Jean Silva and Marlon Vera went the distance in the main event of Wednesday night’s Hype Brazil in Sao Paulo, ruling their submission-only grappling match a draw.
The UFC duo was comfortable in hand fighting in the first half of the match, and action only picked up in the final five minutes after fans began to boo. Silva got double under hooks and managed to get Vera to the ground, but the former UFC title contender quickly returned to his feet.
Vera tripped the Brazilian for a takedown and Silva attacked
the neck to reverse position and get on top, with no submission threat. Silva took his back at one point of the match, but couldn’t work on a submission attempt.
Silva returned to his feet and slammed Vera on the ground, again scoring a couple of takedowns with a minute left, but didn’t work for chokes. Vera and Silva exchanged takedowns before the horn sounded. With no submission finish, Silva vs. Vera was declared a draw.
“You fans that are booing, take your shirt off and come fight me,” Silva said on his post-fight interview in the ring. “The guy took the match on a day’s notice. Other assholes were supposed to fight me pulled out, so we have to thank him for coming and putting on a show.”
Vera, who fought last in the UFC in February, said he was called on Sunday to compete Wednesday in Brazil.
“It was a war,” Vera said in Portuguese. “Thank you to the Brazilian crowd for the support.”
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