Undefeated Contender Series standout Vitor Petrino won a ‘Fight of the Night’ award in his UFC debut, but he faced a different challenge in veteran kickboxing specialist Marcin Prachnio on the prelims of UFC 290.
At 8-0 with six finishes, Petrino has shown punishing striking ability and an ability to last fifteen hard minutes in the cage, which is not something many young, undefeated light-heavyweight knockout artists can say. Its well the Brazilian has that experience with going the distance because the experience of Marcin Prachnio is a challenge he has not faced before. Prachnio has only one less UFC fight than Petrino has fights in total and the Polish striker should test the twenty-five year old Brazilian prospect.
Prachnio’s bouncy karate style was immediately evident as he worked to use his movement to stay on the outside of the taller Petrino. However he was quite active from that range, throwing consistent offense, particularly low kicks. Prachnio landed a big right hand fifty seconds in which prompted Petrino to work for a takedown. The Polish fighter got both underhooks but the strength of Vitor was such that he kept the outside position in the clinch against the fence until Prachnio broke off a half minute later.
At distance Petrino threw three straight head kicks and a left hook which seemed to alter Prachnio’s demeanor. The Brazilian landed a big right hand that hurt Marcin but then he shot for, and landed, a takedown which put him in the full guard of Prachnio. Prachnio got up and clinched Petrino, where he tapped the legs of his foe with short knees for fifteen seconds until Vitor got free. They exchanged massive blows in the pocket, Petrino got hit cleanly but his chin was unfazed, despite utilizing no head movement. He ran forward into the clinch and took Prachnio down into top half in the last minute of the round. The round ended with Vitor Petrino on top but unable to land many ground strikes.
The second round saw Prachnio land some good strikes before he attempted a takedown in the first thirty seconds. Petrino reversed it easily with his superior physical strength, he settled in the full guard of his foe. He was patient and passed to half guard after a minute of being on top. Vitor isolated Prachnio’s arm for a Kimura but he did not have the technique to finish the submission. Marcin was content to just smack the head of Petrino from the bottom until he gave up on the Kimura attempt. Prachnio turned to his knees to try to stand up but Petrino quickly got both hooks in on the back of the Polack. Petrino got an arm on the chin of Prachnio but could not get underneath it. Prachnio gurgled for a moment from the sheer strength of the choke attempt, but he got free and got back to half guard, where the round ended soon after.
Prachnio’s left eye was beat up when the third round started and he reverted to his striking style from the first round, touching from the outside of range. His awkward striking form initially gave Petrino trouble in this round. Although Prachnio did not land anything massive, he was able to land strikes and mostly avoid getting hit in the early going. Two minutes into the round Petrino changed levels for a double leg takedown that he completed easily into top half. He went again to isolate the arm of Marcin but lost it quickly. Then Petrino got his knee past the guard of Prachnio and got into full mount with two minutes left in the fight. Petrino put his arms around the neck of his foe and attempted an arm-triangle. Prachnio was not urgent to defend or get to his feet and as a result he was forced to tap when the arm-triangle got tight.
This was the first submission victory in the career of Vitor Petrino and the win brought the bright young talent to 9-0, preserving his unblemished record.
Official Result: Vitor Petrino def. Marcin Prachnio by Submission (arm-triangle choke) Round 3, 3:42
