"What is in the water in Denmark?" - Jon Anik and Kenny Florian react to Nicolas Dalby's comeback KO win at UFC Sao Paulo
Nicolas Dalby took on Gabriel Bonfim this past weekend at UFC Sao Paulo, and went into the fight as a massive 6-1 underdog. Bonfim, known to be a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) phenom, went all in searching for the finish early in the fight.
Dalby, however, was able to survive, and kept the scrambles going. He proved to be extremely hard to finish and Bonfim, who had emptied the gas tank, started to fade.
The Danish fighter clearly took notice of the fading Bonfim and started to pour on the pressure. Landing elbows, short shots in the clinch and forcing Bonfim back, Dalby gained momentum and eventually, forced Bonfim to crumble to the mat, as the referee jumped in and called a halt to the contest.
Bonfim, who is a Brazilian, was the hometown favorite going into UFC Sao Paulo, but Dalby's grit and determination carried him through.
Speaking on The Anik & Florian podcast, Jon Anik and Kenny Florian heaped praises on Dalby's grit.
"I mean, my goodness, what is in the water in denmark?" Anik said. "What an absolute f***ing warrior, these guys get the bonus, it was the fight of the night. When Bonfim started throwing the wayward uppercuts, I knew it was a last ditch effort to stay in the fight. I appreciate Bonfim's ability and willingess to sort of go out on his shield but uh, this was hugely valuable experience accrued by the young Bonfim and Nicolas Dalby has certainly hit the second wind in his UFC career."
Florian went on to call the fight "un-freaking-believable," and continued to heap praise on both Dalby as well as Bonfim.
Check out the clip here:
Islam Makhachev reacts to the UFC Sao Paulo main event
The UFC Sao Paulo main event saw Jailton Almeida dominate Derrick Lewis, securing more than 20 minutes of control time on his way to a unanimous decision victory. That being said, Almeida struggled to find the finish despite securing advantageous positions numerous times.
This prompted a response from the UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev. The Dagestani took to Twitter and gave his thoughts on the UFC Sao Paulo main event in a pair of tweets.
First, he wrote:
"When you never training grappling <facepalm emoji>"
Then, he added:
"give him a pillow <facepalm emoji"
Check out the tweets here: