UFC 212
June 3, 2017
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from Jeunesse Arena
Live on UFC Fight Pass (6:30 PM ET), Fox Sports 1 (8:00 PM ET), and pay-per-view (10:00 PM ET)
Thank you for joining us for live play-by-play of UFC 212. The show is headlined by a very intriguing matchup between Jose Aldo and Max Holloway to determine the undisputed UFC featherweight champion. Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz meet in the co-main to potentially secure a second crack at Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Also on the card, we have what may or may not be Vitor Belfort’s last fight in UFC, or anywhere, depending on what day you ask him. It should be a raucous crowd in Rio that should make up for the lack of depth to the card. Be sure to check out Michael Grocke’s preview of the show and you can follow me on Twitter for updates tonight and throughout the week. Grocke is covering the prelims and Hiscoe has you for the main card. As always, we’ve included fighters’ MMATorch.com staff rankings in the listings and as always, enjoy the fights!
Fight Pass Early Prelims
(1) Marco Beltran vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (Flyweight 125 lbs)
ROUND ONE: They circle right and Beltran misses with a head kick. Inside leg kick scores for Beltran. Beltran misses with another head kick. Figueiredo shoots but can’t finish it. He has Beltran against the fence and gets the trip and scores with a take down. Figueiredo scores with punches from on top. Beltran tries landing elbows from bottom. Figueiredo has a guillotine locked in. Beltran trying to stay calm while trying to fight out. Beltran slips out and is landing big elbows from on top. Figueiredo looks tired from trying to get the sub. Beltran gets back to his feet as the round ends.
10-9 Beltran
ROUND TWO: Beltran lands a heavy leg kick to open the round. He lands an inside leg kick, but misses to the head. Figueiredo changes levels and gets a take down. He goes from side control to full mount. He looks for an arm bar but doesn’t have it. Figueiredo stands as Beltran tries to land up kicks. Figueiredo pounces back on top and take sBeltran’s back. He has a RNC. Figueiredo loses it but is now in full mount. Figueiredo stands as Beltran lands an up kick. Figueiredo goes for a heel hook. Beltran tries to fight his hands. Beltran fights out. Both fighters back to their feet. Figueiredo goes to the body and scores flush. Figueiredo lands a big uppercut and Beltran goes down. Figueiredo pounces but Beltran is saved by the bell.
The ref goes to Beltran’s corner after the round and calls the fight off.
Result: Figueiredo by TKO (Round 2 – Ref stoppage)
Grocke’s Analysis: Nice debut from Figueiredo. Beltran fought with a heavy heart after the death of his mother. Beltran just looked over matched after the first round.
(2) Luan Chagas vs. Jim Wallhead (Welterweight 170 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Chagas fakes a front kick. Wallhead misses with a combination. Jab lands for Wallhead. Nice left from Chagas, but misses with the follow up right hand. Chagas lands some heavy leg kicks. Chagas with a head kick that’s partially blocked by Wallhead. Wallhead tries to pick up the pace and pressure. He eats a big right hand for his effort. Wallhead keeps getting countered. Chagas switching stances nicely. Chagas lands a nice combination. Wallhead scores with an overhand right. Wallhead shoots but is stuffed. Front kick lands for Chagas. Chagas is countering everything Wallhead throws. Chagas opens up with a big flurry and Wallhead eats 3-4 big shots. Wallhead is tough as nails though. Chagas lands a leg kick as the round ends.
10-9 Chagas
ROUND TWO: Wallhead comes out and begins throwing more punches. He lands a big right hook that lands flush. Chagas goes low and time is called. Wallhead says he’s fine and we are back to action. Wallhead misses with a flurry of punches and eats a jab from Chagas. Chagas lands with an inside leg kick. Chagas follows with a combination. Wallhead has a great chin, he’s taking big shots. Chagas mixing up his offense well between punches and kicks. Nice jab from Wallhead. Wallhead gets poked in the eye and time is called. That looked bad. He is telling the doctor he’s fine. Back to action. They trade jabs. Chagas lands three heavy leg kicks. More jabs from both fighters. Wallhead lunges forward and misses with a punch and a kick. Both fighters seem to be landing their jab fairly consistently. Chagas lands a big combination and Wallhead goes down. Chagas pounces and takes the back. He slips in a RNC that’s deep and Wallhead taps quickly.
