Photo: Josh Hedges
Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira became the first fighter in history to hold belts in Pride and the UFC. In a spectacular come back, the Brazilian black belt submitted Tim Sylvia with a guillotine in the third round of the main bout of UFC 81 in theMandalay Bay Events Center, in Las Vegas.
“I feel really good fighting here. They gave me an opportunity to fight for the belt and I’m ready to face anyone. I would love to face Couture. Tim Sylvia is a true heavyweight, I took several punches, and I was waiting for an opportunity to take him down. Thank God the second submission worked. First I tried an arm lock and he got out, so then I went for the guillotine,” said Minotauro while still in the ocatagon.
If Minotauro led the celebrations for his country in the end, the first fight with a Brazilian rep was not joyous. Followed in by the American Top Team staff, among them K-1 champion Gesias Cavalcante and black belt Roan Jucao Carneiro, Gleison Tibau was valiant but was overcome in the judges’ decision by Tyson Griffin, who showed superiority in strikes.
Not having fought MMA since 2004, Ricardo Cachorrao Almeira entered the arena at the Mandalay Bay Events Center followed by Renzo Gracie, Doctor Jose Alfredo Padilha and physical trainer and GRACIE Magazine columnist Martin Rooney. With the bout against Rob Yundt underway, Cachorrao showed good movement and took the fight to the ground with a perfect takedown. In the sequence he caught Yundt around the neck with a perfect guillotine, when his adversary turned on all fours to try and get up. Out of despair, the wrestler hoisted up the Brazilian and tried to throw him on his head, but even in the heat of battle, Cachorrao used Jiu-Jitsu in its essence: he used his opponent’s weight against him, moving out of the way and letting the American spin on his own, in a somersault, without letting go of the guillotine. Mounted with the hold in place, Yundt was forced to tap out. It was an impressive return for the Brazilian, winning at 1:08 min of the bout.
In the second-to-last fight on the card, the giant Brock Lesnar was not up to par with the efficient ground game of Frank Mir. In only his second professional MMA fight, Lesnar started out well, pushing the action, even throwing an illegal blow to the back of the head. However, there were gaps in the defensive technique of the giant, who despite trying to punish his adversary with punches, saw Mir catch his leg and submit him with a knee bar at 1:30 min of the first round.
The first round of the last fight of the night started with the two fighters measuring the distance. Before the first minute was up, Rodrigo Minotauro opted to fight from the bottom. Tim Sylvia would have none of it and obliged the Brazilian to return to his feet. Making use of his greater reach, Sylvia applied a knockdown on Minotauro with 2:45 min till the end of the round. On the ground, the Brazilian absorbed the blows dealt by the American but had his cut open and started to bleed. Once again standing, Minotauro’s shots at his opponent’s legs did not have the desired effect and Sylvia carried on connecting with blows to the black belt’s face. Not even the takedown achieved in the final second would be enough to take the partial victory from the athlete from Maine.
Back after the break, one more frustrated attempt at going for the legs by Minotauro. The two first minutes consisted of jab exchanges standing, with Sylvia impressing more due to his longer arms. The forlorn face of the Brazilian showed signs that the fight was a bit too much and something would have to be done.
At 45 seconds of the third round, Minotauro opted for a strategy of sacrifice, going to the ground. This time there was no way for Sylvia to avoid the Brazilian’s dangerous ground game. After applying the perfect sweep, Rodrigo Minotauro applied a guillotine that made him into the UFC’s newest heavyweight champion.
UFC 81 - Breaking Point
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, USA
Saturday, February 2nd 2008
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Tim Sylvia by Submission (guillotine choke) at 1:28, R3
- Frank Mir def. Brock Lesnar by Submission (knee bar) at 1:30, R1
- Nathan Marquardt def. Jeremy Horn by Submission (guillotine choke) at 1:37, R2
- Ricardo Almeida vs. Rob Yundt by Submission (Rear naked choke), R1
- Tyson Griffin def. Gleison Tibau by unanimous decision, R3
- Chris Lytle def. Kyle Bradley by TKO (Strikes) at 0:33, R1
- Tim Boetsch def. David Heath by TKO (Strikes) at 4:52, R1
- Marvin Eastman def. Terry Martin by Unanimous Decision, R3
- Robert Emerson def. Keita Nakamura by Split Decision, R3
