The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale main card featured a hotly contested scrap between the always entertaining Alex Caceres and Martin Bravo. And it did not disappoint.
Alex Caceres and Martin Bravo were one of the middle fights on the TUF 27 Finale main card — but they fought as if they were headlining the show. The featherweights had both struggled of late as were coming off losses. Caceres, last scheduled to fight at UFC 223, was moved to this card after Conor McGregor’s rampage that included his friend and Caceres opponent Artem Lobov.
Round one started with Martin Bravo practically stalking Alex Caceres to start the fight. Both fighters were looking for kicks to start before Bravo moved in and got the clinch and takedown on Caceres. Caceres got up before throwing a kick to the body that got caught, he was promptly taken down again. Caceres tried to roll for a submission to no avail. Caceres then managed to get back to his feet and the round ended with the two standing.
Round two began with Caceres landing a giant shot on Bravo that rocked him! Caceres jumped on his back and looked to lock in the rear naked choke, but he couldn’t secure it. Bravo survived and continued to bring the pressure against Caceres. However, Bravo walked right into a left hand, a strike that was consistently landing for Caceres. Bravo was rocked. Despite all this, ‘Bruce Leeroy’ never rushed the finish and stayed calm, landing combinations.
Bravo pushed with the pace again to start the third and looked for the takedown. Caceres looked for a takedown of his own but couldn’t land it. The third round it seemed like Caceres was tired; Bravo seemed mildly concussed, and they fought like it. Both winged some shots and a lot of technique went out the window. That being said, it was fun to watch as Bravo started to come back after his horrible second round, landing some nice combinations in the third. The fight ended as they were swinging in the center of the cage.
On the scorecards, Caceres had the edge — great scrap!
Alex Caceres def. Martin Bravo by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
