Tag: Jonas Bilharinho

LFA 126 results: Jose Delano thrives in short-notice upset; Gabriel Bonfim shines bright as earned title gold

The event took place in Brazil and showcased dozen’s of rising prospects including new champ Gabriel Bonfim and main event winner Jose Delano.

A previously-vacant title now has a Brazilian owner following LFA 126, which took place Friday at Complexo Ribalta in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In the featherweight title fight main event, [autotag]Jose Delano[/autotag] (10-2) battled Dana White’s Contender Series alum [autotag]Jonas Bilharinho[/autotag] (9-2-1) but no champion was crowned. Delano won via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 48-47) after five hard-fought rounds.

Delano wasn’t even originally scheduled for the five-round main event. He prepared for a main card opener, which he missed weight for by six pounds Thursday. When originally-scheduled headline fighter Rafael Barbosa was pulled by CABMMMA (sanctioning body), Delano stepped in but was ineligible for a title in a last-second elevation into the headlining bout.

The first two rounds were closely contested as Delano led the dance and bloodied Bilharinho. In Round 3, Delano dragged the fight to the canvas and remained heavy on top.

The fighters entered the championship rounds and Delano continued to make things ugly. He tied up Bilharinho in the clinch, but ate a big head-splitting elbow. Blood poured down from the middle of his forehead as the striking resumed. The final round was perhaps the most violent of the fight as both bloody fighters landed wild spinning strikes in the final seconds. When the dust settled, Delano had a new piece of hardware.

After the fight, Delano vowed to make weight in his next outing, should LFA grant him another opportunity.

The loss stings for Bilharinho, who many fans thought was snubbed on DWCS in 2021. Bilharinho landed a highlight-reel wheel kick knockout on the series, but was not awarded a contract from the UFC president.

In the co-main event, [autotag]Gabriel Bonfim[/autotag] (12-0) made a major statement in a big way. Entering the fight with a hugely lopsided record, Bonfim widened the spread when he pieced up [autotag]Eduardo Garvon[/autotag] (13-4) on the feet before he sunk in a deep D’Arce choke. The tap came shortly thereafter and made Bonfim the seventh welterweight champion in LFA history.

Before titles were on the line, other rising Brazilian prospects made the most of their moments under the spotlight of an international stream.

Heavyweight [autotag]Eduardo Neves[/autotag] (5-0) remained undefeated with a violent bonanza of punches that marked the beginning of the end for previously unbeaten [autotag]Andre Vieira[/autotag] (4-1). Neves finished the fight 64 seconds into Round 1.

Bantamweight [autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag] (6-1) showed off her slick submission skills when she snatched a slick, second-round heel hook against [autotag]Queila Braga[/autotag] (5-2).

In the opening main card bout, [autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag] (8-1) maintained his winning ways with a buzzer-beating triangle choke against [autotag]Thiago Vieira[/autotag] (11-5).

The event marked the promotion’s second trip to Brazil after two events in one weekend, LFA 111 and LFA 112 in July 2021. The internationally-streamed platform is somewhat unique for the talent in Brazil. Although the country has produced numerous UFC fighters, many enter the promotion with little or no fight tape on the internet.

LFA CEO Ed Soares, a longtime manager of legendary Brazilian fighters Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira among others, has indicated Brazil will regularly be in the promotion’s rotation from here on out. LFA plans to return in May 2022.

The LFA 126 results include:

  • Jose Delano def. Jonas Bilharinho via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 48-47)
  • Gabriel Bonfirm def. Eduardo Garvon via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 1:19 – for vacant welterweight title
  • Ismael Bonfim def. Andrey Augusto via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
  • Eduardo Neves def. Andre Vieira via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:04
  • Tamires Vidal def. Queila Braga via submission (heel hook) – Round 2, 3:36
  • Rodolfo Bellato def. Thiago Vieira via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:58
  • Gabriel Alves Braga def. Rogerio Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Dana White’s Contender Series 46: Grading the winners

MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom takes a closer look at the performances of the DWCS 46 winners.

Week 10 of Dana White’s Contender Series (2021) took place on Tuesday in Las Vegas, and we’re grading the winners from the five-fight card, which streamed on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex.

With a simple but digestible format that has had the MMA fanbase responding, this series has shown to have legs in multiple ways while serving as a crockpot for contenders whom the UFC matchmakers can use for future events. So, with that trend in mind, I will once again be taking a look at the winning fighters regardless of whether or not they won a UFC contract, grading their performances in regards to their probability of returning to a UFC stage.

Dana White explains not signing Jonas Bilharinho after ‘spectacular’ spinning wheel kick at DWCS 46

Dana White contemplated giving Jonas Bilharinho a UFC contract after his highlight-reel finish but ultimately decided against it.

LAS VEGAS – Dana White contemplated giving [autotag]Jonas Bilharinho[/autotag] a UFC contract after his spinning wheel kick finish on Tuesda but ultimately decided against it.

The decision wasn’t an easy one for the UFC president, who loves nothing more than a highlight-reel knockout. But leading up to Bilharinho’s third-round TKO of Canaan Kawaihae at Dana White’s Contender Series 46, the fight didn’t gauge White’s interest a whole lot.

However, Bilharinho, who once served as Jose Aldo’s training partner for the Conor McGregor fight, is certainly on White’s radar moving forward.

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“I literally looked at Mick and Sean and said, ‘I was 100 percent not interested until right now. Now I don’t know what I am,'” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC Apex. “Now I’m confused because obviously you saw the kid has speed, he has hands, he’s a talented guy. The spinning kick was a spectacular finish, plus you can tell he’s fighting a guy who has a great chin because he took some big shots in there and even the spinning wheel kick didn’t knock him out, but it hurt him and had him on crazy legs.

“The kid’s stock went up tonight. He’s 9-1, maybe one of these other organizations pick him up, which we talked about before, they’re not very bright so they probably won’t. He’ll pick up a couple of fights in LFA or one of those type of shows, and we’ll take a look at him again. He definitely – landing that kick tonight put him in a good spot. He’s a free agent right now, he can do what he wants, and we’ll look at him again.”

To see the full interview with White, check out the video above.

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