WGP 83: Denis Jr. dethrones Tomas Chacal in an epic fight and thrills the crowd in Espírito Santo

WGP 83 delivered one of the most intense nights in the event's history. In a packed Arena Jacaraípe, the city of Serra, in Espírito Santo, saw Denis Jr. capture the Super Lightweight belt by defeating Argentine Tomas Chacal in a true five-round battle, which drove the crowd wild in Serra (ES). The Brazilian started dominantly, built an advantage with a knockdown and, even in the face of the reigning champion's response, grew stronger in the final round to make his title dream come true. The night also crowned Vinicius Mestrinier as the Challenger GP winner in the division, after knocking out his semifinal opponent with a spinning kick in 38 seconds and defeating Mateus Pakitoo in the final, securing not only the trophy but also a rematch against the new champion.

The event was held with the support of the Association of Contact Sports, Culture and Leisure of ES (Assecles), which has played a key role in the development of martial arts in the state, as well as the Serra City Hall through the city's Department of Tourism, Culture, Sport and Leisure. Also noteworthy was the great support of state representative Mazinho dos Anjos, who is also a major ally in encouraging the practice of contact sports in the region and is directly responsible for bringing WGP to the city.

New champion and plenty of celebration from the fans in Espírito Santo

The main fight of WGP 83 brought together two of the best pound-for-pound athletes in Latin America. Tomas Chacal and Denis Jr. lived up to their rankings. The crowd at Arena Jacaraípe turned the venue into a true cauldron to push the home fighter against the reigning champion. Inside the ring, the Brazilian started better, taking the reins of the fight and energizing the crowd. A knockdown put him ahead on points, but the Argentine, showing why he was the champion, began to grow in the fight and evened things out from the middle to the end. In the final round, whoever had the upper hand would take the Super Lightweight belt, and Denis Jr. was more aggressive to claim the title and drive the arena wild in Serra. A historic night for WGP Kickboxing.

The Super Lightweight Challenger GP determined the next title challenger in the very division that was at stake in the night's main event. And there was no shortage of excitement. In the first semifinal, Mateus Pakitoo granted Hugo Nascimento a rematch after the victory in their first bout, following Hugo's injury. And this time the outcome was the same, but both put on a true war, with Pakitoo winning on the details. In the other semifinal, Vinicius Mestrinier faced Hamyrez Oliveira, who entered the GP on short notice, since Julio Assunção missed weight. And the fight didn't even last a minute. At 38 seconds, Vinicius landed a perfect spinning kick to end the bout and advance to the final.

In the grand final, Vinicius and Pakitoo put on an insane battle. With lots of intensity, the striking exchanges were nonstop in the ring and the crowd got excited. Inside the ring, it was very even, with both men alternating good moments and landing powerful blows. In the final stretch, Vinicius showed the full range of his skills to pull ahead and win by unanimous decision, thus securing another Challenger GP trophy and the chance for a rematch against Denis Jr., who had already defeated him at the event and is now the ninth champion.

Just like the night's main event, WGP also staged a Brazil vs. Argentina showdown, but this time among the women. Brazilian Maria Samurai, owner of incredible amateur achievements, made her WGP debut against Argentine Tammy Iovanetti and thrilled the crowd at Arena Jacaraípe with a very aggressive and dominant style. After nine minutes, the judges had no doubts in confirming the unanimous victory, to the delight of the fans.

Among the night's Super Fights, there was also no shortage of excitement. The women's duel between Fabi Peixoto and Jessica Coelho thrilled the crowd. At the end of the three rounds, Fabi came out on top thanks to her impact. The clash between Júlio Assunção and Keven Carvalho was also exciting, and the latter ended up getting the better of it because Julio failed to make weight and started the bout with a two-point deduction. He was even removed from the Challenger GP for that reason. In the fight between Henrique Quebra Ossos and Cauã Hannin, the former entered the fight with a three-point deduction for missing weight, but won all three rounds to take the bout by unanimous decision. Naty Boone and Cleidiane Laureano, meanwhile, put on a very lively and evenly matched contest, with Naty edging it on the scorecards by split decision.

The WGP 83 Undercard was also full of excitement. Of the five opening fights, none went to the judges' scorecards. The main standouts were Pedro Souza and Renato Lima. While the former dominated and scored a beautiful knockout over Bruno Alvarenga, the latter got the crowd going and celebrated a win still in the second round over Claudio Evangelista. Fabiano Mineiro, Adrion Silva and Ana Maria Freitas were other winners on the night.

WGP 83 - Official Results

Denis Jr. defeated Tomas 'Chacal' Aguirre by unanimous decision
Vinicius Mestrinier defeated Mateus Pakitoo by unanimous decision
Maria 'Samurai' defeated Tammy Iovanetti by unanimous decision
Vinicius Mestrinier defeated Hamyrez Oliveira by knockout at 38 sec of the first round
Mateus Pakitoo defeated Hugo Nascimento by split decision
Fabi Peixoto defeated Jéssica Coelho by unanimous decision
Keven Carvalho defeated Julio Assunção by unanimous decision
Henrique 'Quebra Ossos' defeated Cauã Hannin by unanimous decision
Naty Boone defeated Cleidiane Laureano by split decision
Fabiano Mineiro defeated Renato Amorim by medical stoppage at
Adrion Silva defeated Alessandro Barcellos by medical stoppage at 1 min and 53 sec of the second round
Renato Lima defeated Claudio Evangelista by knockout at 2 min of the second round
Pedro de Souza defeated Bruno Alvarenga at 2 min of the second round
Ana Maria Freitas defeated Yasmin Pimentel by knockout at 2 min and 55 sec of the third round