Heavyweights Mario Pinto and Felipe Franco clashed in a preliminary card match-up at Saturday’s UFC London at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Brazil’s Franco was making his promotional debut opposite Pinto, who hailed from Portugal and had won his first two assignments under the UFC banner. The Contender Series alum had earned a Performance bonus for his knockout of Austen Lane a year ago.
Coming out strong in the first round, Mario Pinto got his striking going with a jab and a low kick at range, feeling out his opponent, Felipe Franco. Franco, attempting to draw Pinto into a firefight, rushed in on Pinto and landed a looping strike, but not before Pinto caught Franco with a short shot of his own, dropping Franco to one knee.
Now opening up, Pinto attempted a massive overhand swing that barely missed the head of Franco. Despite missing his target, Pinto remained composed, shadowing his opponent on the inside and using beautiful head movement to dodge Franco’s strikes.
Pinto was first to implement the grappling, shooting for a takedown that was impressively stopped by Franco at the point of contact. Back at range, Pinto continued feeling out Franco but led the dance in a low-output first round.
In round two, Mario Pinto continued at the same pace as round one in what looked like a walk in the park for the Portuguese heavyweight. Changing levels again, Franco denied two more takedown shots from Mario Pinto, but the undefeated heavyweight seemed more focused on valuing the position than advancing deeper into the attempts.
Franco, this time able to escape, landed a few straight shots at range, though it was short-lived as Mario Pinto found success in his wrestling attempts, bringing Franco to the ground with a single leg. Pinto was able to land a small amount of ground strikes to the face of his opponent, though the strength of the Brazilian proved too much for Pinto as Felipe Franco returned to his feet for the remainder of the round.
Quickly down 2-0 to Pinto, desperation time set in for the Brazilian. With Pinto returning to his grappling, Felipe Franco attempted to cinch up a guillotine choke, but the height of Pinto made it too difficult to get the right angle, as the Portuguese heavyweight used the opening to trip Franco back down to the mat.
Again able to muscle his way back to his feet, Felipe Franco unfortunately faced the same fate as in the prior two rounds, as Pinto continued to smother him in the clinch while the final minutes ticked away. With around a minute left, Franco was able to escape the grip of Mario Pinto, but it was quickly followed by three more takedown attempts from Pinto that ended in a short boxing exchange on the inside for the final five seconds of the fight.
While it wasn’t the “knockout game plan” we’ve come to expect from Mario Pinto, the young heavyweight was still able to pull off a decisive 29-28 unanimous decision victory on the scorecards. From a glass-half-full point of view, a display of the kind of gas tank that is so rare to find at heavyweight answers many questions about the future of Mario Pinto, who may be in line for some five-round bouts in his career.
Pinto continues to roll through the heavyweight division, securing his third straight victory in three UFC fights. The undefeated big man moves to 12-0, likely with ranked opposition next, while Felipe Franco drops his first fight with the promotion, falling to 10-2 as a pro.
Official Result: Mario Pinto def. Felipe Franco by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
