Tag: Quemuel Ottoni

Quemuel Ottoni thinks he could have submitted UFC champion Alex Pereira even faster with current skills

“Certain positions that I found myself in while fighting against him, I would have taken care of business much earlier if I was fighting him today.”

[autotag]Quemuel Ottoni[/autotag] thinks he could have finished [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] even faster with his current skills.

Ottoni (12-3), the only man to beat Pereira (7-1) in MMA, thinks he has grown a lot more since their fight. Ottoni submitted Pereira in the third round in 2015 under the Jungle Fight banner in Brazil.

Since losing to Ottoni in his MMA debut, Pereira went on to win three straight before signing with the UFC in 2021. With his history with then middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, it took “Poatan” only three octagon wins before earning a title shot. He TKO’d Adesanya in Round 5 at UFC 281 to become champion, but Ottoni still sees deficiencies in Pereira’s ground game.

“He definitely got heavier,” Ottoni told MMA Junkie Radio on Pereira. “He built a bigger frame around him and redistributed weight in a better form, but I think that’s it really. I wouldn’t really put much else on his side. I see his jiu-jitsu as something limited.”

He continued, “I feel my jiu-jitsu has improved leaps and certain positions that I found myself in while fighting against him, I would have taken care of business much earlier if I was fighting him today. As well as my boxing. I feel like my boxing, my standup striking has improved a lot.”

Ottoni eventually moved down to welterweight and won Jungle Fight’s vacant 170-pound title in May with a third-round submission of Jose Diaz. He will take part in PFL’s Challenger Series on Jan. 27.

Like Pereira’s rivalry with Adesanya, Ottoni too has history which has pushed his name to the masses. But Ottoni says his goals are more to do with competing in the U.S.

“It didn’t really have anything to do with Pereira,” Ottoni said. “It was more of chasing my dream. I’ve always wanted to fight in the U.S. so the moment my manager called me with this opportunity to fight in the U.S., I was all in and even better with it being an organization like the PFL.”

[vertical-gallery id=2596106]

[listicle id=2605225]

PFL’s 2023 Challenger Series debuts Jan. 27 with welterweights, including CFFC and Jungle Fight champs

The PFL’s Challenger Series will return next month with eight events seeking new fighters for the 2023 regular season.

The PFL’s Challenger Series will return next month with eight events seeking new fighters for the 2023 regular season.

The Challenger Series debuted earlier this year with fights across all eight of the PFL’s divisions. At the end of each event, a PFL contract is awarded to one of the winners by a judging panel. This year, Dilano Taylor won a spot in the regular season and went on to reach the $1 million final.

The opening event of the 2023 Challenger Series will take place Jan. 27 and will feature welterweights. Subsequent events will air on Fridays through March 17 on Fubo Sports Network. A location and venue have not yet been announced; 2022 events took place in Orlando, Fla.

In the welterweight main event to kick off the 2023 Challenger Series schedule, [autotag]Lucas Barbosa[/autotag] (0-0), whose resume includes a grappling win over UFC standout Gilbert Burns, will take on [autotag]Itso Babulaidze[/autotag] (2-0).

“The 2023 PFL Challenger Series provides world-class talent a path to the PFL,” PFL president Ray Sefo said in a news release. “The Challenger Series continues the PFL’s commitment to finding the best talent in MMA around the world.”

Also on the card, unbeaten CFFC champion [autotag]Eric Alequin[/autotag] (7-0) takes on [autotag]Thad Jean[/autotag] (4-0), who has fought for LFA and CFFC. His career highlight is a win over Taylor, the aforementioned 2022 Challenger Series contract winner and eventual finalist.

Jungle Fights champ [autotag]Quemuel Ottoni[/autotag] (12-3), the only fighter with an MMA win over current UFC middleweight titleholder Alex Pereira, is set to take on [autotag]Jozef Wittner[/autotag] (16-2), who has won four straight. And [autotag]Mostafa Rashed Neda[/autotag] (7-3), a judo standout, meets [autotag]Nick Alley[/autotag] (7-5), who has five submissions in his seven wins.