Result: Chagas by submission (4:48 of Round 2 – rear naked choke)
Grocke’s Analysis: Wow, that was by far the best performance of Chagas’ career. He dominated that fight. He stayed calm, measured and his cardio was much improved. This was a really impressive outing from Luan Chagas. He is definitely a fighter to keep an eye on in the welterweight division.
(3) Viviane Pereira vs. Jamie Moyle (Strawweight 115 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Moyle lands an inside leg kick to start. Overhand right lands for Pereira. Pereira misses with a combo. Pereira catches a leg kick and runs Moyle to the fence. Pereira landing short strikes in the clinch. Both fighters land knnes to the body. They separate and back to center cage. Pereira lands a stiff jab. Pereira setting up shop at the center of the cage as Moyle circles. They trade jabs center cage. Pereira catches a leg kick and lands a big straight right hand. Moyle lands to the body and follows up with a nice right hand. Pereira is really controlling the range not allowing Moyle to shoot in. Pereira runs Moyle to the fence and lands a few knees. Moyle spins out and lands a nice right. They trade punches with Pereira getting the better of the exchange as the round ends.
10-9 Pereira
ROUND TWO: Both fighters come out throwing hands with neither one doing any damage. Moyle continues to circle around Pereira. Moyle shoots but she’s too far out and can’t finish. Pereira working her jab very well establishing range. Big overhand right from Pereira. Moyle’s right eye starting to swell. Pereira lands a knee and Moyle returns the favor in the clinch. Moyle lands an inside leg kick. Pereira lets her hands go and she lands with some big shots. Pereira is controlling the center of the octagon and picking Moyle apart with strikes. Moyle gets another kick caught and pays for it by getting taken down. The round ends with Moyle trying to land up kick to no avail.
10-9 Pereira
ROUND THREE: Nice leg kick from Pereira to start the round. Moyle needs the finish here. Pereira lands a stiff right hand. Big overhand right for Pereira. Moyle needs to get this to ground because she is getting picked apart here. Pereira looks to be sitting down on her strikes this round looking for the finish. Moyle tries to get inside and throw knees but Pereira pushes her away. The action slows the last half of the round and the crowd gets restless. Moyle has nothing left here but she keeps throwing punches. Pereira lands with a combination and Moyle comes back with a leg kick. Moyle will make it to the final horn.
10-9 Pereira
Result: Pereira by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Grocke’s Analysis: That was a striking clinic from Pereira. She looked much better that her previous outing. She is worth keeping an eye on in the women’s strawweight division.
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
(4) Iuri Alcantara vs. Brian Kelleher (Bantamweight 135 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Alcantara takes center octagon and lands a big right hand. He lands another and Kelleher looks stunned. Alcantara misses with a wild left hook. Front kick is blocked from Kelleher. Kelleher lands a right hand. Alcantara shoots in and lands in a guillotine. He has it and Alcantara taps very quickly.
Result: Kelleher by submission (1:48 of Round 1 – guillotine choke)
Grocke’s Analysis: Now that’s the way make a debut! Kelleher walked into hostile territory and choked out the heavily favored and hometown favorite Iuri Alcantara. The crowd is all over Kelleher and he’s soaking it all in. Fantastic! He then goes and ruins everything by asking Dana White for the 50 G’s.
(5) Johnny Eduardo vs. Matthew Lopez (Bantamweight 135 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Eduardo comes out with a leg kick. Eduardo lands a nice right, but eats one too. Inside leg kick lands for Eduardo. Both guys are letting their hands go. Eduardo lands a big right hand. Lopez shoots and scores a take down. Eduardo goes for a heel hook. Lopez landing elbows while fighting the heel hook. Lopez is out and has top control. He moves to mount and starts landing huge rights. He continues the pummeling and Eduardo isn’t fighting back at all. Lopez is pouring it on and the fight is stopped.
