The Brazilians got off to a hot start at UFC 194 on Saturday.
Leonardo Santos (15-3, 1 NC) cashed in as the second biggest underdog on the stellar UFC 194 fight card.
Santos entered at plus-400 on the MGM Grand sportsbook, just behind plus-425 underdog Frankie Saenz.
Opposite of Santos in the cage was rising star Kevin Lee (11-2). He entered with all the hype following his four-fight win streak inside the Octagon. The young gun came in at minus-600, the biggest favorite on the card, as the lines closed.
Santos leveled Lee in the first round and finished with more strikes on the ground. His strike-heavy performance was a departure, as he is primarily a submission specialist. After the fight, Santos told Joe Rogan that he was thinking about the choke but kept up with the punishment he was already delivering.
Santos leaped from the cage and took off running in celebration. The big win on a big stage sent the adrenaline rushing through his body.
The next bout kept the night rolling for the Brazilians.
Warlley Alves (10-0) took out Colby Covington (8-1) in the first round as well. He did so with a guillotine despite his dangerous striking. Alves and Santos effectively switched roles for UFC 194.
Covington left his head out, and Alves tightened the guillotine quickly like a boa. The submission kept his record clean and will push him forward as one of the hottest prospects at welterweight, a division full of killers.
Alves made a mark in winning the third season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, and he continues onward with another outstanding performance.
Both Santos and Alves are making marks in their respective divisions as forces to be reckoned with, but only time will tell how far they can go in the deep waters of the UFC. If they accomplished nothing else, aside from getting win bonuses, they fired up the Brazilian contingent in the MGM Grand Garden Casino in the early stages of UFC 194 with two spectacular finishes.
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