Relive the second episode of TUF Brazil 3: Team Sonnen vs. Team Silva.
After a quick recap from last week, we get right to business to determine who takes the last eight spots in the house.
Richard Moreira vs. Alexandre Machado
Moreira aka “Rick Monstro,” wastes no time and rushes Machado immediately. He starts punching and kneeing at a frenetic pace. Machado tries to tie up and hit a judo throw, but Moreira keeps on throwing leather. One of his uppercuts lands flush, Machado falls to the mat and the ref calls the fight barely a minute into the first. As Chael Sonnen puts it, Moreira’s performance can be summed up as, “He punched hard. He punches with bad intentions, and he didn’t stop.”
Marcus Perez Eichemberg vs. Guilherme de Vasconcelos
Perez is a big Bruce Lee fan and self-described nerd. Guilherme is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu champion who says that fighting has ruined his modeling career because it gave him cauliflower ears.
Eichemberg opens the fight with a head kick. Vasconcelos counters with a double leg, but finds himself in a standing guillotine. He pulls his head out and the two exchange knees inside the clinch. Eichemberg goes for a hip toss; Vasconcelos rolls through and comes back with a successful double leg. He starts punching from top position and Eichemberg can’t seem to get his guard back. Vasconcelos advances to side mount and continues his onslaught. Eichemberg gives up his back and finds himself in a deep rear naked choke attempt. He has nowhere to go and taps out at the 3:07 mark of the first.
Marcus Rogerio vs. Thiago dos Santos
Rogerio talks about how martial arts saved him from a life of drugs. Thiago dos Santos (aka Big Monster) fights for his three children and hasn’t even held his newborn son yet.
Rogerio opens with a head kick. Dos Santos blocks, initiates the clinch and they two are against the fence. The “Big Monster” tries for a single leg takedown, but is rebuffed. He then switches to the double leg. He finishes the takedown, but now finds himself inside a guillotine. Rogerio squeezes and kills off the Big Monster with a first round submission.
Pedro Paulino vs. Ismael de Jesus
Paulino comes from a family of doctors and is currently studying medicine in Bolivia. Claims to find his “inner peace” when competing inside the Octagon. Nicknamed “Groundhog,” Ismael de Jesus trains at Nova Uniao with Jose Aldo and Renan Barao.
Paulino dives in for the takedown instantly. De Jesus counters with a trip and scores a couple punches as Paulino scrambles to his feet. In one of the strangest occurrences in TUF history, Paulino makes a scene and gets the fight stopped. Apparently when Ismael tripped him, his finger popped out of place. The doctors pop his finger back in, but the problem with calling timeout in MMA is that, well, there are no timeouts. Ismael de Jesus enters the house with a technical knockout. The highlight of the match is Wanderlei Silva’s reaction to Paulino. He doesn’t understand why he would stop fighting because of one finger when you have nine others that work.
Antonio Branjao vs. Fernando Camoles Robas
This fight gets the highlight treatment. Sonnen describes it as a grappling match and “Camloes has the edge,” in both experience and technique. The first round is all Camloes, but the second round is quite different. Branjao comes out like a man possessed and attacks with a renewed vigor. He gets the takedown, moves to mount and punches his way into the house with a TKO win.
Warlley Alves vs. Wendell Oliveira Marques
A battle between two training partners, neither one let that fact get in the way of victory. They may have been shaking hands even hugged it out, but as Chael Sonnen put it, “In between those moments they were going for the kill.” A back and forth fight, it winds up going to a third round. Wendell was unable to keep pace, though, and Alves dominated the round with his power and wrestling to make it into the house. Alves is an early favorite for number one pick.
Marcio Alexandre Junior vs. Giuliano Arante
Marcio comes from a karate background and is known by the nickname “Lyoto” for his similarities to current middleweight number one contender Lyoto Machida. Arante has come a long way both athletically and physically. At the age of 19 he actually weight 133 kg (that’s 293 lbs. for our American friends) and now competes at middleweight.
Wanderlei Silva calls this fight “very interesting.” Arante does not have the technical proficiencies of Junior, but he keeps charging forward and his attacks are landing through sheer aggression. It’s no wonder the Axe Murderer takes a shine to the young man. The heart and determination only get his so far, unfortunately. The fight ends in the opening moments of the second round when Junior locks up the guillotine and earns the tap out.
Bruno Silva vs. Vitor Miranda
Silva was given the name Blindado (“Armored”) because of his ability to absorb damage and punishment. Miranda, aka “Lex Luthor,” has one of the more interesting nicknames on the show (at least it wasn’t another guy named Monstro).
Wanderlei gives Bruno credit for living up to his nickname, but that’s about it. Miranda’s Muay Thai is on point and he spends the first round landing punches and kicks at will. The second is more of the same until Miranda unloads a head kick from the clinch and Bruno crumbles. Vitor Miranda earns the final spot in the house and it’s time to pick teams.
Well...at least it’s supposed to be the time to pick teams. Before they begin, Wanderlei asks Chael to apologize for his comments in the run up to his fight against Anderson Silva where West Linn’s gangster made some disparaging remarks about the country of Brazil. Chael dismisses this ploy as Wanderlei simply trying to mug for the camera and bring attention to himself. When Chael refuses to apologize, Wanderlei says he’ll refuse to continue shooting the show and walks off.
The other fighters are a bit mixed on the situation. Some think that the Chael should just do it and get it over with others saying that Chael’s remarks about their country were deeply insulting and they deserve an apology. There’s also a third group that thinks that Wanderlei should just let it go and let his fists do the talking when they fight in May. Chael walks into Wanderlei’s locker room to speak with him. Wanderlei asks him again to apologize for his words and Chael responds, “In a million years that’s not going to happen,” and that’s where things end.
The episode closes out with a preview of next week’s episode. Does Wanderlei concede? Will Chael Sonnen actually apologize? Are there any Brazilians with a legal first name of Monstro? Find out this and more next week on The Ultimate Fighter Brazil!