Result: Lopez by TKO (2:57 of Round 1)
Grocke’s Analysis: Eduardo seemed to have the upper hand while on the feet, but once Lopez got the fight to the ground it was all over. A bit late of a late stoppage for my liking though. Lopez says he was surprised by all the leg kicks Eduardo came out with. You can tell because it looked like Lopez had a hard time with timing. He asks for a fight with someone in the top 10. I say give it to him, he was very impressive on the ground.
(6) Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Eric Spicely (Middleweight 185 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Carlos comes out and stalks Spicely down. Spicely shoots and scores a take down. Carlos landing elbows from bottom. Carlos goes for a heel hook. Spicely defends it well. Carlos goes for the heel and Spicely lands big hammer fists. Both guys looking to better their position. Carlos looks to transition to top position. Carlos fights out of 50/50 position and looks for the heel. He doesn’t get it. Both fighters remain twisted together. Carlos get out and both fighters back to their feet. Carlos shoots and runs Spicely to the fence. He gets a take down. Carlos takes Spicely’s back as the round ends.
10-9 Carlos
ROUND TWO: Spicely shoots but Carlos ends up in top control 30 seconds into the round. Spicely looks for a leg. Carlos takes the back and is landing strikes to the head of Spicely. Spicely has excellent defense. Carlos stands and Spicely tries for an up kick. Spicely tries to stand and Carlos takes his back again. Carlos looking for a RNC. He lands a few strikes to Spicely’s head trying to soften him up. He goes back to the RNC, he has it in tight and Spicely taps.
Result: Carlos Junior by submission (3:49 of Round 2 – rear naked choke)
Grocke’s Analysis: I enjoyed that fight. Spicely showed excellent defensive skills throughout the fight, but CArlos Junior was just too much for him. I never felt Carlos was in any trouble and it was just a matter of time before he got the submission. I was a bit surprised Spicely didn’t try to keep the fight on the feet though.
(7) Raphael Assuncao (#4) vs. Marlon Moraes (#7) (Bantamweight 135 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Moraes misses with a leg kick. Moraes goes for a head kick but misses. Moraes lands a left hand. Assuncao is starting out slowly here. Moraes lands a big overhand right that wobbles Assuncao. Moraes looks way faster than Assuncao here. Assuncao lands a right hand. Both fighters showing excellent defense. Moraes using feints well drawing Assuncao out. Assuncao lands a right in between Moraes’ guard. The action is slow so far. Assuncao not doing much stance switching. Moraes lands to the body. Assuncao lands a big right hand and follows up with another one as the round ends.
10-9 Assuncao
ROUND TWO: Nice leg kick for Moraes. Assuncao looks for a leg kick as Moraes lands a left hand. Assuncao misses with a right hand. They trade rights. Moraes blocks a head kick from Assuncao. Moraes has gone away from the feints. The crowd starts booing due to the slow action in the cage. Assuncao goes for a kick but Moraes blocks it. Moraes blocks another head kick as Assuncao slips. Moraes just misses with a wheel kick. Moraes is missing a lot here in this round. Moraes clips Assuncao with a left hand. Moraes goes to the body and follows to the head nicely. Moraes lands a kick to the body as the round ends.
10-9 Moraes
ROUND THREE: Assuncao goes to the body with a kick and Moraes comes back with a big leg kick. Assuncao lands a big overhand right but Moraes brushes it off. Nice inside leg kick for Moraes. Moraes misses with a head kick. Assuncao isn’t as offensive in as he was in the last round. Two quick jabs land for Moraes. This is a nightmare of a fight to judge. Assuncao has definitely slowed down here. Assuncao switches to south paw. Assuncao lands a stiff jab. Moraes catches a kick and goes for a take down but Assuncao defends it. Spin kick lands for Moraes. Moraes is starting to have success with kicks. He misses a front kick as the round ends.
10-9 Moraes
Result: Assuncao by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Grocke’s Analysis: Moraes is the real deal, but he didn’t look good here. The UFC debut jitters must be a real thing. Not sure how one judge saw it 30-27 for Assuncao. Overall a disappointing fight.
