To the Lima brothers, Douglas and Dhiego, fighting is just a way of life for them. At Friday nights MFC 27: Breaking Point both brothers showed the world that they are a force to be reckoned with.
Douglas earned a third round submission win over opponent Jesse Juarez to win the MFC welterweight title, earning him the “Submission of the Night” bonus awarded by president and owner Mark Pavelich. While his brother Dhiego, who took the fight on short notice, put away opponent Bill Fraser in the second with a 1-2 combo for the knockout win. The victory earned him the “Knockout of the Night” bonus.
The MMA News caught up with both brothers at the post fight press conference.
Douglas Lima (17-4) made his MFC debut in September at MFC 26 defeating Ryan Ford with an armbar submission to earn a shot at the MFC welterweight title. With the win over Juarez, he earns his fifth victory in a row and his eleventh win by submission.
Douglas Lima: “I expected the fight to stay standing up a little bit more, that’s what (Juarez) said he was going to do but the guy is a wrestler and that is what he has trained for his whole life. I couldn’t stop his takedowns for three rounds but I got the submission in the third.”
“Defending the belt is next for me. You’re not a real champion until you defend your title.”
“It doesn’t matter who is next, I’m a fighter and I’ll fight whoever they put in front of me.”
Dhiego Lima (4-0), the younger of the two, is undefeated in his professional career and is hoping to make a name for himself now that he’s shown the world what he can do. All of his professional fights have come in 2010, with three submission wins and Friday’s knockout of opponent Bill Fraser.
Dhiego Lima: “The fight (with Fraser) went down the way I thought it would. My brother said ‘I’ll get submission of the night, you get KO of the night,’ so I had to make sure I started out good.”
“In the first round I had to feel it out because I didn’t know much about him (Fraser). But I stuck it out and I saw it coming (the knockout), I was saving it. My corner kept saying 1-2, 1-2. But I was waiting for the right time and that is my signature punch. I was waiting for it, I wanted to get the KO.”
“My first three professional wins were all by submission. When I was an amateur all I did was knock people out.”
“I’m hoping the MFC gives me a call for my next fight because that’s all they gave me was a tough fight. I don’t want to go around looking for fights, I don’t want to fight chumps.”