UFC 283: Hill, Moreno Disappoint Rio De Janiero, Both Win Titles

Jamahal Hill and Brandon Moreno silenced Rio de Janeiro this Saturday night, taking away the UFC championship belts in their respective categories. The UFC 283, which was supposed to be marked by Brazilians, in the end, ended differently than expected.

Hill defeated the former champion, Glover Teixeira, in the bout for the light heavyweight title. The American ripped apart the veteran throughout all five fights, not allowing him to endanger the win at any given moment. Hill set up the tempo early on, with excellent punching combos, usually mixed with left-high kicks. The first significant attack from the American’s side came like that once he wobbled Glover with a high left in the second round.

As time went by, he kept demolishing Teixeira, who was examined by a a doctor before the start of the fifth round and was eventually allowed to continue the clash.

https://twitter.com/thingsufc1/status/1617044046215630848

Hill eventually won via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring 50-44 in his favor.

“Anything is possible,” Hill said. “Hard work, dedication, accountability. Don’t let nobody tell you nothing. Too many people told me I couldn’t do it, that it was impossible.”

His domination inside the ring brought a new record in the UFC lightweight as he landed 232 significant strikes, making his victory even more impressive. He will now probably await Jan Blachowicz in the title defense.

As for Teixeira, the 43-year-old veteran decided to retire, stating that it is enough for him to fight inside the octagon. With 33 wins and nine losses, Teixeira walks into history as one of the longest standings fighters ever.

“I think I’m too tough for my own good, too tough for my own health,” Teixeira said.

In another title battle of the night, Brandon Moreno defeated Deiveison Figueiredo and took back the flyweight title belt. The doctors stopped the fight between the third and fourth round, with Figueiredo’s right eye being completely closed.

This bout saw controversy as Moreno hit the Brazilian with an open hand, and probably shut that eye with his finger. The Brazilian protested at that moment, yet the referee didn’t sound. Figueiredo was bleeding heavily, and the doctors had to examine him between the rounds. After seeing that his eye is completely shut, they decided to stop the fight.

At the time of the stoppage, Moreno had the edge on the scorecards, being up 29-28 with two of the judges and 29-27. This was Moreno’s second win in four bouts against Figueiredo, who announced that he won’t be fighting in the flyweight division and that he decided to move up to the bantamweight.

Crowd would love to believe this was an eye poke. But nope… just a solid shot.

Figueiredo needs a finish and his right eye is completely shot. pic.twitter.com/wG3avI6qto

— MartialMind 🇳🇬🇺🇲 (@MartialMind1) January 22, 2023

Moreno’s win infuriated the fans, who were throwing objects at the Mexican while he walked off stage. That didn’t happen with Hill, who was personally escorted by Glover, who addressed the public not to make the same mistake.

In other bouts, Jessica Andrade was confident against Lauren Murphy via unanimous decision, beating the rival pretty badly. Johhny Walker showed a glimpse of his forgotten potential by defeating Paul Craig via KO in the first round, and immediately after that, went on partying outside the arena.

Gilbert Burns was back with a win over Neil Magny and impressive first-round submission, and he called out Colby Covington following the fight. Durinho is still one of the best welterweights in the organization, and this win brings him back into title talks. With a win over Colby, there wouldn’t be too many obstacles for him to receive another shot at the belt.