Dos Santos Training Partner ‘Lula’ Scores KO at WFE 9 in Brazil

Edinaldo Oliveira (left) took it to Edson Franca. | Photo: G. Venga/Sherdog.com

Following an exchange of polemical quotes and an entertaining moment during the weigh-ins when the shorter Conterraneo stood on a chair to look deep into his 6-foot-6 opponent’s eyes, those in attendance were rewarded with a fantastic display of combat arts.

Oliveira capitalized on his reach advantage on the feet and defended takedowns throughout the contest.

Lula trapped Conterraneo in a corner of the cage, where he punished his opponent with punches until referee Marcio Bittencourt stopped the duel with only three seconds remaining in the second frame.

“I worked really hard for this fight; I entered the [cage] very focused,” said Lula. “I trained a lot with Junior dos Santos, and if you train with a guy like that you feel like you can beat anyone.”

Looking forward to UFC 131 on June 11, when he’ll face Shane Carwin, dos Santos congratulated Lula immediately after the fight.

“He won a belt before me,” joked Cigano. “He works hard and you can see the results in the [cage]. He trains with tough guys and I’m sure he’ll have a brilliant future. He is undefeated and we’re looking for a spot in a major international event for him.”

G. Venga

Azevedo (right) and Braga drawed.

Azevedo used takedowns to score points in the judges eyes’ and executed a solid ground game, including a surge in the second round where he took Braga’s back and nearly finished the fight with a rear-naked choke.

His opponent, however, took control during the last five minutes and the judges ruled the contest a draw.

Azevedo was furious with the decision and refused to take part in an in-cage postfight interview. Braga talked after the fight and admitted he didn't perform well.

“He threw me down and got on the top, but I was looking to end the fight the whole time,” commented Braga. “I didn't fight well; it wasn't the way I wanted to fight, but it was the judges’ call and we had a great fight.”

Welterweight prospect “Zezao Trator”, a teammate of Lyoto Machida, made a statement with a second-round punch knockout of Andre “Chatuba” Santos.

“I'm very happy,” said Ribamar. “I trained to neutralize Chatuba's game and everything worked well.”

In other action; Bruno “Demente” Menezes scored a unanimous decision over Eduardo “Kiko” Felipe; Neilson Gomes outpointed Ciro “Bad Boy” Rodrigues by unanimous decision; Fernando “Zoio” Almeida punched Beto Ninja into submission with first-round punches at the 4:28 mark; Tiago Sartori tapped Altair Alencar with a rear-naked choke at 2:01 of round three; Hugo “Wolverine” Viana claimed a unanimous decision from Rafael Sobral; George “Samurai” Kleber bested Hengel Andrade by unanimous decision.