Rony Mariano Bezerra Defeats Godofredo Pepey To Become First Brazilian Winner Of TUF

Rony Mariano Bezerra, aka ‘Jason’ became the first Brazilian winner of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ tonight with a unanimous decision win over Godofredo Pepey.

Both men were swinging for the fences early in this fight, throwing caution to the wind.

Not for long though as Pepey then switched things up by pulling guard on Bezerra. He then started working for a kimura from his back, but Bezerra stayed strong and he had to let it go. The action then stalled and the referee stood them back up.

Bezerra then leapt up with a flying knee strike as Pepey came forward, but it was only a glancing blow. He tried to follow it up with more strikes, but Pepey leapt up and again pulled guard on him. He wasn’t able to make use of the position though and the round drew to a close.

The second round started slowly with neither man really making much of an impact in the striking. Then Pepey went back to his default move in this fight so far – pulling guard. Again he did absolutely nothing from his back though and so before long the referee had to stand them up again.

The action heats up for a brief moment as both men trade wild haymakers in close, but nothing substantial lands other than one right hand from Bezerra. They continue to strike in the final minute of the round and Bezerra lands a nice leaping left hand before missing with a wheel kick.

Into the final round and Pepey finally pays for his wild striking style as Bezerra times him with a nice right hook counter that buckles his legs. He seems to recover quickly though and the fight continues.

Bezerra connects with an overhand right, but gets a kick in the nuts in return which forces a brief stoppage.

You’d think Pepey would be showing more urgency at this stage, but he seems to be a little devoid of ideas and that point is punctuated by him trying another guard pull and failing which leaves him flat on his back with Bezerra towering over him.

Bezerra doesn’t make him pay for it though and they are stood back up again. As they exchange again Bezerra suffers another grazing blow to his groin and that forces a longer stoppage, but Pepey is given only a warning.

Pepey throws some more leg kicks as the final seconds tick down, with the fight ending with one last scramble on the ground before the buzzer sounds. The two fighters get into a little confrontation at that point, but are quickly split up.

So it’s on to the decision to find out who becomes the first ever TUF: Brazil winner and it’s Bezerra who’s given the nod unanimously, 29-28 x3.

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