UFC on FOX 27 went down tonight (Saturday, January 27, 2018) from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The night was headlined by a middleweight contender matchup between former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and hometown hero Derek Brunson. The tilt was a rematch of their 2012 in Strikeforce, which the Brazilian won by knockout in less than a minute.
It took a little bit longer this time, but the result was the same. Brunson flurried with power punches after a feeling out process, but Jacare blocked most of it while delivering counter hooks. Surprisingly, it was not another counter hook on the defensively open Brunson that ended. After another exchange, the Brazilian uncorked a head kick that, even partially blocked, badly stunned Brunson. Jacare calmly walked forward and delivered the fight-ending follow-up blows, earning a second first-round finish over the North Carolinian.
The co-headliner was an action fight between exciting featherweight scrappers Dennis Bermudez and Andre Fili. The action was close throughout, with Fili surprisingly getting the better of the wrestling. He was unable to hold Bermudez down for any length of time, however, and the two peppered each other with punches and kicks for 15 minutes. Bermudez leaned on leg kicks while Fili tagged the oncoming Long Islander with punches. In the end, “Touchy” Fili pulled out a contentious split decision victory.
See how Twitter reacted to these bouts below:
I'm always watching. Call me @danawhite . I'm not scared #3 pic.twitter.com/xHGVPrfPlV
— Chris Camozzi (@ChrisCamozzi) January 28, 2018
Prime Jacare is a nightmarish style matchup for Brunson but he's not prime anymore. Old, athletically regressed, many injuries lately, bad chin, etc.
Question here is has he regressed to the point that he loses a great style matchup for him. Real possibility. #UFCCharlotte pic.twitter.com/G5E1Diptbn
— Luca Fury (@FurysFightPicks) January 28, 2018
Jacare has more ways to win this, which is why I'm picking him. Plain and simple.
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) January 28, 2018
#UFCCharlotte pic.twitter.com/qmzJ3tNGLs
— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) January 28, 2018
I'm taking Brunson solely as a chaos pick. #UFCFightThing
— Derek (@ricketyoldshack) January 28, 2018
Crowd booing Jacare… just unleash him on the crowd after he starches Brunson. Humble them. #UFCCharlotte
— Ross Kingsbury (@DownedOpponent) January 28, 2018
This match is already really fucking awesome
— Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) January 28, 2018
Soaking it in. #UFCCharlotte pic.twitter.com/qf52jbvYi0
— UFC (@ufc) January 28, 2018
When the Lean kicks in at the worst possible time: #UFCCharlotte pic.twitter.com/R5bEhkpGd4
— Mike Fridley (@mikefridley) January 28, 2018
Watching that fight there shows me that Brunson really has not learned from their first encounter striking defence all over the place and just waiting to be hit with a big shot. #UFCCharlotte
— Will Martin
(@WillMartinMMA) January 28, 2018
(@WillMartinMMA) George Foreman vibes. https://t.co/Q6SROSqt6A
— White Roy Nelson (@BoxingBusch) January 28, 2018
Awesome kick @ronaldojacare Congrats Way to gets the win!
— Roy Nelson (@roynelsonmma) January 28, 2018
.. Tonight 
Best part of that finishing sequence: After Jacare stuns Brunson with the kick, he calmly strolls over to finish the job like a guy who just raked his yard but spotted one last leaf still blowing around out there.
— Chad Dundas (@chaddundas) January 28, 2018
The quiet, measured dedication of a guy who has one last corner of the patio to power-wash, but there's no hurry; it's not going anywhere.
— Patrick Wyman (@Patrick_Wyman) January 28, 2018
Say it ain't Souza
— Suzanne Davis (@SoozieCuzie) January 28, 2018
— Spilled Bag of Ice (@spilledbagofice) January 28, 2018
Ready to see some real macho men duke it out … blood spraying
— Joseph Benavidez (@JoeJitsu) January 28, 2018
Bermudez fights are always like this. Relentless pressure, never fades, but can't quite connect consistently enough to dominate when facing a well-rounded foe
— Andrew Pearson (@Vorpality) January 28, 2018
Not “a robbery” but really thought Bermudez won that fight. Weird scorecards tonight. #UFCCharlotte
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) January 28, 2018
Robbery? Andre @TouchyFili was awarded a narrow split-decision over Dennis Bermudez in tonight's co-main event – How'd you score it? #UFCCharlotte
Full fight recap: https://t.co/itNHbXuPJg pic.twitter.com/krJukozg03
— MMAjunkie (@MMAjunkie) January 28, 2018
Wow, Bermudez takes his third loss in a row. Split decision loss to Andre Fili. Per Fightmetric, Fili was out-struck 130 to 74.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) January 28, 2018
The post Twitter Reacts To Jacare’s Latest Knockout Of Derek Brunson appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.