The fighters exchanged punches from the opening of round one before Evangelista suddenly took Gurgel to the ground. In response during the final seconds of round two, Gurgel landed a powerful left kick sending Evangelista to the mat. Gurgel almost landed a guillotine choke on Evangelista, but the local favorite escaped during the remaining seconds.

The final round was a back-and-forth affair, but Evangelista pulled through and earned a lightweight title shot.

Following the fight, a disappointed Gurgel stated, “The guy is tough. I have to take my hat off to him.”

In another exciting fight, heavyweight Shane Del Rosario (7-0) defeated local fighter “Cash Money” Brandon Cash (4-1) with a first round submission.

During the third televised fight on Showtime, middleweight Luke Rockhold (6-1) defeated Jesse Taylor (9-4) with a rear naked choke in the first round. The referee called the fight at 3:42 of the round one.

Merritt Warren (2-4) defeated Thomas Diagne (0-1) via heel hook in a lightning fast affair. Warren quickly caught Diagne in the submission forcing the French San Shou champion to tap at 3:49 of the opening round.