Luiz Eduardo Garagorri earned the first UFC win of his career in front of his hometown crowd, defeating Humberto Bandenay by unanimous decision at UFC Uruguay.
Luiz Eduardo Garagorri made his UFC debut in Montevideo, putting his perfect 12-0 professional MMA record on the line. The Brazilian-born fighter had already fought twice in 2019, earning a couple of first-round finishes. Fighting out of Uruguay, Garagorri began his trek to MMA by starting in taekwondo as an eight-year-old. He then eventually began to train in kickboxing, muay Thai, and jiu-jitsu. Garagorri was also slated to fight Andre Harrison in May in PFL, but due to an injury to the Brazilian, the bout was cancelled.
Humberto Bandenay fought in South America for the third consecutive time at UFC Uruguay. He was hoping for a different result in Montevideo, after losing his last two bouts. Bandenay had gone 1-2 since joining the promotion in August of 2017, winning his UFC debut via first-round knockout at UFC Mexico City.
Neither fighter landed any major strikes early, with both fighters being patient. Bandenay shot for and landed a takedown after a minute into the round, with Garagorri getting to the cage. Utilizing the cage to get up, Garagorri got the fight to the feet, and then landed a takedown of his own. Garagorri then got to his feet, and waited for the referee to force Bandenay to stand up as well. Once on the feet, Garagorri landed the first major strikes of the night, cutting Bandenay’s forehead after an impressive combination.
Bandenay was able to clinch with Garagorri, and tried to pull guard, but Garagorri stood tall and was well composed. They clinched again, with Bandenay landing a knee to the body, and then eating another flurry of punches from Garagorri. The hometown fighter gave the crowd plenty to be happy about in the first five minutes, clearly leading on the scorecards early.
Both fighters delivered some heavy shots early in round two. A slick combination from Bandenay stunned Garagorri, who responded with a flurry of his own. The combination from Bandenay opened up a cut on the left eyebrow of Garagorri, as the Peruvian attempted to turn the tide. Garagorri replied with a couple of body shots and forcing a clinch against the cage, but the ref would pause action and force the fight to the center of the Octagon.
With less than two minutes left, Garagorri walked Bandenay down, firing and landing throughout. Once again clinched against the cage, the duo traded positions, and Garagorri landed a heavy elbow as they separated. The final seconds of the second round ticked away as Bandenay landed a solid takedown.
Garagorri continued to be the more aggressive fighter early in the third round, throwing a couple of flurries and stuffing a takedown attempt. But Bandenay would eventually get the fight to the ground, taking Garagorri down from the clinch. Bandenay attempted to take Garagorri’s back, but would lose position as the fight was once again in the clinch against the cage. After being forced back to the center by the referee, Bandenay once again pushed Garagorri to the cage and got the fight back into the clinch.
At the 90-second mark, the fight was back in the middle of the Octagon, with the fighters trading blows. The restless crowd implored the fighters to go for the finish, as they kept up their impressive pace from the rest of the fight throughout the final minute. Garagorri stuffed another takedown attempt, then the duo fired flurries at each other as the horn sounded.
They're swinging in Montevideo!#UFCUruguay pic.twitter.com/ohzRBReAQL
— UFC (@ufc) August 11, 2019
Result: Luiz Eduardo Garagorri def. Humberto Bandenay by unanimous decision (30-27×3)
Check out all of the results from UFC Uruguay here!
