By: Fernanda Prates and John Morgan | February 6, 2017
HOUSTON – If a highlight-reel knockout wasn’t exactly what you expected from Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Marcel Fortuna in his short-notice UFC debut, don’t feel bad about your lack of foresight.
After all, it’s not like coming back from a 20-month layoff with the first knockout win of his career against a much larger heavyweight was exactly what the 205-pounder had in mind walking into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 104 event either.
“The goal was to try to keep the distance and find opportunities to try to take him to the ground,” Fortuna told MMAjunkie before learning he’d also take home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his efforts. “But I got to work the distance and work my hands, and it worked well even before I got to take him to the ground.
“It’s a dream. I’ve been working my whole life to get here, and my debut being a victory and my first knockout, it’s like a dream. Surreal.”
Fortuna (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) beat Anthony Hamilton (15-7 MMA, 3-5 UFC) in a main-card bout at Toyota Center in Houston. It aired on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
Although facing an opponent nearly 50 pounds heavier ended up working out just fine for Fortuna this time, he clarified he has no intention of attempting it again and is now hoping to get fights in his usual light-heavyweight division.
While he was happy to avoid scrambling to make the 205-pound limit with so little time to prepare, Fortuna said he wasn’t exactly thrilled with the perspective of coming in so outsized.
“Yeah, I was a little intimidated by it,” Fortuna said. “I was really worried about him putting me on the fence or being on top of me and using all his strength and weight, so I tried to avoid that. In the beginning, I got a little bit on the fence, but I got to move out of it, so I’m glad the strategy worked.”
Which is not to say that Fortuna, who was glad to put a stop to the fight before a cut above his eye made things “too messy,” didn’t get to experience some of Hamilton’s power before the early stoppage.
Full read http://mmajunkie.com/2017/02/coming-in-undersized-for-short-notice-ufc-debut-not-even-marcel-fortuna-expected-a-ko-win