Carlos Felipe got his first Octagon win with a hard-fought decision victory over Yorgan De Castro at UFC Fight Island 4.
Hard-hitting heavyweights Yorgan De Castro and Carlos Felipe squared off in the co-main event of UFC Fight Island 4. De Castro had a hot start to his career, going 4-0 with three stoppages to earn a spot on the Contender Series. A leg kick stoppage on the Contender Series earned him a contract. He entered the fight with a 1-1 UFC record and was looking to bounce back from a loss to Greg Hardy.
Carlos Felipe started his career with eight straight wins and six knockouts to earn a UFC roster spot. Felipe’s promotional debut earlier this year was his first MMA fight since 2017 and it was a loss to Sergey Spivak.
Early on, Felipe was letting the right hand fly free, but neither man landed a punch through the first two minutes. Leg kicks were traded multiple times, then Felipe landed a cracking right. Felipe was controlling the cage and kept De Castro moving along the fence. Felipe ramped up the pressure near the end of the round landing several big shots. De Castro went into the break with only a big leg kick to show for it.
De Castro came out strong in the second round, pressuring Felipe and landing a combination. He prevented Felipe from backing him up, then Felipe changed his approach by landing a few body shots and bringing the fight to the fence. De Castro landed a popping jab followed by a pair of hooks. Felipe hit him with a body kick and then clinched De Castro against the fence. De Castro turned him around but they were broken up because De Castro had his fingers in the fence. Felipe started taunting his opponent whenever De Castro landed and Felipe turned up his energy towards the end of the round. Felipe mixed in the body shots again and De Castro landed another combination.
Combos on combos 💪#UFCFightIsland4 live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/bDuGzKFIDz
— UFC (@ufc) October 4, 2020
The heavyweights came out swinging in the final round. Felipe let it all out and De Castro simply covered up until deciding to throw all he had right back. Felipe then clinched up with De Castro but was separated rather quickly by the ref. There were two more clinches that were separated. On the next one, Felipe audibly yelled “What the f**k?” Following each subsequent separation, De Castro simply went right back into the clinch, leading to an anti-climactic ending to the co-main event.
Carlos Felipe def. Yorgan De Castro by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
