UFC on FX 7 takes place this evening at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Former UFC light heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort takes on Michael Bisping in a 185 pound main event with title shot implications. The UFC on FX 7 main card will broadcast LIVE on FX starting at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT), with the prelims airing LIVE on FUEL TV starting at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT).
ProMMAnow.com will have LIVE results and play-by-play commentary of all the action.
UFC on FX 7 quick results:
MAIN CARD (FX)
- Vitor Belfort def. Michael Bisping by knockout (strikes) Rd 1 (1:27)
- CB Dollaway def. Daniel Darafian by split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
- Gabriel Gonzaga def. Ben Rothwell by submission (guillotine choke) Rd 2 (1:01)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Thiago Tavares by knockout (punches) Rd 1 (1:55)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV)
- Godofredo “Pepey” Castro def. Milton Vieira by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ronny Markes def. Andrew Craig by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
- Nik Lentz def. Diego Nunes by unanimous decision (30-28, 30-27, 30-26)
- Edson Barboza def. Lucas Martins by submission (strikes) Rd 1 (2:38)
- Iuri Alcantare vs. Pedro Nobre ruled a No Contest Rd 1
- Ildemar Alcantara def. Wagner Prado by submission (knee bar) Rd 2 (2:39)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
- Francisco Trinaldo def. CJ Keith by submission (arm triangle choke) Rd 2 (1:50)
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UFC on FX 7 play-by-play:
Ildemar Alcantara vs. Wagner Prado
Round 1 – Front kick and a right from Prado. Alcantara pushes him to the cage. Dirty boxing, he backs out, body kick from Alcantara. Front kick. Front kick. Leg kick Prado. Head kick, partially blocked. Clinched, knee from Alcantara. They square up, right hook to the body from Prado. Body shot, right hook to the chin finds its mark. Body jab, right. Jav rom Alcantara. Front kick finding distance, body kick. Left and a big right from Prado scores. Leg kick Alcantara, high kick is blocked. Right hand, front kick. Big right hook from Prado scores. Knee from Alcantara. Jab. Front kick. Big right hook from Prado. Body jab, knee to the gut but he gets put on his back. Alcantara inside full guard landing some body shots. Prado has a cut over his left eye. Ref stands them up. Body kick from Prado, two big right hooks and a knee to the body before the bell. PMN scores it 10-9 Prado.
Round 2 – Touch gloves. Big right hook from Prado, right to the body, two more hooks. Prado has some big power. Alcantara trying to keep his distance, eats a left and puts Prado down, but gets caught in a guillotine momentarily. Prado gets to his knees, Alcantara goes for a D’arce, loses it and Prado is now on top in half guard dropping them B’s. Prado landing a few left hands but Alcantara goes for a kneebar, switches to an ankle lock, back to the kneebar. Prado is not defending properly and Alcantara finishes it. Jiu Jitsu saved him because he was getting blasted on the feet. Great fight.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Ildemar Alcantara def. Wagner Prado by submission (knee bar) Rd 2 (2:39)
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Iuri Alcantara vs. Pedro Nobre
Round 1 – Another Alcantara. Lands a body kick fright off. Front kick Nobre goes low to the groin and time is called. Right on the nuggets. Leg kick Nobre. He tags Alcantara with a punch. Alcantara attacks, goes to the ground as he looks for a kimura. They scramble, Alcantara stays on him with the kimura attempt. Nobre stays strong, Alcantara on his back now, both hooks in and landing punches to the side of the head. Ref warns Alcantara about shots to the back of the head. He gives another punch, ref doesn’t like it and halts the action. Nobre is hurt on the ground and after a few moments of laying there he tells the translator he can’t continue. Instant replay shows the shots were questionable but Nobre appears in genuine pain despite Kenny Florian saying he thinks there’s some “gamesmanship” going on with Nobre. We wait for the official ruling…
OFFICIAL RESULT: Iuri Alcantare vs. Pedro Nobre ruled a No Contest Rd 1
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Edson Barboza vs. Lucas Martins
