FRANCA vs. BRUNO
The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4 lightweight crown went to Team Shogun’s Glaico Franca, who submitted Team Nogueira’s Fernando Bruno in the third round.
It was a grueling opening round, Franca controlling matters on the mat, even if the action wasn’t particularly compelling. The second was more of the same, this time with Bruno winning the grappling exchanges until a scramble in the final 90 seconds that saw Franca take the back of his foe and nearly sink in a rear naked choke.
Likely down on the scorecards, Bruno went after his foe aggressively in the final round, and he had success in spurts, but not enough to pull off the late finish. Instead, it was Franca who surged in the closing seconds, locking in the rear naked choke that forced Bruno to tap out at 4:46 of the third round.
With the win, Santa Catarina’s Franca improves to 14-3; Rio de Janeiro’s Bruno falls to 16-3.
