Rinat Fakhretdinov, ‘Capoeira’ Fight to Draw in UFC Sao Paulo Featured Prelim Bout

What a battle! ⚔️

The judges have called this fight a majority draw.#UFCSP pic.twitter.com/UpfbiGfQhW

— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2023

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos was a follow-up punch or two away from pulling off one of the biggest comebacks of the year.

Dropped in the opening minute by the heavy-handed welterweight Rinat Fakhretdinov, dos Santos ate overhand rights from the Russian like they were free samples at UFC Fight Night 231.

Fakhretdinov, who entered the fight on a 20-bout win streak, fell in love with his fist and went away from his wrestling background in Round 2. This allowed dos Santos enough time to find and home for his snapping lead body kick.

Tired and tender heading into Round 3, Fakhretdinov succumbed under the assault of dos Santos’ body attack and was nearly finished before being saved by the bell. Two judges scored the third round 10-8 for dos Santos and the war was ultimately scored a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28).

Undefeated light heavyweight Vitor Petrino turned everyone’s head -- but most notably Modestas Bukauskas’ -- with a show-stopping left hook in the second round (1:03).

Petrino (10-0, 3-0 UFC) finished his last fight via submission but showed off his wrestling with a thunderous powerbomb in Round 1. Bukauskas (15-5), looking to preserve his four-fight win streak, tried to open up in the second stanza and catch Petrino off guard with a long lead left hook but Petrino was too quick. “Cabuloso” caught Bakauskas with a short left hook that swiftly ended the Baltic Gladiator’s night.

With the win, Petrino notched his seventh career knockout.

Related » UFC Sao Paulo Round-by-Round Scoring

Angela Hill (16-13) has been a thorn in the foot of aspiring UFC prospects for years and Denise Gomes was the latest to find out the hard way.

Hill, outworked, outwrestled and outstruck Gomes en route to a unanimous decision win (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in their strawweight matchup.

Gomes (8-2) nearly closed the show late in Round 1 after catching Hill in a deep armbar attempt. Hill escaped and stayed out of trouble the rest of the right while still recording five takedowns and over four minutes of ground control time.

On the feet, Hill pieced up Gomes with quick flurries and hard knees. Always a tough out, the No. 12 ranked Hill looked better than ever and could look to make her way back up the rankings in her next outing.

Eduarda Moura (10-0, 1-0 UFC) was overweight by nearly five pounds (119.5) for her UFC debut against Montserrat Ruiz but was impressive throughout her first promotional win.

Moura rag-dolled Ruiz for the first five minutes before eventually pummeling her overmatched foe into a second-round finish (2:14). Moura was a step ahead on the ground all fight and effortlessly bashed Ruiz with elbows and lunch before referee Joao Claudio Soares was forced to intervene.

Kaue Fernandes hoped to electrify his countrymen in his UFC debut but was neutralized by savvy vet Marc Diakiese.

Diakiese (17-7) rebounded from a two-fight losing streak by controlling the debutant on the ground en route to a split decision win (29-28, 28-29, 30-27).

Fernandes (8-2) came into their lightweight clash with back-to-back first-round knockouts, but “Bonecrusher” took him down each round and landed enough ground and pound to carry the fight. The Brazilian fan base grew restless with Diakiese’s style but Fernandes had no answer. It was a frustrating debut for the 28-year-old, but a fighter the caliber of Diakiese was bound to test the holes in his game.