Felipe dos Santos

Felipe dos Santos vs. Andre Lima
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Lima (-180), dos Santos (+150)

Round 1
Two promising young flyweights will try to take that next step to put their name in the large hat of contenders in the talent-rich division. Out of the vaunted Chute Boxe Diego Lima camp, dos Santos (8-1, 1 NC; 1-1 UFC) has his hair dyed in the customary blonde for the team and is ready for blood. Fellow countryman Lima (9-0, 2-0 UFC), who sports a neat hat walking to the cage, will be standing in his way putting his unbeaten record on the line. Referee Chris Tognoni will do his best to keep up with the two speedsters, and he clocks them in as they clap hands. Lima takes center stage and switches stances, and he hops back from a front kick aimed at his chest. Dos Santos aims kick to the side, and he lets fly three more kicks to varied targets before jumping in with a jab. Lima scores with a low kick but immediately has to deal with a counter body kick, and he dings his countryman with a left hand. Lima thumps a kick down low, and he scores an overhand right. As he backs off, he signals that he was poked in the eye. Tognoni sees it and calls time, telling Lima to take his time to recover and not hurry things. Tognoni tells dos Santos to be careful, and after 40 seconds, Lima is good to go. They resume where they left off, with Lima slowly advancing while working the front leg with a kick. Dos Santos darts in, misses, whiffs with a wheel kick and counters a right hand with his own right hook. Lima misses with a low kick, and he sees a front kick brush off his chest. Lima stalks his foe down and wings an elbow, and dos Santos ducks and ties him up while looking for a single. Lima leans back from a head kick, and he lines up a left hand while simultaneously dodging a spinning elbow. Lima’s flexibility is solid as he bends his back to dodge strikes, and he stomps out with a kick to the knee. Lima skirts away from the offense flying his way, seeing it coming while working his own weapons. A leg kick from Lima forces dos Santos to lift his limb up several times preemptively, and dos Santos spins with a back kick that bounces off the guard. As they scramble, dos Santos grabs hold of Lima from behind and trips him to the ground. Lima grabs the fence when standing up, and dos Santos is unable to mat return him due to the foul. Dos Santos leans and knees his opponent in the thigh, and he lifts Lima up a few times to chuck him to the floor. Lima slides out the back door after the second slam, where he twists around to claim top position and assume half guard. Dos Santos works to his feet, and Tognoni warns Lima to stop grabbing the cage. Dos Santos blasts Lima with a spinning elbow, and they both fall to the floor as time expires.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Lima
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Lima
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 dos Santos

Round 2
The Brazilians are primed and ready to brawl, with dos Santos letting kicks go when not throwing hands, while Lima walks him down with punches in bunches. Dos Santos gets off a front kick and chains it into a flying knee, catching Lima cleanly and forcing Lima to tie him up. The two jockey for position against the fence, and dos Santos breaks free thanks to his knees. They both paw out right hands, and dos Santos goes over the top with a high kick. Dos Santos shoots for a takedown, and Lima overwhelms him and throws him down to the mat. Lima passes easily to full mount, and dos Santos is frantic to defend himself from anything that comes at him. Lima elects to remain tightly pressed down on his opponent and considers an arm-triangle choke. Dos Santos defends the first effort, and when Lima turns to get a better bite at the apple, dos Santos protects against that attempt as well. Lima drops down a few right hands on the ear, and he presses his hand on dos Santos’ face and draws a warning from Tognoni. Dos Santos scoots his way to the side of the cage, but Lima remains in mount, smothering him in the position. Dos Santos keeps bucking and pushes off the wall with his foot, and Lima keeps stuck to his opponent so nullifyingly that Tognoni asks for more activity. The horn sounds with Lima not doing any appreciable damage from this position after over three minutes of control.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Lima
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Lima
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Lima

