Nik “The Carny” Lentz vs Hacran “Barnabe” Dias
Round 1:
Both fighters landed one-two combinations and Lentz clinched against the cage in the opening seconds. Dias circled away and fought off a takedown attempt soon after. Lentz remained active with his punches and he was clearly the aggressor in the exchanges. He backed Dias up against the fence and tried for a takedown. Dias took Lentz down, but Lentez reversed into mount. Dias was warned for grabbing the cage as he scrambled to his feet. Lentz landed a knee to the body in the final seconds. 10-9 Lentz.
Round 2:
Lentz slipped early in round two, but he regained his footing and dropped Dias with a knee. Dias recovered and Lentz held him down against the cage. Lentz cut Dias with elbows from the top in half-guard. Dias scrambled and stood up, but he could not escape Lentz’s grasp. Lentz dragged Dias back down again and landed more elbows. He stood up and Dias threw upkicks. Lentz returned to Dias’s half-guard and then moved to mount. He landed punches and elbows until the end of the round. 10-9 Lentz. Close to a 10-8.
Round 3:
Dias was very aggressive with strikes in the final round and both fighters teed off with big shots. Dias appeared to get the better of the exchange, but he countered a Dias takedown with a guillotine choke. Dias escaped and locked on a tight arm-triangle choke. Lentz refused to submit and he managed to fight out of the choke. Dias struck from the top until Lentz battled back to his feet. More hard punches were exchanged and Lentz clinched. He shot in for a takedown before time expired. 10-9 Dias.
Winner: Nik Lentz by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-27) after three rounds. He improves to 26-5-2, 1 NC.
Francisco “Massaranduba” Trinaldo vs Mike “The Wolverine” Rio
Round 1:
Rio took Trinaldo down in the opening minute and used a front headlock to keep Trinaldo down. He switched to a guillotine choke and Trinaldo stood up to escape. Trinaldo landed an uppercut and slammed Rio down to the mat. From the top in half-guard, Trinaldo locked on an arm-triangle choke. He did not even need to pass to side control to fully sink in the choke, as Rio tapped out right away.
Winner: Francisco Trinaldo by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 3:08 of round one. He improves to 13-2-0.
Gleison Tibau vs John Cholish
Round 1:
Tibau pressed forward with left hands and landed one to the liver early on. The fighters traded overhand rights and Tibau connected. He caught a kick and took Cholish down. Cholish used the cage to get back to his feet and Tibau backed away after landing an elbow. Tibau caught another kick and landed a three-punch combo. Another kick was caught by Tibau and he cracked Cholish with a left cross. Tibau took Cholish down momentarily. Cholish stood and Tibau held him against the cage in the dying seconds. 10-9 Tibau.
Round 2:
Cholish kept his distance in round two and tried to find his range until Tibau initiated a clinch. Cholish circled away, but Tibau rocked him with a left hook. Tibau landed more punches and pulled guard with a tight guillotine choke. Cholish had nowhere to go and quickly tapped out.
Winner: Gleison Tibau by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:34 of round two. He improves to 27-9-0.
Paulo Thiago vs Michel Richard “Trator” dos Prazeres
Round 1:
Prazeres caught a kick and tried for an early takedown, but Thiago stayed on his feet against the cage. Prazeres nearly took Thiago’s back and he landed knees to the body, but Thiago reversed a takedown into mount. Prazeres scrambled back up and secured back control on a kneeling Thiago. The fighters stood and were separated seconds later.
Prazeres mixed up his strikes with kicks to the head and body. Thiago fired back with a right hand, but Prazeres continued to score with kicks. Thiago landed a leg kick of his own and both fighters came up short with lunging hooks. Prazeres ducked under a looping left hook from Thiago and clinched. 10-9 Prazeres.
Round 2:
Prazeres opened the action with a nice body kick in round two, but Thiago dropped him to a knee with a looping left hook. He followed with a right hand and took Prazeres down. Thiago moved to mount and tried to set up an armbar, but Prazeres scrambled up. Thiago fought off a takedown attempt with a modified Brabo Choke. Prazeres escaped and took Thiago down.
Thiago moved to the cage and tried to get back to his feet. He did so and Prazeres took him down again. Thiago got up and Prazeres cracked him with a hard right hand. He scored another takedown and held Thiago down. Thiago initiated a scramble and he wound up on top in Prazeres’s half-guard. He pinned Prazeres’s arm down and struck until the bell. Close round. 10-9 Thiago.
Round 3:
The pace slowed somewhat in round three as the fighters picked their shots with jabs and left hands. Prazeres scored with a short hook in close and Thiago clinched. Thiago jabbed and Prazeres connected with three quick one-two combinations. Thiago just missed with an uppercut and ate a left hook in return. An exchange of leg kicks followed and Prazeres landed another one-two. Thiago scored a takedown into side control and landed ground and pound in the final ten seconds. Another close round. 10-9 Thiago, barely, due to the late rally.
Winner: Paulo Thiago by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 15-5-0.
Iuri “Marajo” Alcantara vs Iliarde Santos
Round 1:
Alcantara threw a head kick and a lead right hook in round one and rushed in with a flying knee attempt. The strike missed, but Alcantara landed a series of knees in the clinch and tried for another head kick. He rocked Santos with punches and shrugged off a takedown. The pace slowed for a moment until Alcantara landed a vicious kick to the body. Santos backed up and Alcantara countered a leg kick with a left cross. Santos fell to the mat and Alcantara unloaded with punches until the bout was stopped.
Winner: Iuri Alcantara by KO (Punches) at 2:31 of round one. He improves to 28-4-0, 1 NC.
