Undefeated bantamweight Farid Basharat looked to maintain his perfect record at UFC 308, paired up with Brazil’s Victor Hugo.
Hugo, known as “Striker,” was a Contender Series alum who had come in as a bantamweight. No stranger to 145lbs, he was making his return to the weight class on Saturday. The only problem was, the fight had been booked as a bantamweight bout – instead, with Hugo missing weight by 10.5 pounds, the affair was shifted up a weight class, with a game Basharat rehydrating before weighing in at 137 pounds on Friday.
Hugo looked massive on fight night and entered the cage with a noticeable size advantage. In the opening minutes, Hugo pressured forward as Basharat looked to counter from the outside. Hugo attempted a leg lock submission that Basharat defended well, escaping to his feet. With a minute left in the first round Hugo walked into a straight right hand from Basharat, that stunned the Brazilian prospect.
Basharat showed new sense of urgency in round two walking down Hugo and landing big straight right hands in the opening moments. Midway through the second round Basharat had out landed Hugo in significant strikes 33 to 18. Hugo started pointing at the ground, asking Basharat to exchange. Throughout the contest Basharat was routinely landing a spinning elbow that significantly slowed down Hugo.
Hugo defended a takedown in the first minute of round three. As Basharat retreated, Hugo landed an uppercut followed by a spinning back kick that floored the undefeated contender. Basharat quickly recovered against the cage. In he middle of the third, Basharat was able to control Hugo against the cage and on the ground while defending against submissions. As Hugo tried to get back to his feet, Basharat jumped to back control threatening a rear naked choke.
After a competitive fifteen minutes Basharat out-landed Hugo in total strikes 69-46, while also landing four takedowns. The judges all scored the contest unanimously for Basharat.
Official Result: Farid Basharat def. Victor Hugo by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
