There was no lack of excitement at the maiden installment of Clube da Luta, held this Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With a stellar lineup, celebrity-filled audience, model and black belt Paulo Zulu as in-cage reporter, boxing world champion-turned-senator Acelino Popó putting in an appearance, and a cage-side thrash metal band, the show lived up to all expectations, as witnessed by our collaborator Junior Samurai.
Blood and grit marked the under 77kg GP, won by the heavy-handed Hernani Perpétuo. The André Pederneiras understudy saw blood – and his own, at that – when taking on Edilberto Crocotá in the grand prix final, with a gash on his head that stubbornly poured blood throughout the three-round affair.
Perpétuo against Crocotá / Photo by Gustavo Aragão
Perpétuo showed his warrior spirit with every cut check, imploring the ref not to stop the fight, “Please don’t stop the fight,” he’d plead. Deftly moving around the cage, the Nova União striking specialist dominated the fight, getting the better of the standup action in all three rounds. In the last few seconds of the fight, to add further luster to the achievement, he held out against a snug guillotine choke while his blood bathed the cage canvas.
Delson Pé de Chumbo stepped in for an injured Murilo Bustamante in the card’s international matchup and left no one disappointed. Despite giving up some weight to Deep champion Yuya Shirai, the Jiu-Jitsu world champion took the tournament belt via judges’ decision.
Now Glover Teixeira left nothing to chance, completely annulling two-time absolute world champion Márcio Pé de Pano’s ground game. With perfectly-timed sprawls and keen to Pé de Pano’s intentions on the ground, Glover kept the fight mostly standing but wrapped up the match unleashing a second-round barrage of ground and pound till the ref stepped in.
Two-time UFC fighter Ronys Torres put his Jiu-Jitsu to good use. Following a takedown set up by a well-placed left hook, the native of the town of Manacapuru, etched into the Amazon rain forest, looked to have cinched the win with a rear-naked choke but ended the one-sided affair with a straight-armed kimura, all in the first round. The fight between Toninho Fúria and Alexandre Chaminho came to a premature halt during the break between the second and third rounds. Fúria saw the better side of the action in the opener, while Chambinho drew even in the second, but a knee injury kept him from returning for the tie-breaking third.
Glover puts the pressure on Pé de Pano. Photos: Gustavo Aragão.
Clube da Luta
Via Show, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
July 20, 2011
GP reserve bout
Kell Santos defeated Claudionor Fontinele via split decision
Under 77kg GP
Edilberto Crocotá defeated Viscardi Andrade via unanimous decision
Hernani Perpétuo defeated Daniel Acácio via split decision
Superfights
Eduardo Kiko submitted Junior de Oliveira via guillotine in R2
Toninho Fúria defeated Alexandre Chambinho via desistance before R3
Ronys Torres submitted Eduardo Pachu kimura in R1
Under 77kg GP final
Hernani Perpétuo defeated Edilberto Crocotá via unanimous decision
Glover Teixeira defeated Marcio Pé de Pano via TKO in R2
Delson Pé de Chumbo defeated Yuya Shirai via split decision