Round 1 – Left jab Barboza. Leg kick. High kick, body kick. Leg kick. Martins comes forward, they kick at the same time and Martins takes a shin to the groin. Ouchy! Leg kick Barboza, right hook. Left hook Martins, right from Barboza, right leg kick. Right hand. Left jab connects. Left hook Martins. Right from Barboza, throwing beautiful combinations. Leg kick. Martins charges with punches but gets dropped with straight left jab. Barboza finishes him off with big shots and Martins taps to strikes. — Jon Anik keeps calling it a knockout.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Edson Barboza def. Lucas Martins by submission (strikes) Rd 1 (2:38)
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Diego Nunes vs. Nik Lentz
Round 1 – Touch gloves. Clinch against the cage, Lentz looking for his back. Body lock, knees to the thighs, drags him down but Nunes gets up, back down. Lentz jumps on his back, both hooks in, dropping punches, looks for the choke, lets it go and lands more shots. Nunes gets to his feet. Knees to the head from Lentz before Nunes grounds himself. Punches to the face from Lentz. Three points of contact. Lentz drags him down and mounts his legs. Nunes gets up. Body lock and knees from Lentz, one hook in on his back landing punches to the side of Nunes’ head. Both hooks in now with 30 seconds to go. Nunes stands up but Lentz still has a body lock and drags him back down. Complete domination. Mount. Bell. PMN scores it 10-9 Lentz.
Round 2 – Touch gloves. Leg kick Lentz. Again. Nunes catches it, lands a right. Lentz puts him down, on top in half guard with ground and pound. Boos from the crowd. Elbows from Lentz. Knees to the ribs. Body shots, more knees. Nunes just holding on. More elbows from Lentz. He tries to pass but Nunes keeps him in half guard. Lentz continues to work the ground and pound, nice punches to the body. Two to the face. Nunes gives up his back, one hook in. Nunes finally gets to his feet. Takes a knee from Lentz. Nunes drops him with a punch right before the bell! Ref has to separate them. PMN scores it 10-9 Lentz.
Round 3 – Clinch, exchange of knees. Nunes lands a couple big punches. Lents with the takedown but it’s right back up. Leg kick from Lentz. One two punch, he shoots, clinch, trip takedown and is back on top in half guard. The crowd boos the American’s gameplan. Ref wants action. Elbows from Lentz, punches, grinding with whatever limb is not tied up. Nunes gets to his feet. Lentz stays on him with a body lock, one hook in as he seeks for his back. Nunes tries to get loose but gets slammed and Lentz is in full mount now. Nunes eventually makes his way up with under 30 seconds to go. Nunes lands a big knee to the chin and hurts Lentz with punches but Lents shoots and gets the takedown before the bell. PMN scores it 10-9 & 30-27 for Lentz.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Nik Lentz def. Diego Nunes by unanimous decision (30-28, 30-27, 30-26)
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Ronny Markes vs. Andrew Craig
Round 1 – Craig scores with a left hook. Markes shoots, stuffed. Markes pushes him to the cage. Tries to drop levels. Underhooks from Craig. Markes drops levels again, grabs a single, turns the corner for the takedown but Craig pops right up. Body lock from Markes, drops down again and picks Craig up for a big slam. Craig’s back to the cage with Markes on top of one leg in half guard. Craig gets to one knee. Markes jumps on his back looking for the choke with both hooks in. Craig remaining calm through all this. 30 seconds left. They punch at each other’s grills for a few moments until Craig spins to take top position inside guard. PMN scores it 10-9 Markes.
Round 2 – Touch gloves. Leg kick Craig. Markes shoots, shoved aside. Right from Markes as Craig counters. Markes grabs a single, trips the back leg to put Craig down. Craig posts on one hand, Markes moves him away from the cage and looks for a kimura from half guard. Markes moves to side control and tries to crank it. Craig escapes to get to one knee. Now to his feet. Markes staying on him, drops levels. Craig defending the takedown. Ref separates them. Craig misses a high kick, Markes shoots, stuffed. Leg kick Markes. Craig stalking with under 30 seconds left. Head kick from Craig blocked at the bell. PMN sees it 10-9 Markes.
