Marcos Rogerio de Lima tenderized Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s calf for three rounds tonight at UFC Fight Night 223 on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
Round One:
Calf kick from Lima and then chops away at again. Now he lands to the body. Lima firing off punches to the head now, but then Cortes-Acosta lands a straight of his own that backs him up.
Lima back to the leg kick as Cortes-Acosta tries to grab it. Again he lands the calf kick and Cortes-Acosta punches to the body and stumbles from that kick.
Another powerful leg kick from Lima and Cortes-Acosta is being troubled by these. Into the clinch and Lima lands a takedown.
Cortes-Acosta turtles on the mat parallel to the cage with Lima leaning heavily on him. Cortes-Acosta looking to stand and Lima chips away with punches.
Cortes-Acosta is up though and back to striking range. Lima right back to the calf kick. He lands it again. Right hand from Cortes-Acosta.
Cortes-Acosta works into the clinch and presses Lima into the cage. He lands a couple of hard knees to the inner thigh.
Lima turns into him and then they break free. left hook lands for Lima. Now a leg kick from him. Jab from Cortes-Acosta and a calf kick from Lima. Another calf kick. Cortes-Acosta with a spinning kick to the body.
Lima drives into the clinch against the cage and that’s where the round ends.
Round Two:
Inside low kick from Cortes-Acosta. Leg kick for Lima. Now a left hook from Lima. Again Lima grazes the chin with a left hook. Now back to the calf kick. Another calf kick and Cortes-Acosta’s leg buckled for a moment.
Cortes-Acosta loads up on a punch, but Lima counters with an uppercut. Another calf kick for Lima. he lands a punch to the body too.
Lima drives into a takedown attempt against the cage and dumps him to the mat. He’s in half-guard and looking to pass to mount as Cortes-Acosta attempts a kimura, then gives up on it.
Cortes-Acosta scrambles back upright, but Lima still has a hold of him against the cage. Nice trip takedown to get the action back to the mat.
Lima taking the back now and trying to sink in a rear-naked choke, but he’s too high up and slips off the back.
They go back to the feet throwing punches. Lima throws a kick and it’s checked and now Cortes-Acosta lands a punch. Lima attempting to get a takedown against the cage, but not able to get it done this time. Cortes-Acosta throws a final strike as they break just before the round ends.
Round Three:
Jab for Cortes-Acosta. Now a slapping punch. Calf kick for Lima. Cortes-Acosta attempts a calf kick of his own. He goes for that again, but he doesn’t have the same technique and power as Lima.
Inside calf kick for Lima now. Spinning back kick to the body from Cortes-Acosta. Jab for him. Punch from Cortes-Acosta and Lima counters with a calf kick.
Lima lands the calf kick again and Cortes-Acosta stopped moving for a split-second, but then gets back to it, showing his toughness. He feels out with the jab.
Body punch from Cortes-Acosta. Calf kick for Lima. Right hand for him. Short flurry from Cortes-Acosta comes off the guard.
Lima’s work-rate has slowed. Punch for Cortes-Acosta. He lands the jab again. Lima misses a hook. Lima drives in for a takedown against the cage in the final minute. Cortes-Acosta defending it for now and then breaks free.
A couple of right hand land for Cortes-Acosta. Lima lands the calf kick and he staggers but then catches his balance. Right hand for Cortes-Acosta in the final second.
Decision:
De Lima’s powerful calf kicks were landing all fight long here and he landed some takedowns along the way too as he controlled the action in the first two rounds, though Cortes-Acosta showed his toughness to hang on in there and try to battle back in the third round. De Lima is the rightful winner though by unanimous decision (29-28 x3).
