The UFC's return to Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night opened with eight preliminary bouts, each featuring a Brazilian fighter on one side of the cage and a fighter not from the card's host country standing across the Octagon.
Sao Paulo's Markuz Perez got the night off to a good start for the crowd, rebounding from a loss in his UFC debut to grab the fourth submission win of his career in the final minute of the first round against American middleweight James Bochnovic, via a tight rear-naked choke.
THERE'S THE TAP❗️Perez starts the night off STRONG for Brazil. #UFC224 pic.twitter.com/Ntcf27EFJ8
— UFC (@ufc) May 12, 2018
Next up, Russian welterweight Ramazan Emeev silenced the crowd by defeating Alberto Mina by unanimous decision for his sixth straight win. Swedish middleweight Jack Hermansson did more of the same, notching a TKO win over veteran Thales Leites after appearing to suffer a knee injury in the second round, and admitting afterward that he broke a rib as well.
WHAT. A. COMEBACK.@JackTheJokerMMA #UFC224 pic.twitter.com/Xcg3ydPWxD
— UFC (@ufc) May 12, 2018
Warlley Alves ended the UFC Fight Pass prelims on a high note for the Brazilian faithful, earning a TKO win via doctor's stoppage against Sultan Aliev due to a badly injured eye to give the Brazilians a 2-2 record through the first third of the card.
The second half of prelims started with Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos landing a perfectly-timed head kick on Sean Strickland to set up an exciting TKO, which put the Brazilians up 3-2. The win was Zaleski dos Santos' fifth straight, giving him the third-longest active streak among UFC welterweights.
Oh My God!! What a spinning kick by Dos Santos #UFC224 pic.twitter.com/5XOo9MJlhv
— '03 Kliff Kingsbury (@fearthe_beard11) May 13, 2018
Fighting in his hometown, lightweight Davi Ramos got the biggest cheer of the early fights when he forced Nick Hein to tap with a rear-naked choke in the first round.
In the only heavyweight bout of the night, Junior Albini disappointed the fans by getting submitted by 40-year-old Aleksei Oleinik via the Ezekiel choke after less than two minutes into the opening round. It was the eleventh time in the Russian veteran's career he has used the choke to win a fight and is the only UFC fighter to succeed with it.
Aleksei Oleinik finishes the fight with yet another Ezekiel choke. pic.twitter.com/UambFMvU57
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) May 13, 2018
The prelim finale saw former TUF Brazil winner Cezar Ferreira use an arm triangle to put Karl Roberson to sleep with another first-round finish - the fifth bout of the night to end in the opening five minutes - and give the Brazilians a winning 5-3 record through the UFC 224 prelims.
