Heavyweights Rodrigo Nascimento and Don’Tale Mayes threw down on the UFC Sao Paulo main card on Saturday, and it didn’t take long for the heavy-hitters to get going.
In particular, it was Nascimento, with the Brazilian crowd firmly behind him, lighting up Mayes early on. Everything Nascimento threw was fired with ill intentions, and before long Mayes was covering up and retreating. He would survive, but a subsequent exchange saw his vision compromised, with Mayes pawing at one eye.
The American would find it in him to fire back, unloading an uppercut, then following up, but he was soon eating another volley of strikes from Nascimento. Once again, Mayes was retreating, and he was clipped more than once, wobbled towards the back half of the opening round. The biggest surprise of the first five minutes, in fact, was that Don’Tale Mayes survived them.
Rodrigo Nascimento got right back to work in round two, pinning Mayes against the fence. Mayes fired back, earning himself some space. Changing things up, Nascimento opted to change levels and pursue a takedown, with Mayes managing to stay upright. Ultimately that may have backfired for the Brazilian, with Mayes getting a breather just as he’d been coming under fire again.
Instead, with the takedown stuffed the pair moved back to center, with the pace having slowed. Mayes fired his left hand, and Nascimento looked to clinch up but couldn’t hang on to the American.
Round three saw Mayes work in a low kick, then go high. The fact that he was still in the fight was somewhat remarkable, but he was still going to need a big round to have any hope of victory. Nascimento however was still walking Mayes down, albeit wary of the potential counter. A fighter that had started red hot finished with a few final flurries, but at a noticeably slower pace.
Capturing a decision, Rodrigo Nascimento is now 2-0 against Mayes after submitting Don’Tale in their first meeting in 2020 at UFC on ESPN 8.
Official Result: Rodrigo Nascimento def. Don’Tale Mayes by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
