UFC 147 results: Hacran Dias wins slow decision victory over Yuri Alcantara

The UFC 147: "Silva vs. Franklin 2" main card from the Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drumond in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, kicked off on pay-per-view (PPV) tonight (Sat., June 23, 2012) with a featherweight fracas pitting veteran Yuri Alcantara against Octagon newcomer Hacran Dias.

Alcantara entered the bout on a 13-fight win streak, having won 27 of his 30 career fights. That's a tough draw for a UFC debutant but the world's largest fight promotion thought highly enough of Dias that they decided to sign him directly instead of making him go through The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Brazil.

Now we know why.

Dias controlled Alcantara for the duration of the 15 minute scrap, taking him down repeatedly and working from top control. He threatened briefly with a submission, as did Alcantara, but ultimately, the judges were left to decide it and they awarded the decision to Dias unanimously by scores of 29-28, 30-27, and 30-27.

It wasn't long before the two were clinched up against the cage, Dias the aggressor and looking to earn a takedown. Finally, he did so, slamming Alcantara to the mat and advancing position quickly.

Dias worked for a head and arm triangle and, despite the cage, managed to get to full mount using the choke. Alcantara, a favorite early, was in really bad position, so he worked hard to get out of the situation, which he was able to do by scooting his hips out and getting back to full guard.

Not long after, he got back to his feet but Dias was relentless and he slammed Alcantara once again.

The crowd got a tad restless with Dias' top control game, as he steadily scored points with superior position. Once Alcantara finally exploded out and took Dias' back, they cheered him wildly.

Still, round one was clearly in favor of the Octagon newcomer.

Alcantara turned on the aggression to start the second, rushing in with punches on his way to a big takedown attempt. Unfortunately for him, Dias grabbed him up and dumped him on his back once again. The crowd didn't like it but Dias was manhandling Alcantara on top.

Alcantara threw his legs up and grabbed an arm, seemingly close to finishing the fight with a slick submission. But Dias was calm and collected, and he yanked his arm free.

Dias went back to dominating the bout with Yuri trying his best to steal the round late.

By the time round three rolled around, the crowd was seriously restless. The fighters didn't do much of anything to stop that, either, as Dias took his foot off the pedal, presumably because he was well ahead on the scorecards.

He worked from top again and while Alcantara tried to come back with another late flurry, he was too far behind and couldn't get the finish.

Welcome to the UFC, Hacran Dias.

Remember, too, to check out MMAmania.com's complete live ongoing coverage of the UFC 147 event by clicking here.