Even a past-his-prime
Vinc Pichel
can be a fly in the ointment for ambitious
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweights.
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 15 semifinalist will return to the
Octagon for the first time in more than a year when he locks horns
with
Ismael
Bonfim in a featured
UFC Fight Night 231 attraction on Saturday at Ibirapuera
Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Pichel, 40, enters the cage with
wins in three of his past four outings. However, the
Factory
X standout finds himself on the rebound following a unanimous
decision defeat to former Olympic silver medalist
Mark O.
Madsen at UFC 273 in April 2022. “From Hell” has delivered more
than half (eight) of his 14 professional victories by knockout or
technical knockout.
As Pichel moves ever closer to his forthcoming clash with Bonfim at
155 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape
his career to this point:
The
Jackson-Wink MMA rep made quite an impression in his
promotional debut when he knocked out the previously unbeaten
Pichel with a belly-to-back suplex and follow-up punches as part of
“The Ultimate Fighter 16” Finale undercard on Dec. 15, 2012 at the
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Khabilov brought it to a
close 2:15 into Round 1. A clearly outgunned Pichel offered
virtually no meaningful offense. His Russian counterpart closed the
distance inside the first minute and delivered three belly-to-back
suplexes, the last of which left a prone Pichel dazed and exposed
on the mat. Khabilov then unleashed a series of left hands for the
finish.
Pichel cruised to a unanimous decision over the
World Extreme Cagefighting veteran in their UFC 173 lightweight
prelim on May 24, 2014 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Njoukuani was given no space
through which to execute his game plan. Pichel turned on the jets
in the second round, where he swarmed the Nigeria-born Texan with
clinches and neutralized him with one takedown after another. The
Lancaster, California, native appeared close to a finish at one
point in the frame, as he tagged the exposed Njokuani with thudding
right hands on the ground. The muay thai stylist survived, only to
be taken down three times and mounted twice over the final five
minutes.
The former NCAA wrestling champion took care of Pichel with an
arm-triangle choke in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 131
co-main event on June 1, 2018 at the Adirondack Bank Center in
Utica, New York. Pichel bowed out 4:06 into Round 2 in what remains
the only submission defeat of his career. The relentless Gillespie
struck for multiple takedowns in a one-sided first round, hunted
for chokes and even advanced to full mount at one point. Not much
changed in the middle stanza. Gillespie executed three more
takedowns, forced his counterpart into some poor decisions and made
his move. He set off a scramble by moving to mount, floated to the
back and bit down on the arm-triangle when Pichel tried to free
himself. There was no escape, and the tapout followed soon
after.
Pichel overcame a slow start, excelled in grappling exchanges and
continued to establish himself as a late-bloom contender in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division when he laid
claim to a unanimous decision over the longtime Brazilian jiu-jitsu
black belt in the featured UFC 252 prelim on Aug. 15, 2020 at the
UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 29-27. Miller
executed a takedown from the clinch in the first round, scrambled
to the Californian’s back and ran through a series of submissions,
moving from a rear-naked choke to a guillotine to a calf slicer.
Pichel survived, extended the bout and overwhelmed the former
Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder with a robust
clinch, repeated takedowns and punishing ground-and-pound. Miller
appeared to be closing on a Hail Mary guillotine late in the third
round, but Pichel freed himself from his clutches, resumed his
assault and bled the remaining time off the clock.