UFC Belem prelims results & highlights: Moraes squeaks by Means, Alcantara stops Soto

On the UFC Belem prelims, Tim Means and Sergio Moraes waged some serious war in a technical brawl that excited the Brazilian crowd. When the dust settled, it was Moraes who earned the nod, but Means should hold his head high as there really was no loser in this fight. Alan Patrick picked up several takedowns, rinsing and repeating for three rounds to earn a dominant unanimous decision over Damir Hadzovic. In a battle of UFC strawweight newcomers, Polyana Viana put on a grappling clinic against Maia Stevenson, finding the 1st round Rear-Naked Choke in just under four minutes.

Iuri Alcantara electrified the Brazilian crowd with an incredible 1st round TKO of Soto in just 1:06 into the opening round. Coming in 13-0, Deiveson Figueiredo preserved his undefeated record with a dominant performance over Joseph Morales, sealing the deal with a 2nd round TKO to open up UFC Belem.

FS1 Prelims:

Sergio Moraes def. Tim Means by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29) : Welterweight

Moraes pulled guard on his foe right away, but was unable to mount any sort of offense before Means made it back too his feet. The unorthodox punching of Moraes proved to be effective in the opening round, as Means was getting tagged whenever he entered the pocket.

Means continued to get met with angry flurries into the 2nd round, as he entered into the pocket, but started to get off a bit with his straight punches. The action was back and forth with each welterweight landing solid shots, but neither man scoring big enough to clearly sway the round in their favor.

The action picked right back up where it left off as the warriors met in the center of the cage to open the final frame. It was the wide punches of Moraes against the straights of Means. The cardio edge seemed to be on the side of Means with Moraes fading down the stretch. Means landed a stinging shot that sent Moraes to ground, but allowed his foe to get back up so that they could slug it out for final 10 seconds. What a fight!

Ya gotta love the effort put forth by both men:

Moraes is fighting Means mean:

How about Moraes and Means exchanging in the pocket:

Alan Patrick def. Damir Hadzovic by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 30-25): Lightweight

Patrick found top position off of a knee attempt from his opponent, but Hadzovic quickly returned to his feet. Hadzovic hit the mat again after eating a few punches, but threatened with an Armbar, albeit unsuccessfully. Although Hadzovic returned to his feet, he struggled to stay there as Patrick picked up quite a few takedowns in the opening round. Patrick earned an early takedown to open up the 2nd frame, before transitioning to the back for the basically the entire round. Patrick found another takedown inside of the 1st minute of the final round, and again Hadzovic was unable to do much from his back. When Hadzovic did manage to make it back to his feet, Patrick was right there to score another takedown.

The takedowns were there all night for Patrick:

Polyana Viana def. Maia Stevenson by Submission (RNC) at 3:50 of round 1: Strawweight

Stevenson picked up an early takedown and was instantly in danger from the submission threats of Viana. Stevenson hung tough and escaped a really close Armbar attempt, but Viana was still all over her. Viana worked smoothly transitioned to the back of her opponent and cinched up a mean RNC to achieve the tap.

Polyana Viana is no stranger to Sub City:

Iuri Alcantara def. Joe Soto by TKO at 1:06 of round 1: Bantamweight

Alcantara came out launching body kicks, hurting opponent before unleashing a violent flurry of punches and elbows that dropped Soto. The fight probably could have been stopped there, but the referee allowed the bout to continue, and Alcantara continued to assault Soto until the official had finally seen enough. What a performance!

Check out Alcantara turning up for the Brazilian crowd with this brutal finishing sequence:

Fight Pass Card:

Deiveson Figueiredo def. Joseph Morales by TKO at 4:34 of round 2 : Flyweight

Figueiredo found top position after an early takedown and kept his opponent on his back for the bulk of the round, even though Morales did a sound job of avoiding much damage. After a referee standup, Figueiredo dropped his foe with a stiff jab, and followed Morales to ground to finish the round on top.

Figueiredo came out aggressive to start the 2nd stanza, landing crafty punches to put his opponent on the back foot before finding top position yet again. Morales returned to his feet to land a few clean counters, but Figueiredo caught him slipping with a clipping left hand, sending Morales stumbling to the canvas. Relentless ground and pound forced the referee to step in and rescue Morales from the onslaught of Figueiredo.

Check out Figueiredo showcasing his power in the flyweight division:

Don’t sleep on the jab or you might sleep on a jab: