Who were the winners at UFC Fight Night Fortaleza: Belfort vs Gastelum? Click below to get the results for all the fights at Centro de Formação Olímpica de Fortaleza in Fortaleza, Brazil on Saturday, March 11, 2017.
Belfort vs Gastelum | Rua vs Villante | Barboza vs Dariush | Formiga vs Borg | Correia vs Reneau | Oliveira vs Means | Trinaldo vs Lee | Moraes vs Ramos | Yahya vs Soto | Prazeres vs Burkman | Jason vs Kennedy | McLellan vs Borrachinha
UFC Fight Night Fortaleza: Belfort vs Gastelum main card
Main event: Kelvin Gastelum defeats Vitor Belfort
Gastelum wins by first round TKO!
Co-main: Mauricio Rua defeats Gian Villante
‘Shogun’ Rua wins by TKO in the third round
Edson Barboza defeats Beneil Dariush
Barboza lands a highlight-reel flying knee that knocks out Dariush in the second round.
They said it:
Edson Barboza: “I'm very happy. I love what I do. During this week, I said that until today the most incredible moment of my career had been the knockout of Etim and that I would like to do something similar in Fortaleza. I think I got it. I fight the best in the world, and sometimes the knockout does not come, but this time it came and I think will put me close to the belt. I want to fight Ferguson. I want a rematch. The last fight with him I took on short notice, and if the UFC gave me that opportunity, it would be five rounds of war. I want this so much.”
Ray Borg defeats Jussier Formiga
Borg wins by unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
They said it:
Ray Borg: “It was a great win and a great opponent. He had my back one time, but I got out of it – and no one ever gets out of it – and got the opportunity to take his back and try to finish until the end of the fight. It was great fighting in Brazil. I love the passion and fans. I wish the United States fans were passionate as Brazilian fans. I am up for whatever the UFC gives me. I ain't scared of fighting neither DJ or Wilson.”
Bethe Correia/Marion Reneau ruled a draw
A close contest throughout, the judges’ could not find a winner and the contest is ruled a majority draw (28-28, 28-28, 29-27)
They said it:
Bethe Correia: “It was clear that I won the first and second rounds, I only lost the third. I did not understand this result.”
Marion Reneau: “I didn´t agree. I think I beat her in the second round and definitely dominated her in the third round. One judge gave me the victory and the other two gave me a draw. I should have been more aggressive in the second. I can´t blame anybody but myself.”
Alex Oliveira defeats Tim Means
Oliveira wins by rear naked choke submission in the second round
They said it:
Alex Oliveira: "It was a win to cleanse the soul. He's a tough guy. The last time we met, I left the arena in a stretcher, but this time everything worked out. I thank him for accepting the fight again. He could have said no, but he accepted, and I thank him. I would appreciate it even if I had lost the fight. Now is the time to enjoy my children, my mother and my family, and whatever the UFC points out to me, I'll be ready.”
UFC Fight Night Fortaleza: Belfort vs Gastelum FS1 prelims
Kevin Lee defeats Francisco Trinaldo
Kevin Lee wins by second round submission. A massive head kick stunned Trinaldo and allowed Lee to get in the mount and then put himself in position to earn the victory via rear-naked choke.
They said it:
Kevin Lee: “It was a good fight. Francisco is very experienced, and experience goes a long way on this game. And he had a good first round, so I knew I had to finish him. The Brazilian fans were going to boo me anyway, so I just gave them something to boo and to be excited about. I am sure they had a good time and that´s really all I care about. I think I deserve a bonus tonight. He is a top-10 guy. He was on an eight-fight winning streak and wasn´t finished in the UFC, so I think I deserve it.”
Sergio Moraes defeats Davi Ramos
This fight goes the distance, but the judges’ scorecards don’t have it close at all – with Moraes winning all three cards by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
They said it:
Sergio Moraes: “We are two jiu-jitsu fighters, and we ended up doing a standing fight, but it's complicated. My fight changed a week earlier, and today I had a different opponent, with a different game, a different reach – and to not to stay out of Fortaleza, I accepted the fight. But I knew that in front of me was one of the best jiu-jitsu athletes today, and I had to follow the strategy. But I prepared myself for another strategy. I trained with totally different sparring. Suddenly comes a guy who also likes to fight on the ground. It´s not what I would like, it´s what I deserve: to fight a Top 10 (opponent) next. I need to be tested.”
Joe Soto defeats Rani Yahya
After 15 minutes of action, the judges’ scorecards award the victory to Soto (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
They said it:
Joe Soto: “I thought it was a tough fight. Rani is a really tough opponent. Hopefully I go up in the rankings with that win. I just want to thank the UFC for the opportunity.”
Michel Prazeres defeats Joshua Burkman
Prazeres said he needed a finish tonight, and he was determined to get one. He pounced on Burkman almost from the start, landing strike after strike in the opening seconds, then he shifted to a submission game and got Burkman to tap out in the first round with a North-South choke. It is just the fourth North-South choke submission in UFC history, joining Jake Ellenberger, Rani Yahya, and Jeff Monson.
They said it:
Michel Prazeres: "I trained a lot. I knew he was coming to exchange shots, and I think he expected me to try to take him down because of my jiu-jitsu, but I trained my boxing a lot and got him. It was amazing to fight close to home, to feel the crowd’s energy. Everyone was here – my daughter, my mother, my friends. I would like to fight in Rio now. I think I deserve this opportunity.”
UFC Fight Night Fortaleza: Belfort vs Gastelum FIGHT PASS prelims
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Jeremy Kennedy defeats Rony Jason
The fight goes the distance, with Kennedy getting the nod on all three judges’ scorecards (29-28, 29-28, 29-27). Kennedy improves to 10-0 with the victory
They said it:
Jeremy Kennedy: “The fight did not go the way I wanted, but I am happy that I got the win – but I still have a lot of work to do. I have always loved coming to Brazil, and I just took as it was, the crowd. But I don´t know the language that well, so it was just noise to me, and this helped. There are a lot of guys I would like to face next: Darren Elkins would be ideal. He just fought, and I think it would be a great matchup. Andre Fili is another great name.”
Paulo Borrachinha defeats Garreth McLellan
Borrachinha makes the crowd go wild from the start! He blasted past McLellan and earned a TKO in his UFC debut in less than 2 minutes to remain undefeated as a professional.
They said it:
Paulo Borrachinha: “I'm very happy. I visualized this moment a lot. I was sure it would be a good debut and that the fight would be finished by the first round, but I was surprised – I did not think it would be that easy. I was thrilled with the crowd inside, the cage turned into a cauldron. From now on, fans can expect an aggressive fighter who does not like to take fights to the judges. Now, my first request for the UFC is to fight at UFC Rio in June. I'm fine. I did not get hurt. I want to be there. That's my biggest request. Against who? I leave that with the UFC, but they can give me the best.”
