Prelim Results | UFC Rio

After making his short-notice debut up a division, Aswell Jr. returned to his natural surroundings and rolled through Almeida, hurting him with clean boxing early in the fight and never allowing him to recover. Though the plan was the drag things into deep waters, the early connections and clearly hurting the Brazilian prompted Aswell Jr. to shift on the fly and swarm for the finish.

Just an outstanding effort from the 4oz. Fight Club representative, who impressed in a losing effort on Dana White’s Contender Series last season and showed his upside here. Not that featherweight is ever short on fresh names and promising upstarts, but add Aswell Jr.’s name to the list and be sure to tune in whenever he fights next to see how he follows up this brilliant performance in hostile territory.

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The Nova Uniao product got Carpenter to the canvas midway through the round and spent well over a minute working from back mount, only for the American to do a good job of reversing inside the guard and landing on top. When he did, Filho immediately started hunting for a kimura, eventually using it to sweep into top position, where he torqued on the hold and secured the tap.

Filho has been a consistently entertaining addition to the flyweight ranks since joining the UFC via the sixth season of Dana White’s Contender Series. With the victory, “Pastor” climbed to 3-2 inside the Octagon and 17-4 overall.

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The former light heavyweight was at his explosive best in the first, stinging and dropping Petersen with a right hand. After a sluggish second round, Petersen looked to close the distance early in the third and Petrino caught him coming in, landing left and right uppercuts on the button that left Petersen face down in the center of the Octagon.

Though this was an uneven performance, the finish highlights why Petrino is such a dangerous addition to the heavyweight division. Even when fatigued, he was serious power, and as he continues to build a deeper gas tank, the hulking Brazilian could develop into a Top 15 staple in his new weight class.

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The 10-time IBJJF world champion dominated Alekseeva in the opening round, taking her to the canvas almost immediately before spending the remainder of the frame showcasing her skills from top position. After putting “Russian Ronda” on the deck early in the second, Mesquita continued to cruise, working her way to the back and cinching in the fight-ending choke with impressive smoothness.

Unbeaten in six professional fights, Mesquita is an instant person of interest in the relatively shallow 135-pound weight class. Her abilities on the ground are amongst the best in the promotion, and until someone shows they can force her to deviate from her game plan, the American Top Team representative is going to be a handful for whoever stands across from her inside the Octagon.

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The Chute Boxe Diego Lima representative was crisp with his hands and sharp with his takedown defense throughout, getting the better of the striking exchanges from the jump and avoiding the attempts to grapple from Nicoll with increasing ease as the fight progressed. Rocha continued to pour on the offense into the latter stages, putting it on his Australian foe, who showed his toughness and mettle, but was never able to gain any real momentum.

All three judges scored the fight the same, awarding Rocha the clean sweep of the scorecards, resulting in his securing his first UFC victory. A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series Class of ’23, the 25-year-old Brazilian moved to 18-2 with the victory, solidifying his standing as a solid prospect in the 125-pound ranks.

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“Psycho” was aggressive right out of the chute, hurting the Polish veteran with a body kick early in the first before swarming and stunning her late in the frame as well. She got right back on the attack in the second, battering Kowalkiewicz while showing little regard for the attacks coming back her way. After hurting the former title challenger early in the third, Polastri kept the pressure on, connecting with a heavy head kick that opened the door for the Brazilian to chase down the finish.

This was a great performance from Polastri, who continued to show her toughness and fighting spirit while demonstrating that she’s an ascending talented in the 115-pound weight class. Now 2-2 in the UFC and 14-5 overall, it will be interesting to see what comes next for the dangerous Dana White’s Contender Series graduate.

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The Nova Uniao product dominated the back half of the round, taking Oliveira down and eventually working to the back, where he threatened with a choke and started taxing the gas tank of his counterpart, who missed weight by eight pounds on Friday. He put Oliveira back on the deck early in the second, softening him up with solid shots from top position before taking the back once more. While Oliveira reversed into top position, he didn’t protect his arm, and Lacerda latched onto it, turning belly-down and drawing out the verbal submission.

There was a little rust, but that was to be expected after such an extended absence, and on the whole, Lacerda looked solid. He was an exciting prospect with just one career setback when he initially signed with the promotion, and now that he’s back, he’s an intriguing veteran talent to keep tabs on, especially after racking up his first victor inside the Octagon.

Main Card Results | Official Scorecards | Watch