Mitch Raposo and Andre Lima at the UFC 302 official weigh-in. Photo by Dylan Napoleone/Cageside Press
Flyweight Mitch Raposo got a last-minute opportunity to compete at UFC 302 on Saturday, but his opponent, Andre Lima, was way overweight.
Lima weighs in at four pounds over the flyweight limit, meaning Raposo will pocket some extra cash whether he wins or loses. It remains to be seen whether the mistake will have an impact, but Lima danced his way to the cage as UFC 302 kicked off on Saturday.
UFC fans may remember Andre Lima as the victim of Igor Severino, who was disqualified and later fired by the wrestling organization after intentionally biting Lima in March. The incident generated plenty of sympathy for the Brazilian, but not much for being underweight.
Lima had a clear size advantage in the cage on Saturday and took an early lead, taking Raposo down and drawing his attention with an early leg kick. This forced Raposo to switch stances, which he returned after another kick landed about 30 seconds later. By the time the third kick landed, the game plan was clear. After the fourth kick landed, Raposo fought back with combinations, most of which Lima blocked.
Lima landed a flurry of low kicks and even a knee two minutes into the bout. Raposo continued to dance around on the outside, occasionally landing heavy attacks but mostly struggling to get any offense going. By the end of the round, Raposo had shifted stances a few times and the damage to both legs was obvious. He landed a right hand in the final minute but couldn’t do anything after that.
With both legs hurt, Mitch Raposo was in his corner, where he was advised to ice his legs between rounds and to try and feint quickly. But the problem for Raposo was that Lima continued to land kicks, took very little damage and didn’t appear to tire noticeably. Raposo kept coming forward and pressuring for the first two minutes, looking for opportunities but with little success, and few takedowns in the first 1 1/2 rounds.
Referee Herb Dean paused the bout to warn Lima that a finger poke had grazed his eye, giving both fighters time to recover. Despite the warning, Dean had to warn Lima twice more shortly thereafter. After the third warning of the round and a second very short pause, Raposo finally lunged for a takedown and completed it just as Lima quickly got to his feet.
Mitch Raposo came in for the third round, coming forward and throwing combos, trying to build on the slight momentum he had at the end of the second round. Lima still got in Raposo’s face, landing leg kicks and even a high kick that was later blocked by his arm, which was slightly red and in pain. From there, Raposo used his speed to increase his numbers and kept fighting until the final bell, but a kick to the calf from Andre Lima put Raposo behind early on and he couldn’t keep up.
Official result: Andre Lima defeats Mitch Raposo via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
