UFC São Paulo Quick Results: A Legend Falls, Prospects Rise

UFC Fight Night 77, which marked the UFC's fifth trip to Brazil this year, was a fun one. Emanating from beautiful São Paulo, the birthplace of Anderson Silva, it was headlined by a middleweight rubber match between aging legends Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort, and featured action across six of the UFC's most exciting divisions.

Highlighted by plenty of back-and-forth scraps, some truly brilliant finishes, and breakout performances from several captivating prospects, the 13-fight card won't soon be forgotten. Here's a recap of the action for those who missed it!

The Main Card:

Belfort Head Kick Stops Hendo

In the main event of the evening, recent middleweight title challenger Vitor Belfort walked onto the canvas with Dan Henderson who, at 45 years old, is the oldest active fighter on the UFC roster. The bout marked the pair's third encounter, with Henderson winning the first, and Belfort the second.

Just as he did in their second encounter, Belfort quickly stole the momentum of this fight with a perfectly-timed head kick. A few follow-up punches later, it was over. The official time was 2:07 of the first round.

The knockout win, which marked the fourth first-round stoppage of the night, distances Belfort from a recent title loss to Chris Weidman, and moves him to 25-11 overall. He also now enjoys a 6-0 record in UFC bouts in his native Brazil.

Henderson, on the other hand, falls to 31-14. And though he's now just one loss removed from a June knockout of Tim Boetsch, he has just two wins in his last eight fights. Legend though he may be, its looking like high-time for Hendo to hang 'em up.

Teixeira Pummels Cummins for Second-Round TKO

In the co-main event of the evening, Patrick Cummins faced a towering test in former number-one contender Glover Teixeira. And while the former barista enjoyed some success in the clinch and hit a trio of takedowns in round one, he eventually found himself on the receiving end of Teixeira's vaunted knockout power. The end, which followed a swarm of punches against the cage, came at 1:12 of the second round.

In victory, Teixeira enters a two fight win-streak, further distancing himself from back-to-back losses sustained against Jon Jones and Phil Davis. At 36 years old, and with a lopsided loss to Jones in his past, his winning the light heavyweight title seems unlikely. That said, the Brazilian clearly remains one of the best 205'ers on earth, and has plenty of exciting matchups left at his fingertips. He's now 24-4 overall, and 7-2 in the Octagon.

Cummins, meanwhile, returns to the loss column after a strong showing against Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante in August of this year. He's now 8-3 in sum and 4-3 as a UFC fighter.

Almeida Hits the Power Switch on Birchak

Anthony Birchak looked good while it lasted. Kicking things off with some inventive combinations and some seriously slick footwork, the American gave the initial impression that he could be the fighter to end the absurd streak of 24-year-old Brazilian Thomas Almeida.

He was not that fighter.

When the bullets began to fly, Almeida found his mark with a rocket-powered right hand that left Birchak folded like a lawn chair. The highlight-reel knockout marks the 16th first-round stoppage of the young Brazilian's career. Now a ridiculous 20-0, Almeida's contending for the title no longer looks like a possibility, but an inevitability. It's just a question of when.

Birchak, meanwhile, is unlikely to lose too much ground in defeat. While this undoubtedly marks the toughest loss of his career, he remains a prospect to watch in the bantamweight division with a solid toolset and respectable 12-3 overall record.

"Cowboy" Oliveira Snuffs Hallman

Brazil's Alex "Cowboy" Oliveira has more than his nickname in common with Donald Cerrone. Like Cerrone, he also boasts an extremely busy fight schedule, as his fight in São Paulo marked his fourth appearance in nine months. His opponent was Poland's Piotr Hallman, who entered the bout with his back to the wall after back-to-back losses.

Hallman was not without his moments, scoring with takedowns and spending some time in dominant positions. The theme of the first two rounds, however, was Cowboy overwhelming his Polish opponent with his massive physical advantages and effective, if technically flawed, striking. And finally, in the the third, the Brazilian put the stamp on things with a sizzling, one-punch knockout that sent his opponent careening to the canvas.

The win moves Cowboy to 13-3 overall, and 3-1 in the UFC—not bad considering he only began training five years ago. Hallman, on the other hand, moves to 15-5 overall, and finds himself on an ugly, three-fight skid. And considering one of those losses saw him test positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone, he may well have had his last fight with the UFC.

Magomedov Hands Burns his First Loss

In the second bout of the main card, lightweight prospects took center stage, as Brazilian submission specialist Gilbert Burns tangled with Dagestan's Rashid Magomedov.

The bout began with the Brazilian hitting a perfectly-timed takedown. This, however, proved to be a solitary event, as Magomedov thwarted his opponent's additional attempts, and stole the momentum on the feet. Magomedov is likely to face some criticism for his performance, however, as he appeared rather gun-shy throughout the bout, even when he had his opponent hurt.

In victory, the talented striker is now a fantastic 19-1, and 4-0 inside the Octagon. Burns, on the other hand, experiences his first professional loss. He's now 10-1 overall, with a 3-1 UFC record.

Anderson Dominates Maldonado to Unanimous Decision

For most of his training camp, beloved brawler Fabio Maldonado was preparing for "Filthy" Tom Lawlor. When Lawlor withdrew from the fight with an injury, however, Maldonado was paired with a much different dance partner in 26-year-old American Corey Anderson.

Despite his short training camp, Anderson entered the bout as the biggest betting favorite of the night, due primarily to the stark advantage his wrestling would likely provide him. Though his wrestling certainly played a part in his performance, the American showed himself to be far more than a one-trick pony over the course of a one-sided dismantling of his Brazilian opponent.