The prelims did not disappoint. We saw a ton of finishes along with some very impressive debuts. That will do it for me, I’ll now turn it over to Mike Hiscoe who will take you through the PPV portion of UFC 212.
Thanks for joining me tonight.
Pay-Per-View Main Card
(8) Erick Silva vs. Yancy Medeiros (Welterweight 170 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Silva looked to be in good shape after going through some changes after USADA came in. Silva came out southpaw but switched to orthodox quickly. Medeiros stunned Silva who then went on the retreat. Silva recovered and delivered a hard outside leg kick. Silva started hurting Medeiros with body shots and he slipped in a hook to the head as well. Silva barely missed a big right hand. He landed another big leg kick. Silva tripped him up with the same leg kick. He tried to go up high with the kick but it was blocked. Silva rocked Medeiros with a knee in the final seconds of the round. 10-9 Silva
ROUND TWO: Silva landed a body kick early. Silva grazed him with a left hand at the end of a combination. He landed a short right hand soon after. Medeiros ate another leg kick but then planted Silva with a right hand followed by a left hook. Silva was out briefly and Medeiros followed up on the ground and the fight was stopped. Silva protested but he wasn’t doing much to fight back.
Result: Yancy Medeiros by TKO at 2:01 of the second round
Hiscoe’s Analysis: Medeiros was slipping behind on the scorecards before he scored the finish there. The leg kicks were looking to have started to take a toll on him, so he delivered at just the right time.
(9) Paulo Borrachinha vs. Oluwale Bamgbose (Middleweight 185 lbs)
ROUND ONE: These guys look ready to throw down. Bamgbose missed a wild right hand right away. Bamgbose caught a kick and missed the takedown but went straight to a double-leg and got it but Borrachinha was up quickly. Bamgbose did this thing where he’d duck his head and rush in without throwing punches and it seemed to throw Morrachinha off a bit. Borrachinha landed a hard body kick that might have hurt him. Borrachinha smelled blood and went in for the kill with a barrage of body shots and head shots as Bamgbose covered up. Some knees from Borrachinha connected. Bamgbose grabbed a body lock and went for a desperation takedown. Borrachinha popped up but Bamgbose wouldn’t give up on the takedown. He got him down but he got back up again. 10-9 Borrachinha
ROUND TWO: Bamgbose was completely gassed going into this round. His eyes were glassy and he was breathing heavy. Borrachinha walked him down but Bamgbose still kept swinging. Bamgbose slipped throwing a kick and went to the mat. Borrachinha followed up with punches on the ground that went unanswered and the fight was stopped.
Result: Borrachinha by TKO at 1:06 of round two
Hiscoe’s Analysis: Borrachinha showed some good power and takedown defense here. He allowed himself to avoid a slugfest and picked his spots to turn up the volume. He was definitely tired, just not as much as his opponent, so conditioning may be a factor as he moves on to stiffer competition.
(10) Vitor Belfort vs. Nate Marquardt (Middleweight 185 lbs)
ROUND ONE: UFC looked to be treating this as Vitor’s last fight based on the video package. Both men were very tentative out of the gate. Marquardt landed a trip takedown and Belfort held a tight guard. Not much happened so they were stood up after about a minute on the ground. Belfort landed a body shot and Marquardt slipped but Belfort couldn’t capitalize. Belfort ducked a Marquardt punch and landed a left hand. Marquardt rushed in with a left late and Vitor followed up with a high kick attempt. Not much happening here but 10-9 Belfort.
ROUND TWO: Marquardt landed a left hand and a left high kick. Vitor countered a Marquardt punch with a left and followed up with a flurry against the cage. Marquardt covered up and survived. Marquardt started working a jab in that landed a couple of times. Marquardt started throwing front kicks and then body kicks. Vitor was bleeding from the left eye which has Marquardt opening up a bit. Vitor threw a high kick that popped the crowd. Nice right hand from Marquardt at the end of the round. Close round but 10-9 Belfort as he was closer to finishing. 20-18.
