A year after losing the TUF 33 finale fight, Rodrigo Sezinando returned to the Octagon and scored his first victory, defeating Theodor Berggren via doctor’s stoppage during the UFC Vegas 123 prelims.
Sezinando opened the fight with a big takedown, though Berggren got back to his feet quickly and adjusted to focus on defending the takedowns. Berggren found success in the clinch with some inside shots, but Sezinando continued to press forward with his wrestling and grappling.
Sezinando hurt Berggren at the end of the first with a spinning backfist. Then, he continued to pursue the takedown in round two. Sezinando took Berggren’s back and got into mount, doing serious damage from both positions. Sezinando’s ground-and-pound got so overwhelming that Berggren suffered a nasty gash on his lip.
That wound proved to be too much, as Berggren was unable to answer the horn for round three.
A former champion on the regional scene, Sezinando made it to the welterweight portion of TUF 33’s finale, defeating Diego Bianchini and Jeff Creighton on the show before losing in the finals to Daniil Donchenko.