Round 3 – Markes shoots, Craig defends, clinched against the cage. Knee from Markes, he drops levels. Craig defends. Markes tries for the takedown, Craig defends. A few boos. Elbow from Craig on the break. Now in the center as Craig hunts, lands a big right and Markes crumples. Craig dropping elbows from half guard. 2:00 to go. Markes holding on trying to ride out the clock. More elbows from Craig. Markes gets full guard. Body shots from Craig, more elbows. Craig stands up to let Markes to his feet. Flying knee from Craig, goes for a hip toss but Markes defends with a body lock. PMN sees it 10-9 for Craig and 29-28 for Markes.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Ronny Markes def. Andrew Craig by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
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Milton Vieira vs. Godofredo “Pepey” Castro
Round 1 – Nice left body kick by Vieira. Vieira puts Castro on his back, inside full guard. He looks for the triangle, scramble, back to the feet. Low kick from Pepey lands in the groin area and time is called by referee Yamasaki. Clinched, Pepey pushes Vieira to the cage but gets put on his back. Pepey gets to his feet, they square up, jab, high kick. Wheelkick from Vieira misses. One two from Pepey. Right hand. Vieira with a mouse under his right eye. PMN sees it 10-9 for Vieira.
Round 2 – Nice body kick from Pepey but Vieira puts him on his back right away; now inside guard. Pepey landing elbows to the top of the head, giving me a headache just watching. A few boos start. Interesting the home of BJJ seems to hate the ground game. Pepey looking for a kimura from bottom, uses it to sweep into the mount position. Unloads some punches, the roll and Pepey has his back with both hooks in. Figure four body lock by Pepey with 2:30 to go in the round. Pepey softening him up with punches. Nice body shots from Pepey, beating him like a red-headed stepchild, except it’s Pepey with the red hair. A few boos start. That is just crazy to me. These people are bloodlusty savages!! Jesus Christ folks, it can’t be full steam ahead every freaking second. Pepey goes for the rear naked choke as the bell sounds. PMN sees it tied up now with 10-9 round for Pepey.
Round 3 – Left hand from Vieira. Pepey fires back with a one two. They trade leg kicks. Pepey with an Ali shuffle. Left hook. Vieira looks at a single leg, shrugged off. Leg kick Pepey. Vieira gives one back, again and he eats a hook for it. Leg kick Pepey but pays for it with a big right. Leg kick Vieira. Pepey wings a couple haymakers. Vieira scores with a nice right as Pepey getting sloppy and wild with the punches. Pepey pushes him to the cage, clinched up. Pepey looks for the takedown. Vieira tries to turn it into a kimura, scramble, Vieira now on top inside guard. Yamasaki stands them up. Leg kick Pepey, Vieira shoots, shrugged off. Left hook, right hook from Pepey, Vieira gets the takedown, inside full guard. Pepey tries to get up. Vieira dives in the air with a right hand. Back inside guard. Pepey taunts, telling him to hit him. Vieira ends the round on top throwing hammerfists. Close round to end a close fight, could go either way but I see the last round for Vieira, making it 29-28 for Milton Vieira.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Godofredo “Pepey” Castro def. Milton Vieira by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Crowd doesn’t like the decision and boos their countryman. Vieira is also from Brazil, by the way. Pepey said he was not confident prior to the judges’ decision and said Vieira deserves all the applause the crowd gave him.
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Thiago Tavares vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Round 1 – Tavares stalking Nurmagomedov. Nice left uppercut, followed by a right from Nurmagomedov. Body kick Tavares, Nurmagomedov counters with a combo. One two from Tavares doesn’t connect, and Nurmagomedov uses some feints, counters with a leaping left uppercut perfectly timed. Tavares goes down and Nurmagomedov finishes him with elbows and hammerfists until Tavares goes limp and big Dan the ref stops it. Wow! Nurmagomedov improves his incredible unbeaten record to 19-0 and picks up his third straight win in the UFC.
“If sambo was easy it would be called jiu-jitsu” — that’s the T-Shirt Nurmagomedov, a Russian sambo master, wore to the weigh-ins.
