Lightweights Vinc Pichel and Ismael Bonfim were second up on Saturday’s UFC 301 preliminary card in Brazil, with “From Hell” Pichel pretty much wading into the depths of hell in hostile enemy territory.
With a boisterous Brazilian crowd in the building early, 40-year old Pichel opened with a heavy leg kick, while Bonfim uncorked his righyt hand. Pichel blocked one of those, ducked another, and snapped off another leg kick that tripped up Bonfim. Another followed, partially checked by Bonfim. Pichel fired a right hand, continued to chop at the legs, looking to even things up with the faster Brazilian.
Bonfim, not to be outdone, fired a couple of leg kicks of his own when Pichel switched stances, hitting the inside thigh. As the round wore on, Bonfim settled in, countering well, ripping the body and connecting upstairs more than once. Pichel walked forward undeterred, parrying a number of Bonfirm’s attacks. Bonfirm got his jab going in the final 30 seconds, and went after a late guillotine attempt that didn’t take.
Round two found Pichel going back to the well with his leg kicks, but Ismael Bonfim landed a left, and later a right that gave Pichel a little trouble. Bonfim nearly caught a lazy leg kick by Pichel; the Brazilian had his rhythm and range down. Mid-round, Bonfirm had his opponent hurt, with Pichel appearing to stumble off a body shot that led to a right hand to the side of the head. Pichel recovered, but his offense was waning, leading to more of a defensive approach.
Bonfirm, meanwhile, landed another blow to the body, then fired about three straight left hands. He’d finish the frame slipping off a spinning kick, but clearly won the round.
BOOM 💥
LIVER SHOT 👀#UFC301 pic.twitter.com/b8CWjmvIxo
— UFC (@ufc) May 4, 2024
Ismael Bonfim looked considerably fresh as round three got underway; Vinc Pichel, in comparison, may have wilted a little. The Brazilian doubled up on left hands, but the action was halted just over two minutes in due to an eye poke landed by Pichel. With an earlier warning already delivered in the fight, ref Mike Beltran announced a “hard warning” and threatened that he’d take a point on the next infraction.
Back underway, it was Bonfim on the attack, with a little burst of energy after the short break. In the final minute, the Brazilian landed a single-leg takedown, changing up the complexion of the round and slowing things down just a little. Pichel would make it back up, Bonfim threatened with a guillotine, but ultimately they ran out the clock.
No surprises on the scorecards, with Ismael Bonfim coming away with the unanimous decision win.
Official Result: Ismael Bonfim def. Vinc Pichel by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
