When enormous middleweight Cezar Ferreira dropped down to 170 pounds to take on Jorge Masvidal, a lightweight coming from the other direction, it seemed like a disaster in the making for the smaller fighter.
But far from looking outmatched by the Brazilian, the crisp hands of "Gamebred" ended the fight in the very first round of their Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 21 Finale match up last night (Sun., July 12, 2015) on FOX Sports 1 via short elbows and punches.
Full recap here.
The fight started out well enough for "Mutante" who used his hulking size to land some takedowns on Masvidal, trying to take advantage of the skills he honed on TUF Brazil 1 with his mentor, Vitor Belfort. Early in the fight, Ferreira landed a beautiful duck under to slip a right hook and take down his opponent.
Masvidal was having none of it, however, getting back to his feet by scooting along the canvas and punishing Ferreira for further attempts. Shortly afterward, the Strikeforce veteran used his clinch work to seal the deal.
As Mutante attempted to bully him against the cage, Masvidal used a Thai plum to land knees and short elbows to drop his opponent and quickly finished him off on the mat.
The win puts Masvidal's professional mixed martial arts (MMA) record at 29-9 and 1-0 as a UFC welterweight, telling Jon Anik after the fight that he feels much better at the weight class. Ferreira, meanwhile, succumbed to the knockout for the third time in his last four fights, sending his professional MMA record tumbling to 8-5.
For complete results from TUF 21 Finale: "Ellenberger vs. Thompson," including play-by-play updates, click here.
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