Mandarina against Cristiano Marcello. Photo: Carlos Ozório
The fight between Cristiano Marcello and Costa Rican fighter Alejandro “Mandarina” Solano at Bitetti Combat stirred up a good deal of controversy. The fight between Cristiano Marcello and Costa Rican fighter Alejandro “Mandarina” Solano at Bitetti Combat stirred up a good deal of controversy. While Mandarina felt he deserved the win, Cristiano feels the referee made a mistake in bringing the bout to a halt prematurely (see here).
“The ref did the right thing because, if he hadn’t stopped it there, the fight would have ended anyway. Even if it hadn’t in the second round, it would have come in the third. I was already on my way to the win,” says the fighter, who is happy with his performance in Brazil.
“To me it’s a dream fighting in Brazil, MMA’s birthplace. Bitetti Combat has a lot of exposure in the international market and feel it was a great opportunity to show what I can do. I hope to get called back by Amaury Bitetti.”
Despite the 14 wins and 4 losses on his record, Mandarina is not very well known here in Brazil, so he took his chance to introduce himself:
“I’m a classic muay thai fighter and a Carlson Gracie team purple belt, a student of Sidnei Machado. I’m the greatest MMA fighter in Costa Rica. In America, after the United States, Brazil has the biggest events, with Costa Rica coming after. We have a lot of practitioners over there; the public loves it and our big event there is Fite Nite.
“I’d like to thank all the people of Costa Rica, the people of Brazil and my mmanagers Paloma Fabrykant and Fred Pontes for the opportunity,” he says in finishing.