Elias Theodorou Outpoints Cezar Ferreira By Decision
Fan-favorite Elias Theodorou takes on Cezar Ferreira next in what should be an exciting middleweight contest.
Theodorou comes off of a unanimous decision win over Sam Alvey after suffering his first career loss against Thiago Santos in December of 2015. Ferreira is currently on quite the three-fight hot streak with wins over Oluwale Bamgbose, Anthony Smith, and Jack Hermansson.
Round One:
‘The Spartan’ opens up by pushing the action but doesn’t really land anything clean. Theodorou comes in with a body kick and eats a right hook as he comes in. He tries to land a head-kick a few times but Ferreira is just out of his range each attempt.
Theodorou connects with a low kick followed by a nice body kick but again begins to struggle with finding his range. The two exchange leg kicks and Ferreira lands two nice counter shots to Theodorou’s chin on his way inside.
A frustrated ‘Spartan’ attempts a takedown now but is unsuccessful as Ferreira is able to separate. Theodorou comes in on another overhand right but eats a big counter strike from Ferreira yet again. The Brazilian ends the round with another big counter punch and seemed to take that round.
Round Two:
Again Theodorou opens up the round with some pressure and lands a nice jab-cross. Ferreira comes in on a takedown but ‘The Spartan’ separates. A flying knee attempt ends up with a scramble and Ferreira taking Theodorou’s back.
Another great scramble and Theodorou finds himself on his feet again and pressuring Ferreira against the cage. Ferreira then pulls out a strong takedown and attempt to take ‘The Spartan’s’ back once again but is unsuccessful. The two are striking again and Ferreira slips and pays for it with a Theodorou takedown.
Theodorou throws down some shots before Ferreira pops back up but pulls guard with a deep guillotine. The choke is very deep but Theodorou is able to slip out of it. More ground-and-pound from ‘The Spartan’ now and Ferreira eventually finds himself up again.
Both men are sucking in a lot of air after their ground war and are slow to pull the trigger on anything big now. Ferreira lands a big low kick and Theodorou responds with a big overhand to end the round. With his ground dominance, ‘The Spartan’ may have taken that one on the judges’ scorecards.
Round Three:
The final round opens up with a nice head-kick from ‘The Spartan’ who follows that up with a leg kick. Another big leg kick from Theodorou who puts another big right hand behind it.
A takedown attempt from Ferreira fails to go anywhere but both men soon go in for a takedown at the same time and collide. They separate and continue to coast through the round.
Theodorou toes in on a high-kick but is taken down by Ferreira who takes his back and goes for the rear-naked choke. The Brazilian cranks hard on the face but ‘The Spartan’ continues to fight back hard and manages to break his grip. Theodorou gets back up, goes for a takedown, but the Brazilian miraculously lands on his feet.
Another takedown attempt from Ferreira but ‘The Spartan’ stuffs it to end the round. The native-son Theodorou is confident he’s won the contest after the final horn, and the judges agree with him.
Official Decision:
Elias Theodorou def. Cezar Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
