The first pick of his mentor, Vitor Belfort, on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira finished his journey in the UFC 147 co-main event Saturday night at Mineirinho Arena with a hard-fought three round unanimous decision over Sergio Moraes to win the middleweight division of the reality series.
“This is a dream come true,” said Ferreira. “I predicted, going into the TUF house, that I would be at the finale. Being on it in my home Belo Horizonte was a gift from the UFC. I think it was a great fight, and Sergio showed how much he’s evolved as a fighter, both in his standup game and takedown timing. My goal was to win the contract and now I wish to keep representing my country in the UFC.”
Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Ferreira, now 6-2. Moraes, a late replacement for the injured Daniel Sarafian, falls to 6-3.
Ferreira tried to mimic his finish of Thiago Perpetuo in the TUF Brazil semifinals, firing off kicks to the head in the early going. Moraes was able to elude danger, but he didn’t look particularly graceful doing it, as he windmilled wild strikes at “Mutante” that didn’t land. Moraes did get the occasional strike in as the round continued, and in the final minute, a wild flurry at close range definitely got Ferreira’s attention and boosted the confidence of “The Panther.”
Ferreira got a more aggressive as round two began, and a left uppercut dropped Moraes, who was now bloodied as well. When he rose, a spinning right wheel kick to the head landed with a thud, hurting Moraes, who staggered back to the fence and then the canvas. Ferreira tried to end matters with hammerfists, but Moraes survived and got back to his feet. Ferreira again tried to finish with a head kick, but he whiffed on the attempt. After a lull in the action, Moraes struck back and badly rocked Ferreira with a right elbow, leaving the hometown favorite staggering around the Octagon. “Mutante” was able to survive, but now the fight had a brand new look to it.
Ferreira showed no ill effects of the previous round’s rocky moments, as he dropped Moraes early in the final round. Moraes quickly recovered and got back to his feet, hoping to land the equalizer, and with three minutes left, a right hand landed flush in Ferreira’s face. The next couple minutes saw the two looking for an opening but not firing off much, but in the final minute it was Moraes landing the right again. A straight left from “Mutante” dropped Moraes a few moments later, but there would be no finish before the final bell.
JASON vs. PEPEY
Team Wanderlei’s Rony Jason became the first Ultimate Fighter Brazil champion, defeating Godofredo Pepey via unanimous decision to win the featherweight division of the competition.
“I’m very happy to have been the first TUF Brazil winner,” said Jason. “I had a game plan and I was able to execute it, defending his takedowns, mostly. I didn’t want to risk it too much, with Pepey being such a tough opponent, but I want to go back to putting on great shows like I have before.”
Scores were 29-28 across the board for Jason, who improves to 12-3; Pepey loses for the first time as a pro, dropping to 9-1.
The 145-pounders locked up almost immediately, but after this brief pause, both swung wildly at each other before locking up again. This time, Pepey pulled guard and worked for Jason’s arm, but eventually let it go. With a little under two minutes left, referee Marc Goddard restarted the stalled action, and Pepey stood in the pocket and dared Jason to hit him. Jason obliged with a flying knee, and though Pepey attempted to pull guard again, Jason only gave him his wish by way of a thunderous slam.
A minute and 20 seconds into round two, Pepey pulled guard for the third time, but again he was unable to do anything with it before Jason got back up to his feet and Pepey followed. Subsequent wild swings by Pepey were greeted by pinpoint counters from Jason, and each landed shot was greeted with a roar from the packed house.
Pepey started strong with his strikes in the third round, but Jason responded with a hard right hand that rocked him seconds later. After some sloppy exchanges, a low blow by Pepey brought a momentary halt to the action, but Jason fought back well, landing with leg kicks as Pepey sat on the mat after missing with a guard pull attempt. After a restart from Goddard, Jason went on the attack but caught another low kick, this one putting him on the canvas in pain in the last significant action of the round.
Watch Jason’s post-fight interview
WERDUM vs. RUSSOW
It had been over eight years since heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum’s last appearance in his native Brazil, but he made it worth the wait for his fans as he needed just 2:28 to stop Mike Russow.
Werdum (16-5-1) put Russow on the defensive early, rocking him with some hard punches to the head. The Chicago product tied the Brazilian up, clearing his head in the process. Russow (15-2, 1 NC) responded with some stiff jabs as Werdum walked him down, but midway through the round, he got dropped with a right uppercut. Werdum went on the attack with hammerfists and didn’t let up until referee Herb Dean called a halt to the fight.
“I’m very happy because I’ve been training really hard for this fight with my team,” said Werdum. “I’ve been training for three months at Kings MMA and everyone’s been helping me out a lot. Now, I’m going to rest for a week and I hope to be ready to fight again in maybe two months.”
Watch Werdum’s post-fight interview
DIAS vs. ALCANTARA
Nova Uniao newcomer Hacran Dias had a successful debut performance, winning a three round unanimous decision over Yuri Alcantara in featherweight action.
The judges saw it 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Diaz, who improves to 21-1-1; Alcantara, who saw a 13 fight winning streak snapped, falls to 26-4.
A wild flurry from Alcantara led to a tie-up and takedown by Dias, who fired off strikes as he looked for a choke. Alcantara broke free but wasn’t able to find daylight, as he ate more shots before getting slammed to the canvas by Diaz, who reset himself inside of his opponent’s guard. The bout remained there until the final minute, when Alcantara spun free and took Dias’ back as the two stood. Dias worked for a kimura before getting loose, and the bell soon intervened.
Alcantara tried for the takedown early in the second, but Dias reversed position on the way down, giving him another opening for some ground and pound. A moment’s lack of focus led to an Alcantara armbar attempt, with Dias pulling loose and getting back to business, but it was “Marajo” who finished strong with flurries while standing.
After the two missed some wild swings in the first half of the third, Dias locked up with Alcantara and tossed him to the canvas, landing some hard strikes before Alcantara escaped back to his feet. Dias brought him right back down though, and even though the crowd was getting restless, he stayed in control until referee Marc Goddard restarted the fight. Alcantara tore after his opponent, and after stuffing a Dias takedown attempt, he got in the top position and tried to land a fight saving haymaker, but to no avail.
Hear what Dias had to say in his post-fight interview
Mutante and Jason are Ultimate Fighters
Read on for UFC 147 main card results...