ROUND THREE: Belfort remained tentative early this round. Marquardt wasn’t throwing much either but he has Vitor thinking. Marquardt missed a combination but followed up with a leg kick and a body kick. Vitor landed an uppercut. A left from Marquardt connected cleanly. Vitor started walking forward. He went for a flurry but Marquardt escaped only taking one punch. Vitor landed a body kick. Marquardt missed a takedown attempt with a minute left. Vitor pressed with a head kick and a right hook that barely missed. Another head kick grazed him. Marquardt came in with a flying knee with a few seconds left but missed. 10-9 Belfort, 30-27 but not a particularly inspiring performance.
Result: 29-28 across the board, Belfort by unanimous decision
Hiscoe’s Analysis: This wasn’t a good fight and it didn’t give me any confidence that Belfort should continue fighting. He managed to not get hit much but he didn’t show the ability to close a fight like he has in the past. During his post-fight interview, Vitor said that he’s “got 5 more fights to go.” So there you go.
They showed an excellent video package on Kazushi Sakuraba for the UFC Hall of Fame. So they will be doing two pioneer wing inductees with Sakuraba and Maurice Smith. It’s kinda funny that they chose Brazil of all places to air this package.
(11) Claudia Gadelha (#2) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (#3) (Strawweight 115 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Lots of exchanges early but few punches are connecting. Gadelha got an elbow in. Kowalkiewicz is having trouble connecting and getting her distance. Gadelha got double underhooks and took her down. She took Kowalkiewicz’s back and locked in a rear-naked choke. She made that look easy.
Result: Gadelha by submission at 3:03 of the first round
Hiscoe’s Analysis: Kowalkiewicz is no joke and Gadelha just ripped right through her. She’s in a tough position having lost twice to Joanna Jedrzejczyk but she’s established herself as the next best strawweight in the world. That said, I think you still have to give the next shot to Rose Namajunas. Gadelha vs. Jessica Andrade would be a logical next fight. Gadelha talked about moving to Albuquerque and buying a car in the near future.
(12) Jose Aldo (#1 FW, #7 P4P) vs. Max Holloway (#2) (Featherweight Championship Bout 145 lbs)
ROUND ONE: No punches thrown for nearly a minute. Both men appear to respect each other and didn’t commit to much early. Max Holloway connected on an exchange coming in. Aldo followed up with a barrage of punches that hurt Holloway. Aldo landed a leg kick and Holloway countered immediately with a right hand over top, which might be the strategy. Both fighters connected on combinations late in the round. The crowd was well behind Aldo as one would expect. Spinning kick from Holloway as the round ended. 10-9 Aldo
ROUND TWO: Aldo with a nice body shot right away. Aldo connected with a two punch combination. Aldo landed combinations a couple of more times and Holloway came back with one of his own. Holloway started landing more and getting more aggressive. A couple of jabs from Holloway got in. Aldo looked to be breathing heavy late in the round and has a sizeable lump growing on the left side of his head. Two solid punches from Aldo landed and Holloway mean mugged him in response. Aldo landed a few punches while Holloway was hot-shotting. 10-9 Aldo, 20-18.
ROUND THREE: Aldo missed a knee early on. Holloway put some pressure on and landed on an increasingly tired Aldo but Aldo fired back and landed some shots of his own. Aldo began utilizing his jab more but Holloway was able to counter it frequently. Holloway knocked him down with a right hand and pounced on a prone Aldo. Holloway worked to get a mount and tried to get some punches in from the top. Aldo scrambled to avoid punishment. Holloway landed some big shots from a standing position and then took full mount. He rained down punches while Aldo gave up his back to avoid the pain coming down on him. Holloway, still in mound continued to punish Aldo who could only turn. Aldo gave a thumbs up but the ref didn’t buy it and stopped the fight. Huge win over an all time great.
Result: Holloway by TKO at 4:13 of the third round
Hiscoe’s Analysis: Very impressive win for Holloway there. Aldo is one of the best to ever do it and Holloway took his best shots and waited for his opportunity to capitalize. This result is great news for Frankie Edgar who should be next in line if they don’t give Aldo an immediate rematch. Max Holloway just won a world championship and he’s begging Dana White for an extra $50k. That tells you everything you need to know about today’s UFC. Good night everybody, and thanks for reading.
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