UFC 283: Teixeira vs Hill Results

Jamahal Hill is the new UFC light heavyweight champion, becoming the first graduate from Dana White’s Contender Series to claim gold inside the Octagon.

“Sweet Dreams” was the sharper, more active fighter from the outset of his main event clash with Glover Teixeira, stinging the former champion with clean punches from both stances in the early stages while defending a number of takedown attempts. In the second, Hill wobbled Teixeira with a series of high kicks, only for the Brazilian to rally and drag Hill to the ground, doing some damage of his own.

Hill once again rocked Teixeira with a high kick in the third, and seemed poised to finish the contest as he unloaded on a bloody and fading Teixeira. While the veteran persevered, Hill closed the round landing more power shots, and came out hunting to start the fourth, trying diligently to dispatch the unrelenting Brazilian, but failing to do so.

Despite being all cut up, Teixeira happily marched to the center of the Octagon to start the fifth and quickly put Hill on the canvas, quickly finding his way to side control. Hill remained patient, found an escape, and reversed the position, keeping Teixeira on the mat until the final minute of the fight.

It was a brilliant breakthrough performance for the new light heavyweight champion, who understandably broke down into tears after the belt was wrapped around his waist.| Official Scorecards 

Brandon Moreno is once again the undisputed UFC flyweight champion after dominating his fourth meeting with Deiveson Figueiredo on Saturday night.

Moreno, who entered as the interim champion following a win over Kai Kara-France last July, was the sharper of the two from the outset, mixing things up well and out-hustling Figueiredo at every turn. In the third, the Mexican standout started to distance himself, hurting the Brazilian with a reaching left hand that hurt Figueiredo. From there, he continued to chip away on the canvas, causing the Brazilian’s eye to swell and close even more.

In the corner following the third round, the doctor checked on Figueiredo and he was deemed unable to continue, resulting in the fight being stopped and Moreno emerging triumphant in this four-fight series that has captivated audiences and dominated the division for the last two-plus years.

While it’s not the way people wanted to see things end, Moreno was clearly the better man on Saturday, and once again stands as the top dog in the 125-pound weight class.| Official Scorecards 

We saw the technical excellence of Gilbert Burns on Saturday, as the former welterweight title challenger out-hustled Neil Magny to get back into the win column.

Early in the first round, Burns closed the distance, got inside, and put Magny on the canvas with a beautiful body lock takedown. From there, “Durinho” showed off his superior skill on the ground, patiently working through dominant positions before climbing into mount and sinking in an arm-triangle choke.

Despite being stuck up against the fence, Burns drew out the tap from the disappointed Magny, which tells you how nasty a squeeze the Brazilian possesses. That's the kind of statement victory Burns needed to get him moving in the right direction again and return him to the title picture.| Official Scorecards 

Johnny Walker has freakish power and it was on full display against Paul Craig.

Early in the first round, Craig caught a kick from the towering Brazilian and looked to run him to the fence or the ground. Instead, Walker uncorked a right hand that clearly hurt the Scotsman, and from there, Walker continued unloading massive power shots that forced Craig to cover up and referee Marc Goddard to step in and halt the action.

That’s now back-to-back first-round stoppage wins for the charismatic Walker, who has done a good job of dialling back his wildness and showing improved patience. He’s always going to be a wild card in the light heavyweight division, and if he continues stringing performances like this together, Walker will find himself in the championship picture in the future. | Official Scorecards 

Ihor Potieria is the least popular man in Rio de Janeiro this evening after spoiling Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s farewell appearance.

The Ukrainian light heavyweight patiently waited to find his range and his openings, and once he got Rua’s timing down, Potieria took it to the retiring legend. A short shot in close marked the beginning of the end, as Rua stumbled and Potieria never gave him a chance to recover.

This is a good win for the young fighter, who showed his respect to Rua after the official decision before declaring himself “the new future of the UFC.” Now 1-1 inside the Octagon, time will tell if Potieria will be able to parlay this win into ongoing success in the UFC.

For Rua, it’s a disappointing ending to an amazing career that included an incredible run in Pride, a UFC light heavyweight championship win, and two decades as one of the most beloved fighters in the sport.| Official Scorecards 

Hulk Smash!

Unbeaten newcomer Bruno Ferreira made the absolute most of his short-notice promotional debut, dropping Gregory Rodrigues with a clean left hand in the waning moments of the opening round.

Rodrigues had been controlling the fight to that point, walking Ferreira down, staying within himself, and landing when he could. But “The Hulk” wasn’t out of place by any stretch, landing good shots of his own while settling in, and when Rodrigues made the mistake of remaining static in front of him, Ferreira banished him to the Shadow Realm.

Just an outstanding finish and memorable showing for the UFC rookie, who moves to 10-0 with the victory, announcing his presence on the big stage in the process.| Official Scorecards 

Thiago Moises leaned on his edge in experience, navigating a tricky assignment against eager newcomer “Melk” Costa to collect his second straight UFC stoppage victory.

Costa defended well in the opening stanza, shutting down Moises’ first couple takedown attempts and showing a willingness to exchange with the veteran on the feet. But Moises was undeterred, finding a takedown later in the frame before connecting with strikes before the horn. In the second, it was all Moises, as he blasted across the Octagon, put Costa on the deck, and battered him until a rear-naked choke finish presented itself.

