Charles Johnson was originally expected to face Jose Ochoa in a flyweight fight at UFC 330, but with Ochoa out, it was Eduardo Henrique (Eduardo Chapolin) stepping in on short notice.
As a result, the bout had shifted to a 130lb catchweight, with 2025 Contender Series winner Chapolin making his debut with all of three days warning.
When the fight started, Johnson went for an early takedown, but Chapolin defended it with ease. Chapolin then began chopping at Johnson’s lead leg, forcing Johnson to shoot again. The Brazilian defended once more, which was an important early success. Chapolin continued attacking the leg, clearly looking to slow down Johnson’s quick-twitch movement.
Johnson was doing a lot of moving, landing short strikes one at a time while staying elusive. Chapolin eventually hit a beautiful foot-sweep takedown, but landed an illegal knee while Johnson was grounded. The referee deducted a point, but Johnson was able to continue. In the final seconds, Johnson ducked under a head kick and closed the round with another takedown attempt and a flurry of punches. It was a strange round that likely goes down as a 9-9.
Round two started with Chapolin inching forward and cutting off the cage as he looked to track Johnson down. Johnson did a good job moving laterally and getting off the centerline, using plenty of feints to keep Chapolin guessing. However, that confidence caught up with him when he got clipped by a left hook and dropped. Before that, Chapolin had already done significant damage to Johnson’s lead leg.
Johnson was in serious trouble midway through the round as Chapolin maintained a relentless pace. Johnson kept stumbling around the cage, but he continued moving and making the fight awkward enough to survive. With about a minute remaining, Chapolin appeared to be slowing down. Johnson began picking up his volume, although Chapolin never stopped throwing. Johnson missed a takedown attempt to end the round but landed a solid combination that gave the judges plenty to think about.
Heading into the third, it was difficult to know how the judges had the fight scored, leaving everything up in the air.
The final round began with Chapolin once again attacking the legs, but Johnson looked like he was on a mission. Johnson hurt Chapolin with a teep, prompting Chapolin to shoot for a takedown. Johnson defended and immediately took Chapolin’s back. As Chapolin tried to turn into him, Johnson adjusted beautifully and locked up a brutal Scottish Twister. It was an incredibly painful submission, and Chapolin had no choice but to tap.
An impressive win, and a solid post-fight interview from Johnson, who sent his condolences to Chute Box on the passing of Allan Nascimento. Original opponent Jose Ochoa was one of many Chute Box fighters grieving the loss of Nascimento.
Official Result: Charles Johnson def. Eduardo Chapolin by submission (Scottish Twister), Round 3, 1:36