Round 3
Lima offers a glove touch that is accepted, and dos Santos backpedals quickly to find an angle of attack. Lima proceeds to walk him down, blocking quick strikes and using his legs to check kicks. As they engage, Lima complains about something, and Tognoni confusedly pauses the fight. Lima tries to use Tognoni’s sleeve to wipe something on it, and Tognoni has the interpreter find out what the nature of the stoppage was. It turns out Lima needed to blow his nose, and Tognoni tells him he cannot do that and restarts the fight. It takes a few seconds for dos Santos to level change in pursuit of a takedown, and like before, Lima ends as the one on top. Dos Santos turns to give up his back when Lima moves to mount, and Lima gladly accepts this position and wraps his legs around the waist with a body lock. Dos Santos is warned for grabbing the glove, and once more it is proved that Dundasso is the greatest base for MMA, above wrestling or any other martial art. Lima shrugs off the foul and latches onto a rear-naked choke, and his forearm slides beneath the chin. While the submission would normally elicit the tap from 95% of the roster, dos Santos fights the grip and frees his neck from danger. Lima adjusts his grip and sneaks it under the chin once more, and dos Santos’ face turns a brilliant shade of red but he does not give up. “Lipe Detona” manages to survive a nearly completed RNC a second time, and he hand-fights to prevent another choke from getting set up. Dos Santos is otherwise shut down, forced to occasionally punch behind his own head, and he irritates Lima enough with these strikes to make Lima lay flat on his back. Lima raises his arms to celebrate that he is about to win, and dos Santos’ remaining swings go wide. The fight comes to a conclusion.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Lima (30-27 Lima)
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Lima (30-27 Lima)
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Lima (29-28 Lima)

The Official Result
Andre Lima def. Felipe dos Santos via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Felipe dos Santos vs. Manel Kape
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Kape (-410), dos Santos (+320)

Round 1
The UFC lost a terrific flyweight matchup of Kape (18-6, 3-2 UFC) vs. Kai Kara-France due to the latter’s concussion issue, and it tried to make the most of a bad situation by shuttling in a fighter who was going to make his mark on the Contender Series a few weeks ago. Instead of an audition, dos Santos (7-0, 1 NC; 0-0 UFC) is thrust right into a pay-per-view main card, with the lights blindingly shining. A win for the Brazilian would be one for the ages as he would immediately jump into the rankings, but the hard-charging Kape will not go easy on him. Referee Greg Kleynjans takes charge of the cage for this “featured fight of the night,” and Kape is happy to still be fighting tonight so he offers a glove touch that is accepted. The two fighters clash together with immediate kicks, and Kape throws back with higher volume. The Brazilian wings a left hand over the top, and Kape gets stung but fires back with a vengeance. Kape connects with a low kick, and he gets knocked back with a jab. “Starboy” launches a rocket of a right hand that separates dos Santos from his balance, and Kape jumps on top of him and starts dropping strikes down until dos Santos throws his legs up for a desperation submission. Kape backs off to let him up, and he drives his fists into dos Santos’ dome a few more times to rock the newcomer once again. Dos Santos swings wild, and Kape is more composed and snipes him with a left hand. Kape paws out his jab and clips dos Santos on the way in with a short left, and when he kicks, dos Santos catches it. Kape tumbles to the mat, and as they scramble, Kape moves on top of him and busts him in the chops with several heavy punches. Kape gets pushed off and the two get back to striking, and dos Santos surprises the big favorite with a right hand and a knee up the middle. Kape is surprised but ready to keep attacking, and he walks into a front kick. Dos Santos is met with a leg kick, and he powers forward throwing hard but missing by a small margin. The Brazilian follows a jab with a head kick, and the two clinch up and start trading knees. Kape breaks with a big left hand, and dos Santos rolls with it and walks forward to swing with a haymaker. Kape times a spinning back elbow right on the dome, and the younger dos Santos eats it like a sandwich and keeps powering forward. Kape has a foot grabbed when kicking, and dos Santos tries to throw him down but Kape grabs the fence to stay upright. Kape muscles his man down to the mat, only to back off and keep trading. The two men get off power punches, and Kape scores a body kick and an elbow. Kape walks him down and smashes him in the face with a right hand, and dos Santos gives him one right back. A furious trading of fists ends the exciting round.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Kape
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Kape
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Kape

