UFC Fight Night 100 results: Thomas Almeida crushes Albert Morales for second-round TKO

SAO PAULO – Thomas Almeida had little to gain and much to lose in his battle with Albert Morales, so he settled for the best possible outcome: a thrilling TKO victory.

The bantamweight bout was the co-main event of today’s UFC Fight Night 100 event at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo. It aired on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Morales (6-1-1 MMA, 0-1-1 UFC) looked to counterstrike early, but the shots from Almeida (21-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) came so quickly it was an almost impossible task. Morales adjusted by picking spots to throw kicks to the body and leg in an attempt to set up spacing and throw off Almeida’s timing.

With both men making adjustments to their striking game, a technical slugfest developed in the center of the octagon. A big right hand from Almeids stunned Morales. Almeida fired away with punches looking for the stoppage but Morales executed a desperation takedown and moved to the back where he failed to lock in a rear-naked choke before the fight broke down into a slugfest until the opening frame came to a close.

Almeida’s confidence was booming after rocking Morales multiple times in Round 1 and he opened Round 2 firing strikes from all angles. Morales was reeling around the cage as strikes continued to land. As Morales covered up, Almeida unloaded a violent flurry, capped by a crushing left to the body that dropped Morales and forced the stoppage at the 1:37 mark of Round 2.

Almeida rebounded from a loss – the first of his career – in his most recent bout, a knockout at the hands of Cody Garbrandt.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 100 results include:

• Thomas Almeida def. Albert Morales via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:37
• Claudia Gadelha def. Cortney Casey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Krzysztof Jotko def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Kamaru Usman def. Warlley Alves via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 29-28)
• Sergio Moraes def. Zak Ottow via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 27-30)
• Cezar Ferreira def. Jack Hermansson via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 2, 2:11
• Gadzhimurad Antigulov def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:07
• Johnny Eduardo def. Manny Gamburyan via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 0:46
• Luis Henrique def. Christian Colombo via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 2:12
• Pedro Munhoz def. Justin Scoggins via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 1:55
• Darren Stewart def. Francimar Barroso via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:34

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 100, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Fernanda Prates contributed to this report on site in Sao Paulo.)