Rony and Paulão pay each other respect. Photo: Junior Samurai.
The most heavily anticipated matchup of last Friday’s IFC show in Recife, Brazil, was between Paulão Filho and Rony Marques. The former champion of the WEC and idol from the days of Pride FC ended up dropping a unanimous decision.
Truth be told, though, he put on a great performance for the crowd in Recife. After getting the worst of the action in the first round, in the second Paulo managed to take Rony down, mount and sink a snug arm triangle, but his prey was saved by the bell. The third round saw the Kimura/Nova União representative repeat the dominance from the first, earning him the win over the Carlson Gracie black belt.
Check out the post-fight video of Paulão explaining how he felt the loss was in fact a win to him, given the caliber of his opponent, and stating that he will be back (in Portuguese):
(Colaborou Junior Samurai)