Yahoo Sports UFC Fight Night 67 Results: Jussier Formiga Coasts to Victory Over Wilson Reis
Much like the UFC Fight Night 67 main event between Carlos Condit and Thiago Alves, flyweights Jussier Formiga and Wilson Reis entered the Octagon in Goiania, Brazil, on Saturday night trying to make an argument for title contention.
Formiga entered the fight ranked as the UFC's No. 4 125-pounder, while Reis was ranked No. 12.
Both men are Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts, but it was Formiga that took control of the fight early with his much-improved striking game. Reis was aggressive, consistently attacking and trying to strike with Formiga, but Formiga was much cleaner, continually landing the counter right hand.
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What really set the fight apart for Formiga, in addition to out-striking his opponent, was that he dropped Reis at the beginning of round two. He followed Reis to the canvas and took his back. Although he couldn’t find a way to finish the fight, it certainly left an indelible impression that he was mostly in control of the fight.
He seemed to realize as much heading into the final frame, as he went completely on the defensive, sprawling Reis’ takedown attempts and holding tight, rarely venturing to throw a punch or attempt a takedown of his own.
Formiga tried to steal the third round in the waning seconds. He put Reis on the canvas, took his back and locked on a body triangle, winging punches at Reis’ head until the horn sounded.
The judges awarded Formiga a unanimous decision, all three scoring it 29-28.
It was a solid performance, but having pulled his foot off the gas pedal in the final round did little to boost Formiga’s chances of skipping past Joseph Benavidez or John Dodson in his hopes to get a shot at UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. Benavidez and Dodson are both coming off of recent victories of their own and both sit higher in the rankings than Formiga.
The victory does, however, put Formiga on a three-fight winning streak, and keeps his name in the title talk mix.
