What a way to close out a WILD fight#LFA126
pic.twitter.com/jdTICWYdKZ— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass)
March 12, 2022
Despite having two vacant title fights, the
Legacy Fighting Alliance crowned only one champion in its
return to Brazil.
The main event of the evening was for the LFA featherweight
championship, however, only Jonas
Bilharinho could win it as late replacement opponent
Jose Mauro do Amaral Delano came in one pound heavy. This was
more than just a footnote as Delano (10-2) offered up much more of
a fight than many pundits expected.
Armed with an unorthodox striking style, Delano was able to get
Bilharinho (9-2-1) off his game early on and control the fight at
distance by keeping up the pressure and landing damaging flurries
of punches. “Joshua” would finally come to life in Round 4, and
would have quite a few moments in the final frame, but it was too
little, too late as Delano kept walking down his fellow Brazilian.
After five rounds of action, Delano walked away with scorecards of
50-45, 50-45 and 48-47 for a unanimous decision victory but no
belt.
Meanwhile, the co-main event was for the vacant LFA welterweight
title, although only Gabriel
de Souza Bonfim was eligible to win it after Eduardo
Garvon came in an embarrassing 5.8 pounds heavy. Clearly
disrespected, Bonfim (12-0) came out with a fire and quickly took
out Garvon (13-4-1). After finding success on the feet, Bonfim was
able to
lock in an arm-triangle choke to win the 170-pound title. The
win came just 1:19 into Round 1.
Ismael
Bonfim showed off some impressive striking in what was supposed
to be a lightweight bout until Andrey
Augusto came in 3.6 pounds heavy. While Augusto (12-3-1) was
game, Bonfim (17-3) was clearly the better technical fighter and in
better shape as Augusto had little to offer after Round 1 besides
lackluster takedown attempts. After three rounds, Bonfim took a
unanimous decision win with scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.
The lone heavyweight bout on the main card saw undefeated prospects
Andre
Vieira and Eduardo
Jose Neves trade punches. It was Neves (5-0) that kept his
record spotless as he quickly knocked out Vieira (5-1) with
a well-placed series of punches. The finish came just 1:04
after the fight began.
In the women’s bantamweight division, Tamires
Vidal faced off against
Queila Pereira Americo Braga. It was a striker versus grappler
match-up with Vidal (6-1) struggling on the feet but having a clear
advantage on the ground over Braga (4-2). Ultimately, the ground
advantage for Vidal was too much as she
locked in a heel hook that elicited a tap at 3:36 of Round
2.
Light heavyweight prospect Rodolfo
Bellato passed a test against the experienced Thiago
Vieira. Bellato (8-1) used his superior grappling to control
the fight on the ground. Like clockwork, Bellato submitted Vieira
with a triangle choke at 4:58 of Round 1.
In the main card’s opening bout, Gabriel
Braga faced late replacement Rogerio
Ferreira Furtado. The two featherweights started throwing early
and it was Braga that displayed a clear edge on the feet. The
undefeated fighter stayed a step ahead of Furtado (15-10-1) in the
final two frames and was awarded three 30-27 scorecards as a
result. Braga advances to 7-0 in his career.
In preliminary action, Mateus
de Mattos Brauns (8-1) finished Inaildo
Santos Moreira (8-1) with punches at 2:10 of Round 1; Lucas
Fernando (7-1) picked up a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25,
30-27) win over Rodrigo
Lima Novais (6-3); Lincon
Santos (5-1) submitted Marciano
Ferreira (6-2) via rear-naked choke at 2:24 of Round 1;
Gabriel
Costa (6-0) won a majority decision (29-27, 28-28, 29-27) over
Vandirson Alves do Nascimento (7-3); and Hyago Silva
(4-0) stayed undefeated and picked up a split decision (29-28,
27-30, 29-28) over
Matusalem dos Santos Domingos (2-1).