UFC São Paulo‘s penultimate bout saw welterweight duo Gabriel Bonfim and Nicolas Dalby clash over three rounds.
Tonight’s card is headlined by an eagerly-anticipated heavyweight contender fight between Jailton Almeida and Derrick Lewis. ‘Malhadinho‘ would be performing in front of a home crowd in Brazil’s largest city.
Bonfim is similarly from the South American country, and enjoyed the backing of 11,000 passionate fans. The 26-year-old came into the contest off the back of a first-round submission victory over Trevin Giles at UFC 291.
His opponent, Dalby, was looking to put a stop to ‘Marretinha‘s undefeated run of 15 stoppages. The Dane was similarly on a commendable run of form, earning three consecutive decision victories in the past year-and-a-half.
Nicolas Dalby Emerges Victorious
The fight kicked off in typical Gabriel Bonfim fashion. Both fighters came out the gates with pace, with the Brazilian landing a number of powerful strikes within the first 30 seconds. Dalby bravely continued forward, putting the pressure on Bonfim in front of a home crowd.
Halfway into the first, ‘Marretinha‘ managed to cpature the body lock and take his opponent swiftly to the canvas. A period of world class grappling ensued, with Bonfim managing to connect with several large elbows from top position.
Round two began where the first left off – the Brazilian once again rushed towards Dalby and landed a dominative takedown. It looked like Bonfim could have secured an arm triangle on two occasions, however Dalby was eventually able to rise from the octagon floor. The Dane subsequently pushed his opponent up against the fence and unleashed a multitude of punshing knees and punches which had Bonfim dazed.
Commentators and audience alike were shocked at Dalby’s turn in fortunes, after consuming a decent amount of damage throughout the first five minutes. These blows continued for a minute, and finally the largest knee of all landed flush on Bonfim’s forehead. ‘Marretinha‘ collapsed to the floor, and the referee waved the fight off quickly. The victory acts as Dalby’s fourth straight win.
Final result: Nicolas Dalby defeats Gabriel Bonfim via second round TKO: R2 (4:23)
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
