The bout was a striking match from the get-go. Eddiva's main weapon was his kicks. Souza answered with barrages of punches. But in the end, it was Souza's punches that generated more damage. In the first round, Eddiva's signature kicks slowed down Souza a bit but the Brazilian kept on pressing the action with nasty combinations which consistently hit their mark. Eddiva was able to bring Souza to the mat and attempted to inflict damage. With Eddiva on top of him, Souza tried to submit him with a triangle choke but Eddiva was able to get out of it.
Souza then managed to get back up on his feet. Sensing that he might be behind in the score cards, he went on full offensive mode, dropping Eddiva with a right on the process. In the last minute of the round, Souza threw a barrage of punches that had Eddiva wobbling and in big trouble. Eddiva, however, survived the Brazilian's onslaught.
The end of the fight came in the last seconds of the second round. Souza once again hurt Eddiva with nasty punch combinations. Eddiva stood his ground and remained on his feet but referee Herb Dean saw enough, prompting him to call a stop to the fight with just eight seconds remaining in the round.
With the lose, Eddiva drops to 6-1-0 while Souza improves to 15-3-0. Their bout is part of the undercard for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Finale which was headlined by a heavyweight bout between Stipe Miocic and Fabio Maldonado. The event was held at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
A bloodied Souza (right) presses on towards a retreating Eddiva (left) as referee Herb Dean looks on. Photo by Jason Silva (USA TODAY) via MMA Junkie |