Shooto Brazil 54 aired live on UFC Fight Pass for the first time on Sunday night, and featured two Octagon veterans on the main card at Rio de Janeiro’s Hebraica Club.
Luiz Cane, who fought for the UFC from 2007 to 2012, dispatched Felipe Silva in 49 seconds. Silva, who took the fight on a week’s notice, was knocked down early in the bout after eating a left hand. “Banha” kept working on the ground and pound until the referee waved off the fight.
“The next step is to get back in the gym on Monday and train hard to help my friends that will fight,” said Cane, who improved to 4-1 since his UFC release. “My focus is to sign an international contract. There are other promotions that compete with the UFC at the highest level today, and that’s my goal. I want to fight in big promotions.”
In the co-main event, Shooto Brazil lightweight champion Ronys Torres faced Benito Tavares in a non-title 160-pound catchweight. Returning from a long layoff due to a facial surgery, the 28-year-old fighter controlled the bout to win via unanimous decision, improving to 15-2 since leaving the UFC in 2010.
“I was out for more than a year, I was really insecure about my face, but imposed my ground game and won all three rounds,” Torres said after the win. “I believe this time off was an issue. I’m negotiating with a promotion in Portugal, to fight in June, and then I’ll put my Shooto Brazil lightweight title on the line.”
In the main event, 23-year-old Felipe Froes captured the vacant featherweight championship with a unanimous decision victory over Thiago Silva.
Check below the complete results of Shooto Brazil 54:
Felipe Froes def. Thiago Silva via unanimous decision
Ronys Torres def. Benito Tavares via unanimous decision
Luiz Banha def. Felipe Silva via TKO (R1, 0:49)
Guilherme Leonardo def. Julio Cesar Moraes via unanimous decision
Alex ‘Trem Bala’ def. Felipe Colen via unanimous decision
Francivaldo Soares def. Ivan Paiva via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1, 3:31)
Elves Oliveira def. Carlos Eduardo via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1, 3:08)
Guilherme Doin def. Denilson Oliveira via split decision
Matheus Naccache def. Almir de Oliveira via TKO (retirement) (R2, 3:02)