WGP 69: Tomas Chacal defeats Ignacio El Fino in a true battle and retains the title

The night of this Saturday, April 29, was yet another to go down in the history of WGP Kickboxing. For the sixth time in the city of Brasília, the show lived up to all expectations surrounding this edition. In the main event of the night, the Argentine Tomas Chacal defended his title for the first time against compatriot Ignacio El Fino and came out on top after a very balanced duel won by a split decision. In the co-main event of the night, former champion Bárbara Nepomuceno also performed beautifully, defeating Bianca Carvalho by unanimous decision. After the fight, she moved everyone with a tribute to her master Guto Nasser, who passed away in December and was always one of the greatest supporters of WGP and Kickboxing. The night also featured 13 other bouts, highlighting the stunning knockouts by Marcos Rios and Cabelo Monteiro against Mateus Machado and Nichollas Pestilli, respectively.

The main fight of WGP 69 put two compatriots face to face. The Argentine Tomas Chacal put his title on the line against fellow countryman Ignacio El Fino. And the duel lived up to expectations. With much movement and strikes, both athletes lifted the audience present at the ASCEB gym in Brasília. They alternated great moments throughout the five rounds, and the difficult decision to determine the winner was left to the side judges. By split decision, in a close call, Chacal emerged victorious and retained the Super Lightweight belt. 

In the co-main event of the night, there was a female weight bout. Former WGP champion and world champion, Barbara Nepomuceno faced off against local Bianca Carvalho. What unfolded in the ring was a fast-paced fight, heavily focused on low kicks. By the end of the three rounds, Bárbara was more effective and aggressive. With the announcement of the result came the emotion and the tribute to Guto Nasser, Bárbara's coach and one of the biggest supporters of Kickboxing and WGP, who passed away in December 2022. 

In one of the most anticipated bouts of the night, Mateus Machado and Marcos Rios faced off in a Brazil vs Argentina showdown with all the rivalry entails. In a very active fight, both raised the roof of the ASCEB gym in Brasília. In the third round, when Mateus seemed to be comfortably in control, Marcos landed a beautiful spinning punch that knocked the Brazilian down and ended the duel.

One of the highlights of the night was undoubtedly Cabelo Monteiro's performance. He didn't need more than a minute of fighting to knock out Nichollas Pestilli with a beautiful knee strike, sending the opponent to the canvas already unconscious. The main card of WGP 69 started in grand style. In the fight that opened the night’s headliners, Marcos Carvalho showed off against Ícaro Martins and won by technical knockout in the second round. In the bout preceding the main events of the night, Denis Jr and Alex Reis fought in a very balanced match, decided in the details in favor of Alex by split decision. The Super Fights also featured a weight duel between Brazil and Argentina. The Cearan Vitor Magão faced the hermano Metraletta Torino and ultimately fell to the Argentine’s firepower, who won by knockout in the second round. 

Brasilian Willer Alves had the support of a large crowd in his duel against Chilean Tanke Ewert, but after three rounds, the visitor ended up winning by split decision. The women’s bout between Lidia Helena and Suellen Bitencourt also energized the audience, with both alternating good moments. In the end, Suellen emerged victorious by split decision. In the fight that opened the Super Fights, Rio de Janeiro's Mateus Pakitoo shined. Against Rafael Andrade, he imposed his game and secured victory after a beautiful knockout in the second round. 

The Undercard of WGP 69 also heated up, with João Pedro Simão’s knockout over Alessandro Avatar being the standout victory after a beautiful sequence. Other winners of the night included Mateus Black, Augusto Ramos, Filipe Sheeipps, and Rafael Sonak.