Moises is poised to be a potential dark horse in the lightweight division. The 27-year-old has earned consecutive finishes while lifting his record to 6-4 inside the Octagon, but it’s worth noting that each of those losses came against high caliber competition, including current champ Islam Makhachev and top contender Beneil Dariush.

This was the kind of impressive showing Moises needed in a spot like this, and now it will be interesting to see who he gets matched up with next. | Official Scorecards 

Big brother Ismael turned in a walk-off second-round knockout earlier in the night, and younger brother Gabriel made sure to have his moment as well.

Less than a minute into his promotional debut against Mounir Lazzez, the undefeated 25-year-old wrapped up a mounted guillotine choke, collecting the tap almost instantly. The two traded big swings right out of the gate, but when Lazzez changed levels and shot forward, Bonfim wrapped up the neck, rolled through to mount, and closed things out.

What a night for the Bonfim brothers! | Official Scorecards 

Jailton Almeida is suffocating.

Shamil Abdurakhimov landed a clean right hand to start the fight, and from there, “Malhadinho” turned to his grappling and smothered the burly Russian. He kept Abdurakhimov on the canvas for the duration of the first round, almost living in mount, where he unloaded heavy, punishing shots to close the frame.

Seconds into the second, he put Abdurakhimov’s shoulders on the canvas again, and this time, Almeida swiftly worked to a dominant position, tying up the wrist and unloading heavy blows to wrap up the victory.

This was another dominant effort from the streaking Dana White’s Contender Series grad, who is now 4-0 in the UFC, with four stoppage wins. After dispatching Abdurakhimov on Saturday, the ascending Brazilian should find himself with a number next to his name when the rankings update next week.

Just an absolute mauling by “Malhadinho” in this one. | Official Scorecards 

Cody Stamann carried a big chip on his shoulder into the Octagon on Saturday, showing his class and pedigree by turning in a quality effort against highly regarded newcomer Luan Lacerda.

A fixture in the Top 15 for a number of years, Stamann’s superior athleticism and output ruled the opening two rounds, as the Xtreme Couture product was able to live on the outside and land in combination whenever he closed the distance. In spots where the two men traded shots, Stamann frequently scored with the heavier blows and higher volume, working the midsection of Lacerda throughout while showing tremendous defensive responsibility as well over the opening 10 minutes.

Lacerda was finally able to drag the fight to the canvas in the third, grinding out control time, but failing to land anything of real substance or find an opening to attack a submission. Once they got back to their feet, Lacerda landed a couple quality body shots, while Stamann mixed up his levels.

This was a good victory for the tenured bantamweight and a reminder of how treacherous the bantamweight waters are at the moment. Stamann has now won consecutive fights for the first time since the start of his UFC run, and will head into his next appearances with a 21-5-1 record. | Official Scorecards 

You’re going to be hard-pressed to find a better debut finish all year, as Ismael Bonfim collected a second-round walk-off finish on Saturday, planting a flying switch knee on the side of the jaw of Terrance McKinney that sent him crashing face-first into the canvas.

The lightweights ran fairly even through the first five minutes, with Bonfim landing the better shots, but McKinney wearing them well. The Brazilian newcomer seemed to be the more composed and confident of the two, and in the second, he took the fight to McKinney. With him pinned along the fence and having just dislodged his mouthpiece with a clean counter shot, Bonfim backed off, elevated, and connected cleanly, ending the fight in a flash.

This is a tremendous debut performance for the older of the Bonfim brothers, who immediately becomes a person of interest in the 155-pound weight class by dispatching McKinney in thrilling fashion.| Official Scorecards 

Welterweight veterans Nicolas Dalby and Warlley Alves engaged in the kind of high-output, action-packed battle most expected as soon as this fight was announced. For three rounds, the tenured talents traded blows — no quarter asked and none given — until the final horn brought an ovation from the crowd at Jeunesse Arena.

There was no point where either man was in real danger of significantly hurt — it was simply 15 minutes of hard-fought action, with Dalby putting a pace on Alves early and doing well to mix his target. The Brazilian had his own moments in the rare moments where Dalby took a beat, but every time it looked like Alves was poised to find a rhythm, the Dane reacted and reclaimed control.

Both men stayed after it right through to the buzzer, leaving the decision in the hands of the three judges at cageside. After adding up the scores, two of the judges had the fight in favor of Dalby, who picked up his second straight victory inside the Octagon and pushed his record to 21-4-1 with two No Contests for his career.| Official Scorecards 

The potential for Brazil to go unbeaten at UFC 283 evaporated immediately, as Peruvian newcomer Daniel Marcos dispatched Saimon Oliveira in the opening bout of the evening.

A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series graduating class of 2022 showed no signs of nerves, taking the fight to Oliveira from the outset. The Peruvian bantamweight pressured throughout, keeping his Brazilian counterpart on the back foot while constantly attacking the body. Oliveira never looked comfortable taking Marcos’ shots, and midway through the second round, the punishment overwhelmed him.

This was an outstanding debut effort for the still undefeated prospect, who moved to 14-0 overall with the victory while handing Oliveira his second consecutive UFC defeat. | Official Scorecards