The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to Arena Jaraguá in Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil tonight for UFC on FX 8: “Belfort vs Rockhold.” The event was headlined by a five-round middleweight battle between Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort and former Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold.
Also on the card, submission specialist Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza made his long-awaited Octagon debut against late replacement Chris Camozzi at 185 pounds. Rafael dos Anjos took on Evan Dunham in a featured lightweight bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC on FX 8 card.
Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort vs Luke Rockhold
Round 1:
Rockhold shot in for a takedown at the one-minute mark, but Belfort easily stuffed it and made him pay with two big punches in close. Rockhold landed kicks and Belfort countered with a one-two. Rockhold threw a spinning back kick to the body and followed with an overhand left. Belfort landed a spinning hook kick that dropped Rockhold and he knocked him out cold with punches on the ground. Vicious knockout win for Belfort.
Winner: Vitor Belfort by KO (Spinning Hook Kick & Punches) at 2:32 of round one. He improves to 23-10-0.
Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza vs Chris Camozzi
Round 1:
Camozzi landed a left hook and attempted a head kick in the opening seconds. Souza responded with a solid right hand and he clinched against the cage. Camozzi defended well against Souza’s takedown attempts, but Souza cracked him with another big right hook. He took Camozzi down and landed an elbow and right hands from Camozzi’s half-guard.
Souza passed to side control and tried to move to mount. He transitioned to an omoplata and used it to roll Camozzi back into side control. Souza mounted Camozzi and immediately locked on an arm-triangle choke. Within seconds, Camozzi was rendered unconscious and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Ronaldo Souza by Technical Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 3:37 of round one. He improves to 18-3-0, 1 NC.
Rafael dos Anjos vs Evan Dunham
Round 1:
Dos Anjos opened the action with a hard leg kick and followed with a left hook. Another left hand scored for dos Anjos, but Dunham caught a kick and landed two lefts of his own. Dunham jabbed and landed a leg kick. He blocked a head kick, but ate a follow-up hook from dos Anjos. The fighters traded hooks and dos Anjos targeted the body. He fell while throwing a kick, however, and Dunham dove into his guard. Dos Anjos elbowed from the bottom and tried for an armbar. Dunham escaped and landed elbows from the top. The fighters were stood up and both landed hooks. Close round. 10-9 dos Anjos.
Round 2:
Dunham took dos Anjos down in round two, but dos Anjos used the cage to get back to his feet. He fired off a hard right hook to the body and dropped levels for a takedown. Dos Anjos landed a right hook and backed away. He followed with a pair of one-twos and Dunham came up short with his counters. A big knee landed for dos Anjos, but it appeared to have little effect and he was cut near the right eye by what looked to be a clash of heads.
Dunham picked up the pace and landed a combination. Dos Anjos answered with a step-in elbow. He landed a right-left combo to the body and head. Dunham flurried again and jumped in with a flying knee, but dos Anjos tagged him with a hard counter combination. Dunham took dos Anjos down and attempted a guillotine choke just before the bell sounded. Another close round. 10-9 Dunham.
Round 3:
The final round began with an exchange of lead right hooks. The fighters clinched against the cage until dos Anjos backed away. He landed a nice body kick and followed with another one. Dunham put together a combination of jabs and a left hook. Dos Anjos replied with a flurry of his own and that set off an exchange of power punches in close.
Dunham pressed the action and he remained effective with lead right hands. Stiff jabs landed for both men and dos Anjos scored with another body kick. In the clinch, both fighters landed strikes to the body. Dunham attempted a front headlock and dos Anjos pulled away. The fight ended with both fighters throwing big punches and dos Anjos landed two particularly powerful right hooks. 10-9 Dunham. Very close fight.
Winner: Rafael dos Anjos by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 19-6-0.
Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs Joao “The Brazilian Samurai” Zeferino
Round 1:
Zeferino avoided Natal’s attempts to take the fight to the mat and he backed Natal up with combinations. Natal landed a short right hook and tried for a takedown, but Zeferino reversed into mount. Both fighters attempted inverted heel hooks and Zeferino appeared to have an advantage. He switched to an Achilles lock and Natal tried to kick his way free. The duelling footlock attempts continued until referee Leon Roberts stood the fighters up with 20 seconds to go. 10-9 Zeferino.
Round 2:
Zeferino scored a very brief takedown in round two, but Natal immediately returned to his feet and held Zeferino against the cage. Zeferino reversed and backed away. Natal stuffed a takedown and landed a kick to the body of a kneeling Zeferino. Natal stood and allowed Zeferino to follow. Zeferino slowed down, but he landed two hooks that forced Natal to backpedal momentarily. Both fighters missed with spinning attacks and Zeferino flopped to his back. Natal landed short elbows until the bell. 10-9 Natal.
Round 3:
Zeferino landed an overhand right early in round three, but Natal clinched and took his back. He landed a flurry of punches, but a fatigued Zeferino answered back with another right hand. Natal swept out Zeferino’s leg and took him down from a clinch. He punched from the top and worked to secure an arm-triangle choke. From side control, Natal landed elbows to the body, and he passed to mount soon after. An exhausted Zeferino gave up his back and Natal punched until the end of the fight. 10-9 Natal. Could be a 10-8.
Winner: Rafael Natal by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 16-4-1.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)