin jabbed and followed with left crosses. He mixed in lead right hooks as well and Silva seemed to slow down. Franklin put together a four-punch combo and Silva struggled to answer. Time was called after Franklin was kicked in the groin. When the fight continued, Franklin landed more jabs and lead right hooks. Silva countered a body kick with a right hook. 10-9 Franklin.
Round 5:
Franklin continued to mix up his punches with jabs and left hooks in the final round. He stayed outside of Silva’s range and landed a nice left cross. Silva countered a left cross with a right hook, but Franklin remained a step ahead in the exchanges. Franklin jabbed and followed with more left hooks. He landed jab after jab and Silva missed with a front kick.
Silva rushed in with a right hook and Franklin landed one in return. Silva continued to walk Franklin down, but Franklin stayed out of range. Silva landed a right hook and avoided a counter from Franklin. The fighters teed off with haymakers for the final 15 seconds and Franklin dropped Silva just as the final bell sounded. 10-9 Franklin.
Winner: Rich Franklin by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 29-6-0, 1 NC.
TUF Brazil Middleweight Final
Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira vs Sergio “Serginho” Moraes
Round 1:
Time was briefly called early in the fight after Moraes was poked in the eye. After the restart, Ferreira attempted a capoeira kick and landed a combination. Moraes replied with punches, but came up short. He landed a hard kick to the body and Ferreira backed up. Ferreira threw a series of left hands and avoided a clinch.
Moraes connected with two right hooks and a standing elbow. A timeout was called after Moraes was kicked in the groin. Action resumed with a one-two from Moraes. Ferreira closed in with a body kick and punches, but Moraes unloaded with nearly a dozen looping hooks. 10-9 Moraes.
Round 2:
Ferreira scored with a trio of left hooks in the final round. Moraes tried to pull guard, but Ferreira stayed up. Moraes slipped to the mat as Ferreira fired off a combination. He stood, but was rocked by a left cross and a capoeira kick. Moraes began to bleed from the right eye and fell to the ground as Ferreira pummelled him with punches. Ferreira avoided a heel hook attempt and allowed Moraes to stand.
Moraes latched onto a leg, but Ferreira broke free and landed a left hook. He missed with a flying knee, but landed an uppercut soon after. Moraes stayed out of Ferreira’s range and threw a combination of his own. Ferreira answered with a body kick, but Moraes badly hurt him with an elbow and a big flurry of punches. Ferreira somehow stayed on his feet as Moraes teed off. Close round. 10-9 Ferreira, barely.
Round 3:
Ferreira dropped Moraes early in the final round. Moraes recovered and Ferreira allowed him to stand. He landed kicks to the body and Moraes answered with a combination. Moraes rushed in with wild punches, but came up short and Ferreira circled to the side. The pace slowed somewhat with two minutes to go.
Ferreira missed with a combination and a front kick. Moraes landed a hard counter right and two more punches. A lunging right hook forced Ferreira to retreat, but he regained his footing and dropped Moraes with a left cross. Ferreira punched at Moraes’s legs until Moraes stood up. 10-9 Ferreira.
Winner: Cezar Ferreira by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 5-2-0 and becomes the TUF Brazil Middleweight Winner.
TUF Brazil Featherweight Final
Rony “Jason” Mariano Bezerra vs Godofredo “Pepey” Castro
Round 1:
Castro jumped in with a flying knee in the opening seconds of round one. Bezerra countered with punches and clinched. Castro backed away and avoided a knee. He came up short with wild punches and clinched. Castro pulled guard and worked for a Kimura from the bottom. Bezerra escaped and punched to the body.
The fighters were stood up and Bezerra landed a solid leg kick. He followed with a flying knee and Castro tried to pull guard again. Bezerra slammed him down and scored with punches from the top. Castro tried to push off of the cage, but Bezerra kept him pinned down. Very close round. 10-9 Bezerra by a slim margin.
Round 2:
Bezerra ducked into a knee in the second round, but appeared to be unfazed and landed a one-two. Castro rushed forward with wild punches, but most missed the mark. He ducked under an overhand right from Bezerra and pulled guard. Both fighters landed elbows on the ground and Bezerra briefly passed to side control.
Bezerra stood and Castro followed. Castro walked right into a pair of vicious counter hooks and missed badly with more wild punches. Bezerra scored with a lead left hook and a body kick. He countered a spinning backfist attempt with two right hooks. One more lead left hook landed to Castro’s jaw before the end of the round. 10-9 Bezerra.
Round 3:
A right hook from Bezerra set off an exchange of body kicks in the final round. Bezerra landed a hard counter right and Castro dropped down for a takedown. Bezerra stayed on his feet and Castro missed with a wild spinning backfist. Looping punches were exchanged and neither fighter landed. Bezerra threw a combination and was kicked in the groin. The fight continued and Bezerra landed a right hook.
Castro clinched and tried for a takedown. He tried to pull guard, but Bezerra stayed on his feet and stood over him with kicks to the legs. Castro was stood up and Bezerra tagged him with a right hook. Time was called again after Bezerra was kicked in the groin a second time. Action eventually resumed and Castro threw leg kicks. Bezerra missed with a spinning backfist and both fighters attempted takedowns at the bell. 10-9 Bezerra.
Winner: Rony Mariano Bezerra by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 11-3-0 and becomes the TUF Brazil Featherweight Winner.
Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum vs Mike Russow
Round 1:Werdum just missed with a knee and an uppercut early on. He scored with a nice flurry of punches and followed with another knee. Russow connected with a left hook and Werdum continued to batter him with combinations. Russow began to bleed from the bridge of the nose. Werdum floored him with an uppercut and landed a series of punches on the ground until the fight was stopped.
Winner: Fabricio Werdum by TKO (Punches) at 2:28 of round one. He improves to 16-5-1.
Hacran “Barnabe” Dias vs Iuri “Marajo” Alcantara
Round 1:
Dias clinched early in the fight and eventually managed to take Alcantara down against the cage. He landed elbows from the top and worked to set up an arm-triangle choke. Dias passed to mount and let the choke go. He scored with more short elbows until Alcantara stood up. Dias slammed Alcantara back down again. Alcantara tried to get to his feet and Dias landed a series of knees to the thigh. Alcantara took Dias’s back late in the round, but Dias countered with a Kimura. 10-9 Dias.
Round 2:
Dias took Alcantara down against the cage again in round two. Alcantara locked on a tight armbar from the bottom, but Dias stood up and managed to free his arm. He resumed punching from Alcantara’s butterfly guard. Alcantara battled back to his feet momentarily, but Dias quickly took him down again. Dias rained down elbows until the fighters were stood up. Alcantara landed punches before the bell. 10-9 Dias.
Round 3:
Little transpired in the opening minute of round three and the crowd began to grow restless. Alcantara landed a body kick and Dias quickly answered back with one of his own. Alcantara threw a one-two and Dias landed a body kick. Big punches were exchanged and Dias clinched. He tripped Alcantara and landed short right hands. Alcantara scrambled up and was dragged down again. Referee Marc Goddard stood the fighters up and Dias fell. Alcantara struck from the top until the bell. 10-9 Dias, barely.
Winner: Hacran Dias by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 21-1-1.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)