Rain Falls on Jungle Fight 17; ‘Mondragon’ Loses

VILA VELHA, Brazil -- Jungle Fight 17 entered the history books Saturday as one of the wettest MMA events in history.

The sun had shined all day long, but less than one hour before the show, which was held outside at Costa Beach, rain started to fall and never stopped. Promoter Wallid Ismail decided to go ahead with the event, and almost 2,000 fans were admitted for free and stayed until the last fight.

In the main event, Edson Conterraneo upset Geronimo “Mondragon” dos Santos in a heavyweight bout. The much smaller Conterraneo, a BJJ black belt, attacked Mondragon’s legs from the opening bell and took him down three times in the first round. Mondragon worked back to his feet each time but wore down quickly.

In the second round, Conterraneo employed the same strategy. Mondragon continued to tire, and he made a mistake late in the period while sprawling that allowed Conterraneo to take his back. Conterraneo then punched from the back until Mondragon was forced to surrender.

Renan Barao, one of the best featherweights in Brazil, opened the night by dominating the dangerous Sergio Bomba for a unanimous decision.

“Because the ring was not slippery, I didn’t feel any difference,” said Barão, who is undefeated in his last 26 fights.

All five of the fighters Sherdog.com spoke to after the event -- including winners and losers -- echoed Barão, saying that the ring was not slippery and the rain did not affect them.

Carina and Rodrigo Damm were also victorious on the card. Carina stopped Aline Serio in the first round with punches from the mount, and Rodrigo had a tougher fight against the Peruvian Ivan Iberico. The fight was equal until the third round, when Damm scored a knockdown to secure a unanimous decision.

“As we promised, we made history,” Ismail said after the event. “It was the first MMA event on the beach, fought in the rain and broadcast live to all of the country.”

Ismail also said he will promote one Jungle Fight event per month this year, with the March edition taking place in São Paulo.

Other Results:
Marcelo Guimaraes def. Gilmar de Andrade -- Unanimous Decision
Jorjao Rodrigues def. Roy Parete -- Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) R2
Erick Silva vs. Henrique Negao -- No Contest