Look out lightweight division; you have been served notice from “The Eagle!” Khabib is putting together a UFC kabab!
OFFICIAL RESULT: Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Thiago Tavares by knockout (punches) Rd 1 (1:55)
p.s. I want props from @bfurby on typing Nurmagomedov during the play by play! Let him know!
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Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ben Rothwell
Round 1 – Oh sh*t! Two big boys with heavy hands and feet. Left hand from Ben, Gonzaga shoots, almost finishes the takedown but Rothwell defends. Gonzaga pushes him to the cage, staying on the takedown attempt. He gets Rothwell to his knees briefly, but he’s back up. Now Gonzaga scoops a double leg to put Ben on his butt, but he uses the cage to get up. Gonzaga pressing him to the cage with an over/under, landing some knees to the thighs of Rothwell. The ref separates them. Ben looks in good shape. Looks lean. Gonzaga clinches, throws some heat on the break. Big leg kick from Gonzaga. Short right from Ben. Clinch on the cage. Knee from Ben, again, again. Gonzaga gives one back. Ben backs out. Gonz circles. Two big rights from Gonz, another. Ben cut under his left eye. Gonz shoots, sprawl from Ben. Back up. Ben stuffs a shot, Gonz getting tired. They exchange big punches, both landing. Close round and a fun fight. I gotta give it to Gonzaga I think, PMN sees it 10-9 for Gonzaga.
Round 2 – Gonzaga has a suspect chin. He lands a right behind the head of Rothwell knocks him off balance. Big counter right catches Ben coming in. Brief clinch. Big straight right on the chin from Gonz. Ben shoots, Gonz grabs a front headlock, jumps down into a guillotine after he realizes he has it. It’s an arm-in guillotine — makes sure he has POSITION before SUBMISSION — jumps into full guard, and he’s got it folks, Mr. Rothwell taps out! Wow!!
OFFICIAL RESULT: Gabriel Gonzaga def. Ben Rothwell by submission (guillotine choke) Rd 2 (1:01)
You can read my thoughts on Gonzaga in our staff picks for this fight. I used to be a big fan of Gonzaga. He really got my attention (and everyone else’s) when he cold-cocked Mirko CroCop with the Croatian’s own signature move (left leg head kick) at UFC 70. It was Gonzaga’s fourth straight stoppage in the Octagon and it earned him a heavyweight title shot with Randy Couture. Couture beat him and sort of exposed the fact that he could beat 95% of the heavyweights out there, but there was still a top tier of fighters he can’t seem to crossover into. Here’s his list of losses inside the Octagon: Couture, Werdum, Carwin, Dos Santos, Schaub. He’s very talented all-around and has been competing at a high level for a very long time in the UFC’s heavyweight division. That in itself is damn hard to do. He’s only 33.
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C.B. Dollaway vs. Daniel Sarafian
Round 1 – Left counter from Sarafian. Leg kick from CB. Left hook. Misses a head kick. Feints from Sarafian. Left hook CB. One two from Sarafian, very quickly and the crowd roars. CB wins a big overhand right and whiffs it. Sarafian bouncy. CB flatfooted. Being patient. Big right lands behind the head of CB and he goes down. CB shoots out of instinct. Sarafian defends it, CB lets out a sigh in frustration. Left body kick attempt from CB and gets countered with a punch. It’s a matter of time here. It has become very evident Sarafian is about to end this fight (or at least that is how things are appearing to me at the moment). Sarafian circling back and forth. Then pounces with great explosiveness. I suddenly feel like a fool for picking CB. No offense. CB taunts him a la Diaz bros. Lands a counter left hook. Big 10-9 round for Sarafian.
Round 2 – CB talked about how strong Sarafian was during the break. Straight left from Sarafian snaps the head back of CB. Wheelkick attempt from Sarafian. CB shoots and Sarafian pushes him to the cage. He backs out. Body jab. Straight left jab from CB. Leaping left jab from Sarafian. Leg kick CB. Left from Sarafian. A huge right hand drops CB after catching him in the back of the head again. CB back up though, remaining calm. Great poker face from this kid. Leg kick, left hook from Dollaway. Sarafian acknowledges it. Sarafian catches a kick, dumps CB. Lets him up to meet a head kick. Wheel kick too slow, CB steps inside it. Big right from Sarafian. Big right from CB scores. Sarafian has slowed down a lot, it was an adrenaline dump for sure. He came out looking so good and so fast in round one. The experience of Dollaway, his ability to stay calm is playing into this fight big time. Dollaway hurts Sarafian with a big uppercut as he tries to shoot in on CB, and with Sarafian on his knees Dollaway unleashes several hammerfists until the bell sounds. Sarafian was hurt guys, the bell could have saved him. PMN sees it 10-9 Dollaway!
Round 3 – Left jab CB. Left leaping punch from Sarafian. Head kick attempts from both. Big left hook from Sarafian connects, CB counters with a big right hook of his own that connects. Dollaway showing a jab. Body kick. Quick left hook from Sarafian, then a big right hook scores. Big big right hand from CB. Sarafian shakes his head yes. CB puts him on his back, gets full mount. Sarafian gives up his back, but gets to his feet as CB is unable to capitalize. CB drops levels and puts him back down, takes his back again, one hook in and they roll. 2:00 to go. Ref warns CB for shots to the back of the head. CB gets full mount again. Sarafian sweeps from half guard, now on top in half guard with 1:30 left in the fight. Both guys exhausted. Sarafian goes for the mount, CB gives up his back and Sarafian is looking for the RNC with under a minute left in the fight.CB spins around and ends up inside full guard. Sarafian has a cut on his forehead. Sarafian scrambles, to the feet, Sarafian rocks him with a knee before the bell. Sarafian stands up and throws his hands up and CB sits against the cage, breathing hard and shakes his head. The crowd is on their feet cheering. Close round but I give Sarafian the edge 10-9 and 29-28 for the fight. You can barely hear CB in his post fight interview as the whole arena’s boos drown him out.
OFFICIAL RESULT: CB Dollaway def. Daniel Darafian by split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
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Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping
Round 1 – Bisping connects with a leg kick, first connection of the fight. Front kick Vitor misses. Big inside leg kick from Bisping. High kick from Vitor blocked. Leaping attempt from Vitor, catches a jab from Bisping as he’s backing up. That was a dangerous move from Vitor. Left himself open. Misses a heavy wheelkick. Nice left from Vitor to the body. Right from Bisping. Vitor counters. Big inside leg kick from Bisping. He ducks a huge left from Vitor. Big body kick from Vitor makes Mike whince. Jab jab from Mike. Light body kick from Vitor. 1:00 to go. Bisping takes an eye poke, brief timeout. Step in right, spinning kick combo misses. Body kick and a left hand from Vitor. Jab from Vitor. a left and then a head kick that is pure shin to chin from Vitor and it definitely stuns Bisping. Belfort tries to capitalize but Bisping composes himself and time is up. Wow! PMN sees it 10-9 for Vitor!
Round 2 – This crowd is going to go nuts if Vitor wins. Leg kick from Bisping. Again. Again, just a light leg kick. A left hand opened up Bisping’s nose. One two from Belfort. They exchange punches, Belfort looking to counter. Leg kick Bisping. Head kick from Vitor, shin to chin again — left high kick and Bisping goes down, Belfort follows up with hammerfists, Bisping covers up but appears to be done and the ref stops it. Oh my god, what a storybook finish for Vitor Belfort, this iconic veteran winning like this at this late stage of his career in his home country! Bisping was guaranteed a title shot if he won… Belfort was not. Will this change Dana White’s mind on if he deserves another title shot?
OFFICIAL RESULT: Vitor Belfort def. Michael Bisping by knockout (strikes) Rd 1 (1:27)
Belfort says after the fight that he wants a title shot — but calls out a fight with Jon Jones, not Anderson Silva at middleweight, despite the fact this was a middleweight win over Bisping. What do you think fight fans? Do you want to see Vitor fight Bones Jones or Anderson Silva next, or should he have to beat another top 10/top 5 guy?
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