The 2023 PFL Challenger Series welterweight lineup includes:

  • Lucas Barbosa vs. Itso Babulaidze
  • Eric Alequin vs. Thad Jean
  • Quemuel Ottoni vs. Jozef Wittner
  • Nick Alley vs. Mostafa Rashed Neda

LFA 112 results: Improbable one-night tournament final leads to new welterweight champion

When three fighters were deemed unable to progress to the second round, an alternate bout loser advanced to the tournament final.

A new LFA welterweight champion was crowned as the promotion held a four-man, one-night tournament Friday – but the road to get there was winding, long, and unusual.

In the end, [autotag]Carlos Leal[/autotag] (14-3) took home the title at LFA 112 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil when he defeated [autotag]Junior Marques[/autotag] (11-6) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). While Leal’s road to the top was typical, the opposing side of the bracket was the furthest thing from normal.

The tournament began with two quarterfinal fights of three three-minute rounds. The first matchup was a back and forth brawl, in which [autotag]Gabriel Bonfim[/autotag] (11-0) finished [autotag]Brenner Alberth[/autotag] (8-1) via punches at 0:38 of Round 3. On the other side of the bracket, Leal only needed 69 seconds to finish [autotag]Diego Dias[/autotag] (13-4) with a violent knockout punch.

Bonfim vs. Real was lined up for the tournament final – until it wasn’t. Due to concussion like symptoms, Bonfim was removed from the matchup and the promotion turned to two alternates, [autotag]Quemuel Ottoni[/autotag] and [autotag]Wendell Giacomo[/autotag], who won on the non-broadcasted prelims.

However, neither Ottoni and Giacomo received medical clearance. In an unusual turn of events, Marques, who lost to Ottani, was named the No. 3 alternate and was placed into the final against Leal.

While he lasted all three rounds, Marques ultimately lost his second fight of the night when he was swept on all three judges’ scorecards by Leal.

In the co-main event, [autotag]Otto Rodrigues[/autotag] snapped [autotag]Carlos Augusto da Silva[/autotag]’s eye-popping 17-fight winning streak via a unanimous decision that earned six 10-8 rounds across the three judges’ scorecards. Prior to the bout, Rodrigues had not competed since April 2017.

The most violent finish, perhaps occurred when [autotag]Kayan Krushewsky[/autotag] brutally knocked out [autotag]Junior Luiz[/autotag] with a pair of punishing punches. The stoppage came 62 seconds into the fight.

Also on the main card, hyped flyweight standout [autotag]Carlos Mota[/autotag] (6-0) made his long-awaited return to the cage when he won a fairly one-sided unanimous decision over [autotag]Jefferson Oliveira[/autotag] (5-1).

Check out the full LFA 112 results below:

MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass)

  • Carlos Leal (14-3) def. Uyran Carlos (11-6) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Otto Rodrigues (13-1) def. Carlos Augusto da Silva (19-3) via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-24)
  • Rafael Ramos (10-0) def. Filipe Esteves (7-1) via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 2:19
  • Kayan Kruschewsky (11-1) def. Junior Luiz (7-4) via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:02
  • Carlos Mota (6-0) def. Jefferson Oliveira (5-1) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Dayane Souza (8-1) def. Elaine Lopes (4-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:45
  • Carlos Leal (13-3) def. Diego Dias (13-4) via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:39 – welterweight tournament semifinal
  • Gabriel Bonfim (11-0) def. Brenner Alberth (8-1) via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:38 – welterweight tournament semifinal

DARK PRELIMS (Not broadcasted)

  • Quemuel Ottoni (10-3) def. Junior Marques (9-3) via unanimous decision – welterweight tournament alternate bout #1
  • Wendell Giacomo (9-2) def. Uryan Carlos (11-5) via unanimous decision – welterweight tournament alternate bout #2
  • Gabriel Alves Braga (6-0) def. Jonathan Cordeiro (5-2) via TKO (strikes)
  • Brena Cardozo (5-0) def. Vania Caceres (3-3) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=01eqvpqbw4ymnv0rjh image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]