UFC on FX 8 results/photos: Nik Lentz grinds out win over Hacran Dias

JARAGUA DO SUL, Brazil – It might not get him prime placement on a pay-per-view, but Nik Lentz’s performance against Hacran Dias earned him a third consecutive win in the featherweight division.

Lentz smothered the Nova Uniao fighter in early rounds and survived a last-minute surge to take home a unanimous decision with a pair of 29-28 scores and a 29-27.

The featherweight bout was part of Saturday’s UFC on FX 8 event at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil. It aired with the FUEL TV prelims ahead of the FX-televised main card.

Early on, Lentz used the style that’s brought up so much success in the octagon, pressuring Dias and denying him the opportunity to set up with strikes. While Dias proved a tough customer to take down, he was forced to switch strategies and match Lentz in the grappling department. Lentz, though, wouldn’t allow him to achieve dominant position.

Lentz stuck with his winning approach in the second, grounding Dias early in the frame after landing a knee in the clinch and doling out elbows from top position. It didn’t prove to be crowd-friendly, but it scored points. Dias, who was warned between the first and second frames for grabbing the fence, continued to commit the rule infraction, though it was unclear whether he was actually penalized by referee Mario Yamasaki.

Dias pushed the pace early in the third, sending the audience into a frenzy by landing several punches in close as Lentz attempted to slow down the fight. Dias defended takedown attempts to land his own with ample time to work on the mat. He immediately put the position to the use when he sunk in an arm triangle choke that threatened to choke out Lentz, who gamely survived despite a noticeably lagging gas tank.

With less than two minutes left, Dias was the fresher man and had the chance to finish the fight. But he couldn’t submit Lentz on the mat, and couldn’t put Lentz out with a punch. Both men nonetheless raised their arms at the final bell.  

“This is my second win in Brazil, and this fight took a lot out of me,” Lentz said. “But I love coming to Brazil and hearing the crowd yelling at me. When he had that dangerous submission attempt, I had to be very careful, very patient and really wait for an opportunity.”  

“The first round was even, but in the second he unfortunately was able to impose his game,” Dias said. “It took me a while to get in the fight. It was in the third round, when I really listened to my cornermen, that I started doing well. The knee in the second round caught me, but it was very quick – not enough to rule me out. Now I’m going to go home, rest my head and work on my mistakes.”

Lentz (24-5-2 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC), who was virtually even with his Brazilian opponent in most betting lines, remains undefeated at 145 pounds following a 5-2-1 run at lightweight. Dias (21-2-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) suffers his first loss in the UFC and just his second loss professionally.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FX 8 results include:

• Nik Lentz def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (28-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Francisco Trinaldo def. Mike Rio via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:08
• Gleison Tibau def. John Cholish via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:34
• Paulo Thiago def. Michel Prazeres via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Yuri Alcantara def. Iliarde Santos via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:31
• Fabio Maldonado def. Roger Hollett via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-27)
• John Lineker def. Azamat Gashimov via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:07
• Jussier Formiga def. Chris Cariaso via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Lucas Martins def. Jeremy Larsen via KO (punch) – Round 3, 0:13

For the latest on UFC on FX 8, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Jaragua do Sul.