Round 2
The flyweights do not race out of their corners this round, and instead dos Santos slowly wades forward reaching out with kicks. Kape slides out of the way of all of them, including a head kick that grazes his hair, and he returns fire with a low kick. When dos Santos commits to one in response, Kape drills him with a left hook. Dos Santos spams front kicks until charging forward with a right hook, and Kape takes the punches and counters, only to have his head snapped back with a right. Dos Santos kicks high as it bounces off the guard, and he spins with something but does not let it go. Instead, he settles down to fire off a right hand, and Kape trips him to the mat with a stern leg kick. Dos Santos climbs back up and connects with two low kicks, and he rushes forward and gets popped by a shovel uppercut of a right hand. Kape puts everything behind a right hand, and dos Santos slips it and counters, and Kape keeps his head movement active as well to make for an exciting near-miss exchange. Kape sits down on a right hand as dos Santos crashes the pocket, and the newcomer’s chin is impressive. Dos Santos gets off a jumping front kick, and both men smack one another in the face with right hooks. The two trade jabs, and Kape goes to the body and slips the long left that aims past his head. Kape counters a jab with three punches, and he staggers dos Santos with a left hook. The Brazilian wears it well once more, and he chains two punches together on the inside to drive dos Santos back. Kape digs his shin into dos Santos’ thigh, and he cracks dos Santos with a few punches. From up close, dos Santos spins with a kick, and it brushes into the cup but it is not called. Kape motions to his groin, and when it goes ignored, Kape surges into action and starts ripping into dos Santos with a flurry of ferocious fists. Dos Santos survives the assault and races forward, and Kape times an elbow right on the way in. Kape pierces the guard with a right hand, and he puts his hands behind his back. Dos Santos motions to him to hit him, and the two showboat and taunt at one another until the horn sounds.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Kape
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Kape
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Kape

Round 3
Kape allows dos Santos to come at him so he can lean back and bat dos Santos in the jaw with a clubbing right hand. Dos Santos meanders forward, letting Kape kick him so he can try to front kick his way in. Kape does not allow him to close the distance, and instead tags the unbeaten fighter with a right hand. Dos Santos, not to be outdone, runs at him and reaches Kape with two punches. When Kape knocks him back, dos Santos replies, but Kape works the body as well. Dos Santos kicks the chest and swings hard, and he clips Kape and gets popped in return. The Brazilian lands a kick and gets tripped up, and when he gets back up, he connects with several punches that rock and cut Kape on the corner of his left eye. Despite the damage, Kape is excited when he gets blasted, and he chambers and fires a right hand that stuns dos Santos and knocks him down to a knee. Dos Santos races forward with a jump knee, and he pressures forward giving Kape everything he can handle with high volume and decent power. Kape moves enough to take the sting out of the shots, and puts himself in position for an effective counter. Kape times a huge right hand that snaps dos Santos’ chin to the side, but dos Santos is not shaken and he continues moving forward. Kape lets go with a flurry of hands, and dos Santos blinks it out and has entered “Terminator” mode. Despite taking shots, dos Santos will not back down, and even throws a spinning kick. Kape is composed and calm enough to time his counters, and he lets dos Santos charge at him and busts him in the chops. As dos Santos gets a bit too wild, Kape times a takedown and takes dos Santos off his feet. When on top, Kape rains down a final barrage of punches to conclude the fantastic scrap. Both men climb on top of the cage to motion to the crowd, and despite the all-out battle that Kape delivered, the crowd boos him heartily. What a fight.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Kape (30-27 Kape)
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Kape (30-27 Kape)
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Kape (30-27 Kape)

The Official Result
Manel Kape def. Felipe dos Santos via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)