Thiago Tavares (UFC photo)
UFC 142 preliminary card results
The preliminary card of UFC 142 is in the books, and a couple of Brazilian fighters earned much-needed victories this evening.
Perhaps the fighter with the most on the line, Gabriel Gonzaga dominated in his win over Ednaldo Oliveira, utilizing his long-lost jiu-jitsu background to reintroduce himself to UFC fans. Gonzaga highlighted the preliminary action with his dominant grappling game, which yielded a rear naked choke in the first round.
But before Gonzaga’s win, beginning the evening’s action, Felipe Arantes earned a unanimous decision nod over Antonio Carvalho. Arantes displayed his striking and his grappling, proving far too much for his opponent. The Brazilian became a prospect to watch in the promotion.
Following the one-sided start to the card, Mike Pyle decided to spoil the Brazilian crowd’s high-energy attitude, defeating Ricardo Funch with little issue. Pyle was composed early, but eventually unleashed on his opponent, who filled in for Paulo Thiago, earning the technical knockout win in the opening round. Following his previous loss, Pyle, who is known for his dominance in training, once again finds himself back on track.
After Pyle’s dominant victory, Brazilian Yuri Alcantara brought the Brazilian crowd back with a dominant win of his own. Facing off against Michihiro Omigawa, Alcantara nearly secured a first-round victory with a late armbar. But Omigawa escaped to see a second frame. Throughout the following two rounds, the Brazilian utilized his striking and grappling to secure a victory.
Following the dominant victory from Alcantara, the aforementioned Gonzaga secured the first round victory, and Thiago Tavares and Sam Stout looked to do the same. However, Stout got off to a slow start, and Tavares earned several takedowns early. Stout rallied at the end of the bout, but came up short on the judges’ scorecards.