Enrique Barzola achieved his awaited rematch this Saturday at the UFC Fight Night Mexico. The 'Fuerte' achieved an important unanimous decision victory over the American Chris Avila and got his first victory in the featherweight division of the UFC.
Unlike his debut in this division, in which he lost to Kyle Bochniak by split decision, this time Enrique Barzola exercised clear dominion over his opponent by appealing to his great luta livre technique. The Peruvian fighter did not give his opponent any chances.
Since he stepped into the octagon, Barzola connected good kick combinations. The ones that created the most damage were his low kicks, which caused a lot of damage to Chris Avila's left leg, that slowly began to have trouble supporting himself.
But the real difference that Enrique Barzola, from Ivan 'Pitbull' Iberico's PMAC gym, achieved in the points was precisely in his takedowns. The 'Fuerte' sent his rival to the ground several times during the three rounds. Down there, he knew how to get the back and control his opponent at will.
"I was training very hard for a month to win this fight. I dedicate this victory to all of Peru, especially my family who always supports me," said Enrique Barzola after his victory by unanimous decision of the judges.
After being crowned champion of TUF Latin America 2, Enrique Barzola signed with UFC for three fights (he has one victory and one defeat). The 'Fuerte' still has one more fight to prove he deserves to have his agreement extended for much longer.
ROUND BY ROUND
Third round |
| Barzola finishes the fight by kicking Avila on the ground. |
| Avila seems to not want to keep fighting. |
| Barzola takes his opponent's back again. |
| Barzola hits his opponent against the cage. |
| Avila shows pain in his left leg due to the low kicks. |
| New takedown against Avila, who takes two good punches. |
| Barzola connects kick and knee combinations. |
Second round |
| Avila shows a considerable wound under his left eye. |
| Barzola connects a good hook, Avila is not doing well. |
| The 'Fuerte' applies a suplex and takes his opponent's back on the ground. |
| Barzola connects good low kicks. |
| The 'Fuerte' connects good punch combinations. |
| Barzola gets the takedown from the start and controls the fight. |
First round |
| Avila is not doing well against the cage. |
| The 'Fuerte' sends his opponent to the ground and gains his back. |
| Barzola achieves his first takedown, but Avila gets up. |
| Barzola connects kick and knee combinations. |
| The fight starts! |
| "Jehovah is my warrior!", shouts 'Fuerte' Barzola during his entrance. |
| Chris Avila is the first to enter the octagon. |
PREVIEW:
The Peruvian Enrique Barzola will compete this Saturday (5:30 pm, Peruvian time) in his second fight in the featherweight division of the UFC, when he faces the American Chris Avila in the UFC Fight Night 98 that will take place at the Arena in Mexico.
The 'Fuerte' Barzola, winner of the second season of TUF Latin America, comes into this fight with a thirst for revenge, after falling to Kyle Bochniak in a controversial split decision. That's why the fighter from Ivan Iberico's PMAC team is not willing to depend on the judges again to take the victory.
"I have learned a lot from my loss to Kyle Bochniak. This time, I am going to be much more aggressive and forceful to prevent the result from being in the judges' hands," said Enrique Barzola, who is not intimidated by the fact that Chris Avila trains with the Diaz brothers.
"Every fighter who comes to the UFC deserves respect because it's not easy to be here. But I am going to go out and annihilate him no matter where he trained or who he prepared with," concluded Enrique Barzola, who will fight the second of the three fights in his contract with UFC.
The transmission of the UFC Fight Night in Mexico will be through UFC Network (526 from Claro and 795 from Movistar). The event will be headlined by the fight between two great representatives of the lightweight division like Rafael dos Anjos and Tony Ferguson.
