Mascot at a UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/andremascote__
On Saturday night (20), at UFC Vegas 119 , held at the UFC Apex, in Las Vegas (USA), André Mascote suffered the first defeat of his career when he was defeated by Kevin Borjas in the flyweight division (up to 56,7 kg). After three rounds fought, the Peruvian prevailed in the judges' assessment and won by unanimous decision, ending his opponent's undefeated streak in professional MMA.
The Brazilian started the fight controlling the center of the octagon and using kicks to dictate the pace of the action. On the other side, Kevin Borjas relied on counter-attacks and waited for his opponent's advances to respond. Despite varying his attacks well throughout the round, André Mascote saw the Peruvian land the most significant blows in the final moments of the first round.
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At the start of the second round, Mascote landed a low blow, and his opponent needed more than five minutes to recover and return to the fight. After the stoppage, Borjas maintained his strategy based on the speed of his hands and began to find openings more frequently. The Peruvian connected with clean combinations at close range, making it difficult for the Brazilian to attack, and in the final moments of the round, he secured an important takedown to finish the round in a dominant position.
In the third round, Kevin Borjas maintained his intense movement and continued to exploit the speed of his hands to score points. André Mascote tried to increase the volume of strikes and pressured his opponent in search of a comeback, managing to connect with good attacks throughout the round.
Despite the Brazilian's comeback, the Peruvian managed the advantage he had built in the previous rounds and avoided taking bigger risks until the final bell. At the end of the 15-minute fight, Borjas was declared the winner by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Impact of defeat
The defeat represents a temporary setback in André Mascote 's rise within the flyweight division. Undefeated until then and considered one of Brazil's most promising fighters in the category, the loss interrupts the winning streak he had been building in the UFC and misses the chance to gain a position in the competitive flyweight division. At 27 years old, the fighter still has room for improvement and should use the result as a learning experience for future challenges in the organization.
The Peruvian failed to make weight.
Kevin Borjas failed to make weight for his fight against André Mascote at UFC Vegas 119. The Peruvian weighed in at 58,5 kg, approximately 1,3 kg over the flyweight limit. As punishment, he lost 20% of his purse, and the Brazilian agreed to keep the fight.
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