SAO PAULO, Brazil — One of the best jiu-jitsu competitors of all times, Celso Venicius has added another win to his MMA record.
“Celsinho”, a three-time jiu-jitsu world champion as a black belt, took on Andre Souza at Talent MMA Circuit 7 co-main event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Saturday night, and needed one round to get the submission. Souza, a late-replacement for Junior Ribeiro, tapped to a north-south choke with 15 seconds left in the first round.
In the main event, Marcos dos Santos battled Joao Paulo Rodrigues for three rounds to claim the featherweight title. After two close rounds, dos Santos knocked Rodrigues down and kept the punishment to move to 21-11-1 with the TKO victory.
“It was a tough fight, a war, exactly as I wanted,” dos Santos said after the bout. “When they invited me to fight for the title, I asked for an opponent that would go to a war like I would. I’m in the best shape of my career.”
The bizarre moment of the night came from Armando “Polemico” Coelho. “Polemico”, which means controversial in Portuguese, clearly screamed when Salvador Minniti locked a keylock in the first round. Minniti immediately let go the arm, but Coelho told the referee he didn’t scream. The fight restarted, and Minniti needed less than a minute to take Coelho down and get the keylock again. This time he waited for the tap, and he got it with 2:24 of the first round.
Check below the Talent MMA Circuit 7 results:
Marcos dos Santos def. Joao Paulo Rodrigues via third-round TKO
Celso Venicius def. Andre Souza via first-round submission (north-south choke)
Eduardo Pamplona def. Federico Torres via first-round submission (arm-triangle choke)
Clecio Oliveira def. Udi Lima via first-round TKO
Kitner Moura def. Rodrigo de Souza via unanimous decision
Janio Rodrigues def. Jayme Barros via second-round TKO (retirement)
Edvaldo de Oliveira def. Everaldo Souza via second-round TKO
Salvador Minniti def. Armando Coelho via first-round submission (keylock)
Gabriel Checco def. Uryan Carlos via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Rafael Xavier def. Diogo Almeida via second-round TKO
Julio Gomes def. Sergio Ferreira via second-round TKO
Felipe Efrain def. Vinicius Moraes via first-round submission (anaconda choke)
Gabriel Maccario def. Marcial Robles via unanimous decision
Jungle Fight 67
Jungle Fight crowned a new bantamweight champion in Foz do Iguacu, Parana, but it came with some controversy.
Mario Israel put his title on the line against Jonas Bilharinho, and he dominated all three rounds of action. However, two judges scored it to Bilharinho, who became the new 135-pound champion.
“It was the best fight of the year,” Jungle fight promoter Wallid Ismail said after the fight. “I usually don’t do immediate rematches at Jungle, so I’ll give Mario Israel another fight and Jonas will defend the title. If they both win, they will fight again.”
JF 67 was also a special night for UFC welterweight Erick Silva, who watched his brothers Gabriel Silva and Bruno Silva win at Jungle Fight. Gabriel needed three rounds to defeat Willian Vogado via split decision, but Bruno took less than three minutes to tap Leandro Vasconcelos with an arm-triangle choke.
Check below the Jungle Fight 67 results:
Jonas Bilharinho def. Mario Israel via split decision
Fabian Quintanar def. Richard Godoy via split decision
Cezar Arzamendua def. Paulo Durao via first-round submission (guillotine choke)
Aldo Villalba def. Brandon Gushiken via second-round submission (guillotine choke)
Bruno Silva def. Leandro Vasconcelos via first-round submission (arm-triangle choke)
Gabriel Silva def. Willian Vogado via split decision
Fabian Armoa def. Edson da Silva via first-round TKO
XFC International 3
Xtreme Fighting Championships’ third trip to Brazil ended in devastating fashion in Sao Paulo, as Bellator veteran Luis Santos scored the 60th win of his professional MMA career with a third-round knockout, dropping Alfredo Morales with a front kick.
In the co-main event, Brazilian prospect Allan Nascimento defeated Matias Vasquez with a late third-round submission after two close rounds.
XFCi 3 also set the female strawweight tournament final, as Vanessa Melo and Vanessa Guimaraes defeated Gloria Bravo and Marcela Yineris in the semifinals with decision victories.
Check below the XFC International 3 results:
Luis Santos def. Alfredo Morales via third-round KO
Allan Nascimento def. Matias Vasquez via third-round submission (armbar)
Thiago Rela def. Julio Cesar Cruz via first-round submission (armbar)
Vanessa Melo def. Gloria Bravo via unanimous decision
Cristiano Frolich def. Juan Villanueva via first-round TKO
Miguel Gentilini def. Rosalio Medrano via second-round TKO
Alberto Uda def. Wendres da Silva via unanimous decision
Vanessa Guimaraes def. Marcela Yineris via split decision
Alan Salgado def. Lincoln Puig via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)