UFC on FX 8 results/photos: Gas tank gets Rafael Natal past Joao Zeferino

JARAGUA DO SUL, Brazil – Joao Zeferino may have some power. Now he may want to look into his cardio.

The UFC newcomer landed some heavy punches, but it was Rafael Natal who was able to weather the early storm and come out on top with a unanimous decision win when Zeferino faded in the second round. Natal won by a pair of 29-28 scores and a 30-27.

The middleweight bout was part of Saturday’s UFC on FX 8 event at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil. It aired on the FX-televised main card following prelims on FX and Facebook.

Zeferino landed a big right hand that stunned Natal early in the first round, but Natal worked through it. Zeferino fired off two more right hands, then a big head kick. Zeferino stayed strong in the standup, even wobbling Natal. But when Natal went for a trip takedown, it was Zeferino who briefly was on top before the two took turns working for foot locks from the 50-50 guard, where they stayed for most of the remainder of the round until they were stood up.

The pace was slow for the first minute of the second before Zeferino landed a nice takedown – though Natal quickly was back to his feet. Halfway through the round, Zeferino shot for a double-leg takedown, but he bailed on it quickly – visibly tired. Natal looked the fresher fighter and tried to take advantage. But Zeferino landed a nice right counter, showing he still had some power left, even if he didn’t have much gas in the tank. With 90 seconds left, Zeferino threw a spinning fist, but then flopped right to his back into guard. Natal followed him down and landed some good punches on top.

Zeferino landed a right hand early in the third. When he landed, they were good shots. But the gas tank proved to be an issue. Natal landed a flurry a minute into the frame, but Zeferino landed another right hand. Natal missed a side kick and Zeferino tried to take advantage with a takedown. But his energy level wouldn’t let him and Natal turned it around to a takedown of his own into half-guard midway through the round. Natal got to full mount late in the round and tried to pound Zeferino out. The newcomer survived the frame, but certainly not enough to get his hand raised.

“I know I had said before that the change of opponent wouldn’t make a difference, but I had to change a lot in my strategy,” Natal said. “I was supposed to fight a taller southpaw, and then it changed completely. However, I knew that being called in, in such short notice, he wouldn’t have enough time to get in shape, so I thought that although I lost the first round I was going to get the second and third, and that’s what happened.” 

“It was very moving to fight at home, but I’m not going to make any excuses,” Zeferino said. “I did my best, but he was better than me and deserved the win. Now I’ll keep on going and I hope to keep fighting in the UFC.”

Natal (16-4-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) won for the second straight time and fourth time in five bouts. Zeferino (13-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had a seven-fight win streak snapped in his UFC debut.

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

• Rafael Natal def. Joao Zeferino via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
• Nik Lentz def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 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.