JARAGUA DO SUL, Brazil — Viscardi Andrade had the chance to finish the fight, and he missed it. Good for Nicholas Musoke, who came back after a terrible first round to get the win at UFC Fight Night 36 in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil.
Andrade rocked Musoke bad with a huge overhand early in the opening round on Saturday night, and raised his hands to celebrate as the Swede welterweight went down. He was down, but not out, and Andrade gave him extra few seconds to recover before jumping into his guard.
Andrade let Musoke recover, and he was well enough to win the fight.
“I felt something hit me. What it was, I can’t say,” Musoke told the media after the fight. “I remember lying on the floor, trying to find a way to get back and I’m happy that I did. All I remember is ‘keep fighting, keep fighting’. Honestly, I can’t remember seeing him celebrate.”
According to the Swede, he wasn’t into the fight when it started.
“I knew he had power in his hands,” he continued. “I could have been more ready when the referee said ‘go,’ judging by the way things went. I knew he had power, I knew I could outmatch him or outstrike him so I kept my composure.”
Musoke went back and controlled the action in the next couple rounds, getting the victory in the judges’ decision.
“He did a good job defending,” he said. “I tried to go for the choke several times. I tried to work the body triangle to flip him and flat him out to finish the fight, but he’s a jiu-jitsu black belt and proved it tonight.”
Musoke is now 2-0 under the UFC banner with a pair of wins over Viscardi Andrade and Alessio Sakara, but he’s not happy with how Andrade was able to rock him.
“I have to say (I’m disappointed),” he said. “I don’t know how he landed the punch, but of course it’s never a fighter’s plan to get hit that hard. But I have to look back to the fight.”