Alexandre
Pantoja lengthened his reign atop the
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division but left the
cage with a few battle scars for his troubles.
“The Cannibal” leaned into his all-terrain skills and big-fight
experience, as he retained his 125-pound title with a unanimous
decision over Australian challenger Steve Erceg
in the UFC
301 headliner on Saturday at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Pantoja (28-5, 12-3 UFC) swept the scorecards with 48-47, 48-47 and
49-46 marks from the cageside judges, putting his stamp on a sixth
straight victory in an outright war of wills.
Erceg (12-2, 3-1 UFC), who entered the Octagon on an 11-fight
winning streak, was game and almost certainly boosted his stock in
defeat. He cut Pantoja twice with well-timed elbow strikes, opening
lacerations on his scalp and near his right eye. Erceg countered
effectively throughout and pieced together clean punching
combinations against the respected champion. Pantoja pressed the
issue by moving forward and targeting the body with punches but
made much of his headway in the grappling exchanges. He was
credited with nine takedowns and racked up nearly six minutes of
control time, working over Erceg in the scrambles. Pantoja put to
bed any thought of an upset midway through the fifth round, where
he countered a takedown into top position, briefly climbed to full
mount and applied his ground-and-pound, letting his star shine when
it mattered most.
Meanwhile, UFC hall of famer Jose Aldo came
out of retirement and bested one of the fastest-rising stars in the
bantamweight division, as he took a unanimous decision from
Jonathan
Martinez in the three-round co-main event at 135 pounds. All
three judges scored it 30-27 for Aldo (32-8, 14-7 UFC), who
competed inside the Octagon for the first time since his Aug. 20,
2022 decision loss to Merab
Dvalishvili.
Martinez (19-5, 10-4 UFC) seemed starstruck at times, downright
outgunned at others. Aldo assaulted him with high-velocity punching
combinations to the head and body, along with a few of his patented
leg kicks. He had built a substantial lead by the time the start of
third round. Late in the period, he staggered Martinez with a
sweeping left hook to the temple, gave chase with punches and
executed a takedown. Ground-and-pound followed, as Aldo worked to
improve position while draining time off the clock.
The setback closed the book on Martinez’s six-fight winning
streak.
Elsewhere, former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder
Anthony
Smith turned away Dana White’s Contender Series graduate
Vitor
Petrino with a guillotine choke in the first round of their
light heavyweight showcase. Petrino (11-1, 4-1 UFC) raised the
white flag of surrender 2:00 into Round 2.
Smith (38-19, 13-9 UFC) met the Brazilian’s forward movement with
heavy leg kicks, then called upon his deep well of experience.
Petrino swooped in for an ill-advised double-leg takedown, only to
leave his neck unprotected while doing so. Smith bit down on the
choke, tightened his squeeze and prompted the tapout.
It was the first guillotine choke submission of Smith’s 57-fight
career.
Further down the main card, dynamic Overcome Academy star Michel
Pereira disposed of Ihor
Potieria with a guillotine choke in the first round of their
middleweight feature. A short-notice replacement for Makhmud
Muradov, Potieria (20-6, 2-4 UFC) bowed out 54 seconds into
Round 1.
The 30-year-old Pereira (31-11, 9-2 UFC) tested the waters with
kicks before he drove the off-balance Ukrainian to the mat with a
clean one-two. Unsatisfied with his work, “Demolidor” executed a
backflip and sent his knee crashing into the grounded Potieria’s
neck and chest, perilously close to his head. It set off a
scramble, at which point Pereira snatched a standing guillotine.
Potieria tapped after a brief but fruitless struggle, then appeared
to briefly lose consciousness as he crashed backward to the
canvas.
Pereira has won eight fights in a row, the last three of them in 66
seconds or less.
Finally, Fighting Nerds standout Caio
Borralho put away former British Association of Mixed Martial
Arts champion Paul Craig
with punches in the second round of their middleweight appetizer.
Craig (17-8-1, 9-8-1 UFC) checked out 2:10 into Round 2, losing for
the fourth time in five appearances.
Borralho (16-1, 6-0 UFC) dictated the pace and direction of the
encounter for much of the first round, where he connected with
hooks upstairs, mixed in a few body kicks and refused the Scottish
Hit Squad rep’s repeated attempts to lure him into ground
exchanges. In the second round, he snapped Craig’s head back with a
plunging left hand, followed it with a flying knee and reset once
an immediate finish did not present itself. Soon after, a left
hook-right hook combination set the “Bearjew” on unsteady footing
and forced his retreat. Borralho swarmed with follow-up shots
before one final straight left sealed the Scotsman’s fate.
The 31-year-old Borralho has rattled off 13 consecutive
victories.
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UFC 301 Prelims: Lucindo Handles Kowalkiewicz
