Yuri Alcantara picked up a win in his featherweight debut by taking a solid unanimous decision victory over Felipe Arantes. The judges had it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28, all for Alcantara. Both men were making their UFC debuts. Alcantara showed off a well-rounded game by attacking well on the feet and getting timely takedowns to pick up the first two rounds by a wide margin. The third round was closer, but Alcantara scored more takedowns and controlled position for a larger portion of the round.
While it didn’t affect the outcome of the fight at all, there were some very quick standups by referee Mario Yamasaki that seemed more than a little strange. Arantes just couldn’t keep it standing long enough to do much with the restarts though. The fight was the second bout on the Facebook portion of the UFC 134 broadcast.
What was the high spot of this fight?
Nothing really stood out, other than maybe some of Alcantara’s ground and pound in the first round.
Where do these guys go from here?
Alcantara looks to be a solid prospect at featherweight and should face a stiffer test in his next bout. A matchup with former WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown would be a good test to see where he stands in the division.
If Arantes was a lightweight he would likely get released, but the UFC featherweight division isn’t that deep. He didn’t look that bad in the loss, and will likely have a future in the promotion. He’s still very young (23) and would likely get matched up against a debuting fighter in his next bout.
Watch it now, later, or never?
Later. It was similar to the first bout of the night – not great, but not terrible either. Alcantara looked pretty impressive though, and it might be worth a one-time viewing just to get a look at his game before he faces stiffer UFC competition.
More BE coverage of UFC 134 in the full entry.
Shogun Rua Proves He Can Still Be a Champion – Fraser Coffeen
The Biggest Winners and Losers on the Night – Matthew Roth
Anderson Silva Unmatched at Middleweight, Options Slim – Leland Roling
FightMetric Recap for Anderson Silva, Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson – Mike Fagan
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s Greatest Hits – Brent Brookhouse
Post-Fight Recap and Analysis – Mike Fagan
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami Fight Video Highlights – ESPN
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub Fight Video Highlights – ESPN
Bad Boy Presents Bloody Elbow Radio – UFC 134
Anderson Silva Wins Over Rio with Stoppage of Yushin Okami – Matthew Roth
Anderson Silva’s Brilliance and Other Post-Hangover Thoughts – Brent Brookhouse
Mauricio Rua Stops Forrest Griffin in Two Minutes – Matthew Roth
Edson Barboza Wins a Split Decision over Ross Pearson – Matthew Roth
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira With a Stunning Knockout of Brendan Schaub – Matthew Roth
UFC 134 Post-Fight Press Conference Updates – Tim Burke
Stanislav Nedkov Silences Brazilian Crowd with Knockout of Luis Cane – Matthew Roth
Thiago Tavares Ground and Pounds Spencer Fisher to a Second Round Stoppage – Matthew Roth
Rousimar Palhares Wins a Decision in a Strange But Great Fight With Dan Miller – Tim Burke
Paulo Thiago Takes a Dominant Decision Victory Over David Mitchell – Tim Burke
Raphael Assuncao Outworks Johnny Eduardo to Decision – Matthew Roth
Erick Silva Puts Luis Ramos to Sleep with a Massive Right – Matthew Roth
Yuri Alcantara Grapples Felipe Arantes to a Decision – Matthew Roth
Yves Jabouin Works Ian Loveland to a Split Decision – Matthew Roth
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