WGP 72 crown Gustavo Jones and Tomas Chacal at the end of the year

The WGP Kickboxing concluded the year 2023 in grand style. In the city of Brasília, on this Friday, December 15th, WGP 72 wrapped up the season with great emotions and new champions crowned. In the main fight of the night, Gustavo Jones dethroned the then-champion Jonas Salsicha and won the Super-Middleweight title by split decision after a great battle. In the co-main event, the Argentine Tomas Chacal faced a real war with the Brazilian Vinicius Mestrinier and retained the Super-Lightweight title also by split decision. Other highlights of the night were Andre Martins' victories over Ravy Brunow, which earned him the professional Brazilian title in the Welterweight division, and the triumph of Cabelo Monteiro over Felipe Artillero, in the Lightweight division. At the end of the duel, the Brazilian number 1 in the ranking directly challenged the category champion Renzo Martinez.

The main fight of WGP 72 was surrounded by expectations. Jonas Salsicha, the titleholder at the time, faced Gustavo Jones, his only conqueror in the WGP. And inside the ring, there was much tension as both athletes studied each other closely. In the final two rounds, the fight intensified, and both athletes went all out in search of victory. In the end, the challenger Gustavo Jones had the upper hand, being slightly superior in important moments of the fight. With this, the Super-Middleweight division has a new king, and his name is Gustavo Jones.

In the co-main event of the night, another title was at stake. The Argentine Super-Lightweight champion, Tomas Chacal, faced the Brazilian challenger Vinicius Mestrinier. What unfolded in the ring was a true war. Each round was decided by the details, with both athletes alternating great moments in the fight and lifting the audience present in the gym in Brasília. At the end of the five rounds, the result clearly reflected what the fight was. Victory for the champion by split decision and the title maintained.

Things heated up in the duel for the professional Brazilian Welterweight title. Ravy Brunow, the current champion and former titleholder in the category at the WGP, faced the host André Martins. What was seen inside the ring was a balanced duel, decided by a knockdown in favor of André in the last round. Victory by unanimous decision, a title, and an achievement that few have accomplished in the WGP: defeating Ravy Brunow.

The duel between the Brazilian Cabelo Monteiro and the Chilean Felipe Artillero put the number 1 and number 4 in the Lightweight ranking face to face, respectively. At the end of the three rounds, the Brazilian came out on top unanimously, utilizing the victory to challenge champion Renzo Martinez with a message on his shirt. And in the fight that opened the main card, Gabriel Vinicius disregarded the experience of Ícaro Martins and pressed forward throughout the three rounds to win by unanimous decision.

The Super Fights of the night shook the Cruzeiro gym in Brasília. The standout was Paulo Sergipe, who with a spectacular performance knocked out Filipe Sheeipps in the third round. Another impressive performance came from Alex Reis, who implemented a very intense and aggressive game against Ramom Rozendo and triumphed by unanimous decision. In the other two duels, there were two international fights. Between Teodoro Ruiz Diaz and Rafael Andrade, the Paraguayan Diaz emerged victorious by unanimous decision. In the classic Brazil vs Argentina matchup, the Brazilian Júlio Assunção defeated the hermano Lucas Oporto, also by unanimous decision.

The Undercard of WGP 72 also heated up and got the crowd going. The main highlights of the early fights of the night were Kauan Lee and Rafael Sonak, who won against Gabriel Marques and Khalil Leite, respectively, by knockout. Other winners from the preliminary card were Evandro Taipan and Igor Taylon.