Bobby Voelker kept his post-Octagon win streak alive, while Hugo Viana and Ildemar Alacantara returned to the regional circuit for the first time since being cut from the UFC.
Last weekend was a tough one for newly released UFC fighters, with both Hugo Viana and Ildemar Alcantara stumbling in their returns to the regional scene.
For former welterweight Alcantara (21-9, 4-3 UFC), the loss came by the hands of Frank Waisten, Jr. (7-0-0) in the headlining, heavyweight attraction of Belem, Brazil’s The King of the Jungle Championships 2.
Alcantara worked a familiar game to start the first, roughing up Waisten in the clinch before securing the trip takedown. On the ground, he methodically worked his way to mount while peppering Waisten with strikes. A stand-up was soon in the offing, however, and Waisten eagerly began shelling Alcantara with body kicks and haymakers. It was Alcantara, however, who landed the telling blow, flooring Waisten with a left in the round’s waining minutes and subsequently bombarding him with punches from guard.
Waisten remained undeterred, however, coming out from his corner throwing heat to open Round 2. The pair traded in the clinch and at range, with the natural heavyweight landing the more punishing blows. Alcantara found some respite with a takedown, but it was short-lived, and the pair was soon back to force-feeding each other knuckle sandwiches. Waisten evened the score with a knockdown of his own, but Alcantara appeared to recover well and continued to land strikes of his own. The unexpectedly thrilling bout ended on a curious note, however, after Waisten shoved his way out of the clinch. Alcantara, who appeared to be pushed to the mat rather than struck down, laid seemingly stunned. He did not return to his feet, and the referee waved off the fight.
Alcantara was released last summer on the heels of a grueling decision loss to Kevin Casey. This latest defeat makes for only the second time in ten years that he’s lost consecutive fights. For Waisten, Jr., all of his seven fights have ended with (T)KOs.
Check out Waisten, Jr. vs. Alcantara here. Action starts at 2:30. The video was, unfortunately, uploaded sideways, but otherwise it’s worth a watch.
Hugo Viana, meanwhile, slipped to 0-2 in the last two years following an upset decision loss to Zac Riley (3-3-0). The loss came as part of RFA 34 and represents the only time that Viana (8-4, 3-3 UFC), a semifinalist on the original TUF: Brazil, has been defeated outside the Octagon.
RFA 34 also played host to welterweight Brian Camozzi (5-2-0), younger brother of UFC middleweight Chris Camozzi. Camozzi submitted Tyler Milner (7-3-0) with a rear-naked choke ninety seconds into Round 1, making for three victories in a row–the longest win streak of his career so far. All of Camozzi’s wins have come by TKO or submission.
Also on the card, long-time middleweight Jeremy Kimball (12-5, 1-1 Bellator) made a successful jump up to light-heavyweight, besting Cody Mumma (8-2-0) by unanimous decision. Kimball has won two in a row and is 2-1 since last appearing in Bellator. Mumma, who fought and lost in the elimination round for TUF 19, sees a win streak close at three.
Another two TUF 19 veterans in John Poppie (6-2-0) and Adam Stroup (10-3-0) squared off in the co-main event, with Poppie (6-2-0) claiming a unanimous decision. Like Mumma, both Poppie and Stroup lost in the show’s opening round. Poppie is 4-1 since then, Stroup 5-2.
And in the night’s main event, yet another TUF 19 alum put in work, with Bojan Velickovic capturing the vacant RFA welterweight title thanks to a third-round guillotine of Ben Smith (15-4-0). Velickovic is 5-1 since his TUF loss to Tim Williams.
And in Shamrock FC’s latest headlining bout, Bobby Voelker (28-12, 0-4 UFC, 4-1 Strikeforce) continued his post-UFC string of success, out-dueling replacement opponent Raymond Gray (3-3-0) to a unanimous decision win. Voelker exited the UFC following a 2014 decision loss to Lance Benoist and is 4-0 since then.