In 2007 and 2008, Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante was viewed as one of the most promising prospects in mixed martial arts, a light heavyweight with devastating striking and a killer instinct.
Feijao took a step backward in his first fight of 2009, losing to Mike Kyle, and in his return to the cage Friday night at the Strikeforce Challengers Series, he got off to a slow start. But we finally saw the Feijao we've been looking for in the second round, when he battered Aaron Rosa with a series of strikes and won by TKO.
Feijao spent most of the first round just holding Rosa against the fence and not doing much of anything, and at the end of the first round the crowd was booing, but in the second round Feijao turned it on and dominated Rosa, both on his feet and on the ground. It wasn't exactly a great performance from Feijao, but it was at least a sign of life.
Feijao improves his record to 8-2, with seven wins by knockout or TKO. Rosa falls to 12-3.
Rafael 'Feijao' Cavalcante KOs Aaron Rosa at Strikeforce Challengers
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11/20/2009 11:25 PM ET By Michael David Smith
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- Michael David Smith
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Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Apparently Rosa had a horrible weight cut for this fight so I'll go ahead and give him a mulligan for this performance. I still like the guy, and hope to see him again on these Challengers cards.
As for Feijao he's hardly the top flight prospect so many of the MMA elite claimed him to be.