With the win, Anderson extends his current win-streak to two, and continues his rapid rise up the light heavyweight ranks. He's now 7-1 overall, and 4-1 since joining the UFC. Maldonado, meanwhile, falls to 22-9 overall, and slips onto a 2-fight skid having lost his previous bout to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

The Prelims:

Tibau Scores Questionable Win over Trujillo

With 27 fights inside the UFC, Gleison Tibau is one of the best-versed fighters in promotional history. And when he took on Abel Trujillo in the final bout of São Paulo's prelims, he became the winningest lightweight in the organization's history. Granted, it wasn't the prettiest win.

Evidently keen on exposing Trujillo's shortcomings in the grappling department, Tibau wasted no time in grounding the fight. From there, he locked up a rear-naked choke that appeared to coax his opponent into unconsciousness, causing referee Keith Peterson to halt to the action. The replay, however, revealed that Trujillo was not, in fact, out. And considering he also didn't tap, the stoppage stands out as a fairly poor one—reminiscent of Leandro Silva's submission of Drew Dober in March of this year, which was eventually overturned.

All the same, however, Tibau leaves São Paulo with a win. In victory, he separates himself from a February submission loss to Tony Ferguson, and moves to 34-11 overall. Trujillo, in contrast, slides onto a two-fight losing streak, having also lost to Tony Ferguson via rear-naked choke in his last bout. Winless since February 2014, The powerful Blackzilians rep has fallen a long way from his former status as one of the division's hottest prospects. He is now a tough 12-7 overall.

Case Outworks Cabral to Unanimous Decision

The third bout of the televised prelims came courtesy of the lightweight division; as Brazilian submission whiz Yan Cabral took on American stoppage machine Johnny Case in a bout that seemed incapable of reaching the judges' scorecards. Yet as it does so frequently, the fight game flaunted its inherent unpredictability, as the two lightweights indeed survived to the final bell. And though the Brazilian had plenty of shining moments on the mat, the judges instead sided with the visiting team.

The decision triumph, which is just the fourth of Case's 26-fight career, moves him to 22-4 overall, and 4-0 as a UFC fighter. He's now on a 12 fight streak. Cabral, on the other hand, loses for just the second time and moves to 12-2 overall.

Tavares Scores Quick Submission Over Guida

With more than 70 professional fights collectively, Thiago Tavares and Clay Guida's featherweight pairing represented a bona fide clash of veterans. Unfortunately, however, Guida apparently forgot to pack his veteran savvy on this trip to Brazil. After a reckless double leg in the opening moments of the fight, the former Strikeforce lightweight champion found his neck wrapped up in a guillotine choke, and when no escape was possible, was forced to tap.

The win, which came just 39 seconds into the bout, marks the fastest submission victory in UFC featherweight history and arguably the biggest win of Tavares' career. Now 20-6-1 overall, he returns to the win column after a bloody June loss to Brian Ortega.

Guida, meanwhile, falls to 32-16 overall. And while he remains a tough test for prospects on the way up, his days as a top fighter appear to be in the rear view.

Skelly Survives Knockdown for Submission Win

São Paulo's televised prelims were kicked off by lanky featherweight prospects Chas Skelly and Kevin Souza, who met in an interesting clash of styles. In one corner, we had Skelly, a talented grappler with 7 submission wins to his name. In the other, we had the deceptively powerful Souza, whose strikes had ended the nights of 13 of his previous opponents. And though the strengths of both men were on display while the bout lasted, it was eventually the American who come out on top.

After nearly having his head knocked off in the first round, Skelly was able to lock up a second-round rear naked choke for the win. The win moves him to an impressive 15-1 overall, and 4-1 in the UFC. Souza, meanwhile, tastes defeat for the first time since June of 2011. He's now 15-4 in total and 3-1 in the UFC.

Andrade Scores Hometown Win over Umalatov

The final bout of the Fight Pass prelims featured welterweights Gasan Umalatov and Viscardi Andrade, both of whom returned after lengthy stints on the sidelines. In advance of the bout, Umalatov had not competed in over a year, while Andrade returned to action after a two-year, injury-induced layoff. Of course, only one fighter's comeback could go as planned.

In the end, that fighter was Andrade, who visibly fed off the support of the passionate Brazilian fans in attendance. The unanimous decision win marks his first win since August of 2013, and moves him to 18-6 overall and 2-1 inside the Octagon. Umalatov, on the other hand, remains winless since May of 2014. The 33-year-old Russian is now a tough 1-3 in the UFC, and 15-5 in total.

Rivera Edges Munhoz in Epic Clash of Prospects

The second bout of the night paired two of the bantamweight division's hottest prospects in a fantastic bit of work by UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby. In one corner, we had New Jersey's Jimmie Rivera. In the other, we had Brazil's Pedro Munhoz, who returned to action after more than a year on the shelf.

The story of this one was Rivera's combinations and takedown defense which, despite a strong second round from Munhoz, proved enough to earn him a split decision victory. With the win, he's now a spectacular 18-1 overall and 2-0 in the UFC. Having not lost since his second pro bout in November of 2008, he's got the look of a top-10 fighter waiting to happen. Munhoz, on the other hand, moves to 11-2 overall, and 1-2 in the UFC with one no contest in that stretch.

Nicolai Taps Korea in Back-and-Forth Scrap

The first bout of the night came courtesy of the bantamweight division, as Ultimate Fighter: Brazil teammates Bruno Korea and Matheus Nicolau debuted against one another. The highlights of round one were an illegal up-kick by Korea, and a big knockdown by Nicolau. Round two, in turn, saw Korea land a knockdown of his own with a thudding body kick. And finally, mid-way through the third, Nicolau dazed his opponent with a flying knee, before finishing things off with a guillotine choke. He's now 11-1 overall, while Korea loses his zero and moves to 4-1.