Fabio Maldonado vs Roger “The Hulk” Hollett
Round 1:
Maldonado jabbed and landed a right hook in the opening round. Hollett responded with a spinning back kick, but it landed to the groin and Maldonado collapsed to the mat. Time was called to allow Maldonado to recover. He eventually got back to his feet and action resumed. Hollett secured a takedown into half-guard, but he mounted very little offence and the fighters were quickly stood up. A clinch ensued and referee Leon Roberts separated the fighters again after a lull in the action. Hollett took Maldonado down and Maldonado attempted a guillotine choke. 10-9 Hollett, barely.
Round 2:
Hollett landed a combination in round two and followed up with a spinning back kick that grazed Maldonado’s chin. Two hooks scored for Hollett and Maldonado held him up against the cage. The fighters broke apart and Maldonado picked up the pace with stiff jabs and quick combinations to the head and body. He punched free of a clinch and began to taunt Hollett. Maldonado cut Hollett near the left eye and stuffed a takedown. Hollett slowed down as Maldonado began to pick him apart with body shots. 10-9 Maldonado.
Round 3:
Maldonado flurried with punches to the body in the final round and Hollett answered back with hooks of his own that prompted Maldonado to taunt him again. Maldonado fought off a takedown attempt and landed numerous punches to the body and jaw of Hollett that forced Hollett to backpedal. Maldonado picked Hollett apart with punches and the Canadian had no answer. Hollett finally managed to clinch and he held Maldonado against the fence. Maldonado punched free and took Hollett down, then struck from the top until the end of the fight. 10-9 Maldonado.
Winner: Fabio Maldonado by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 19-6-0.
John “Hands of Stone” Lineker vs Azamat “Tough Guy” Gashimov
Round 1:
Lineker ripped off a three-punch combo to the head and body to open the fight and he followed with a hard right hand to the body. A big right hook floored Gashimov, but he recovered and worked back to his feet. Gashimov scored a brief trip takedown and Lineker stood back up. He reversed a Gashimov takedown and took top position. Lineker postured up with punches and elbows and landed a knee to the body as Gashimov got to his feet.
Gashimov knocked Lineker down with a leg kick, but Lineker fired back with power punches. He wobbled Gashimov with a three-punch flurry. Gashimov tried to take Lineker down, but Lineker reversed again. Gashimov repeatedly grabbed the cage and was deducted one point. Lineker dropped Gashimov again and he followed with punches and elbows from Gashimov’s guard. The fight returned to the feet just before the bell. 10-7 Lineker.
Round 2:
Lineker opened round two with more combinations to the body and head. He stunned Gashimov with hooks and followed with a right cross. Lineker hurt Gashimov with a kick to the body and swarmed with punches as Gashimov wilted and fell to the mat, forcing referee Mario Yamasaki to stop the fight.
Winner: John Lineker by TKO (Kick To The Body & Punches) at 1:07 of round two. He improves to 21-6-0.
Jussier “Formiga” da Silva vs Chris “Kamikaze” Cariaso
Round 1:
Da Silva scored a takedown from the clinch early in the fight. Cariaso got back to his feet, but da Silva took him back down again. He used short strikes to set up a pass to back control and looked to set up a submission. Cariaso countered by rolling to his back and posturing for a triangle choke. Da Silva easily escaped and kept Cariaso pinned down. He moved from half-guard to side control and landed short strikes. The fighters were eventually stood up and both landed single strikes. Da Silva held Cariaso against the cage as the round came to a close. 10-9 da Silva.
Round 2:
Cariaso rushed in and was promptly taken down in round two. Da Silva moved to mount and Cariaso scrambled into a triangle choke attempt. Da Silva passed to side control and looked to move to mount again. He eventually got to mount and prevented Cariaso from scrambling. Cariaso finally managed to get back to half-guard and held on until referee Kevin Mulhall called for a standup. Cariaso trid to put together combinations in the final minute, but he was unable to land anything cleanly and da Silva countered with right hands. 10-9 da Silva.
Round 3:
Da Silva took the fight to the mat again in round three. Cariaso got back to his feet and the fighters clinched, but they were soon separated. Cariaso landed some nice left hands, but slipped and da Silva used the opportunity to clinch again. Cariaso locked on a modified Brabo Choke and used it to drag da Silva to the ground. Da Silva escaped the choke, but Cariaso cut him with elbows from the top. He tried to finish the fight with more elbows and punches, but da Silva defended and got to his feet. Cariaso landed a nice knee before the end of the fight. 10-9 Cariaso.
Winner: Jussier da Silva by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 15-2-0.
Lucas “Mineiro” Martins vs Jeremy Larsen
Round 1:
Larsen caught a kick early in the fight and trippled Martins to the mat. He landed a hard right hand as Martins stood and followed with an elbow in the clinch. Larsen countered Martins’s kicks with more punches and he dropped Martines with a right cross. Martins recovered and attempted a kneebar and a calf slicer. The fighters stood and both threw big punches, but few landed. Larsen countered a knee by taking Martins down. Martins stood and was promptly taken back down again. He got back to his feet and landed punches, but slipped while throwing a kick and Larsen closed out the round in his guard. 10-9 Larsen.
Round 2:
Martins landed a nice uppercut in round two and Larsen replied with an overhand right. He tried for a takedown, but Martins defended well and stayed on his feet. A right cross from Martins opened up a gash below Larsen’s right eye and Martins remained aggressive with his punches. He scored with an uppercut and Larsen countered with a takedown attempt. He landed a hard left hook and rocked Martins with two more punches. Larsen drilled Martins with another right hand before the bell. 10-9 Larsen.
Round 3:
Larsen rushed forward in round three and ran right into a counter right from Martins. The punch dropped Larsen face-first to the mat and Martins landed hammerfists for the come-from-behind knockout win.
Winner: Lucas Martins by KO (Punch) at 0:13 of round three. He improves to 13-1-0.