Ben Sosoli and Marcos Rogerio de Lima seemingly agreed to throw caution to the wind in their bout at UFC Auckland. After swinging for the fences, it was de Lima who came out on top in the first round.
UFC Auckland marked the return of one of the best nicknames in combat sports: The ‘Combat Wombat’ was back in action. Ben Sosoli (a.k.a. the wombat in question) was taking on Brazilian heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima on the main card of the Fight Night event. Sosoli was last seen facing Greg Hardy last year, part of the infamous “inhaler gate” bout.
Marcos Rogerio de Lima is a shapeshifter. He’s somehow fought at middleweight all the way to heavyweight in his career, looking big in every weight class. in the Octagon, he is 2-1 at heavyweight and 3-3 at light heavyweight, having debuted back in 2014 after winning TUF Brazil in just 20 seconds at heavyweight. He also holds a win over Paulo Filho in his career.
The heavyweights wasted no time. They met in the middle and started swinging for the fences. Heavy shots were connecting on both sides in a match that seemed destined to end before the final bell. Well, it ended before the first bell. Marcos Rogerio de Lima connected with a combination of hooks that caused Sosoli to fall face first. De Lima landed another punch and that was all that was necessary.
HE'S GONE DOWN! 😱
🇧🇷 @Pezao011 ends it QUICK!
Action continues ➡️ LIVE on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/CRqKNlDYuC
— UFC (@ufc) February 23, 2020
After the fight, de Lima proclaimed in English, “This is my division!”
Marcos Rogerio De Lima def. Ben Sosoli by TKO (Punches) in Round 1 (1:28)
