If anything had plagued Douglas Silva de Andrade’s career in recent years, it was inconsistency.
Coming into UFC Vegas 38 on Saturday night, the Brazilian had been trading wins and losses since 2016. He’d only fought six times since then, fighting just once a year with the lone exception of 2018, where he fought twice, and 2020, which he missed entirely.
The good news for Andrade, who returned to the octagon at UFC Vegas 38 against Gaetano Pirrello, was that he was competing for the second time in 2021. Pirrello was also competing for the second time this year — and was also looking to bounce back from a loss in his promotional debut.
A touch of gloves and they were off, in a fight that didn’t even make it to the midway mark of the opening round. Gaetano Pirrello circled then fired off a leg kick. Silva de Andrade pressed forward, and Pirrello landed a second leg kick. But Silva de Andrade moved forward in the wake of it, and landed a hard left hand. Pirrello fired another leg kick but Silva de Andrade absolutely devastated Pirrello with a left hook that took Pirrello off his feet and sent him crashing to the mat. This was a done deal, and Douglas Silva de Andrade celebrated with a flip off the cage.
MY GOODNESS 😱
🇧🇷 @DSilva_MMA just DID THAT. #UFCVegas38 pic.twitter.com/iO4Zyurl8U
— UFC (@ufc) October 2, 2021
Then another — nearly wiping out everyone attending to the fallen Pirrello in the process. No harm, no foul as he managed to stop just short of the various officials in the octagon. And for “D-Silva,” he’s got a brand new highlight reel moment to show off.
Official Result: Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Gaetano Pirrello by knockout, Round 1, 2:04
