BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil — Ivan “Batman” Jorge wasn’t impressive in his UFC debut on Wednesday, but he did enough to defeat Keith Wisniewski via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 28 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Used to fight at the lightweight division, the 25-3 Brazilian accepted to replace Marcelo Guimaraes on short notice at 170 pounds, and came out with the win on Wednesday. It was his seventh victory in a row.
“I’m happy that I had my first UFC fight at welterweight at 15 days’ notice, and that I managed to win the fight,” Jorge said after the bout. “But I hope to fight at lightweight next. That’s my division, and fighting at 170 was a little complicated for me.”
Jorge’s nickname doesn’t mean he’s a fan of Bruce Wayne’s alter ego. He was so tiny and skinny when he was younger that his friends said he looked like a little bat, and his first UFC win made him think he was as powerful as the superhero.
“I felt like a Brazilian superhero, the Brazilian Batman,” he said. “They called me with 15 days’ notice and I accepted it, showed my work. But I wanted to show more. I felt he was stronger and heavier than me. If I have fought him at 155, I would have taken him down more easily. I attacked him all the time, looked for the takedown. He didn’t offer me any danger in this fight.”
After racking up 13 submissions in 24 professional wins in the regional circuit, Jorge signed with the UFC after winning the Jungle Fight lightweight championship, following five consecutive victories via rear-naked choke.
“It all happened in the right time,” he said. “I worked on my stand up game so much and people saw this in this fight. In all my fights in Brazil, I took people down and finished quickly, but now I showed I can fight standing too.”