In the third main card bout of UFC 163, TUF Brazil champ Cezar Ferreira (6-2, 2-0 UFC) finally got to fight again in the Octagon, and he didn't disappoint. Mutante dispatched his opponent Thiago Santos (8-2, 0-1 UFC) in just 47 seconds, finishing him with a nasty guillotine choke. Ferreira cracked him with a big shot that wobbled Santos, then dropped him with another. Instead of pounding him out, he locked up the choke, rolled a couple of times, and got the tap.
This was Ferreira's first fight since he won the TUF Brazil 1 middleweight crown back at UFC 147 last July. Santos, a TUF Brazil 2 contestant at welterweight, was making his UFC debut.
What was the high point of the fight?
The whole thing, pretty much. The huge shots that hurt Santos, the scrambing while he held the choke, and the squeeze finish. It was all pretty awesome.
Where do they go from here?
Hopefully the UFC will book the most interesting fight available for Ferreira right now - a date in the octagon with Daniel Sarafian. They were supposed to meet in the TUF Brazil 1 middleweight final, but Sarafian got hurt and Mutante had to beat Sergio Moraes instead. I really want to see that fight, and I hope they pull the trigger on it.
Santos will probably be given another shot with the organization since he took the fight on late notice outside of his own weight class. But he'll desperately need a win in his next bout (at 170), and it certainly won't be against a name opponent.
Watch now, later, or never?
Now. It's 47 seconds of destruction. You can find time in your busy schedule for that.
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