[complete]

Round 1
Hermes Franca, a former student of Marcus Aureilo, meets his former instructor in a lightweight contest. The official overseeing this scrap is Todd Frederickson. The ref has to separate the men before the bout starts as Franca bumps Aurelio as he passes him circling the cage.

The official action starts with a missed Franca flying knee. Aurelio takes the center of the Octagon to eat a right low kick by Franca. The former American Top Team fighter starts to counter Aurelio with kicks to the legs and thighs. Franca looks to work the jab while Aurelio misses with a variety of punches. “Maximus” finally lands a flush jab, but Franca circles. Another nice low kick lands to the left leg of the Pride veteran. Aurelio answers with a right hand. A front kick lands by Franca. Franca closes the first round with good kicks and obviously frustrates his former training partner. 10-9 Franca.

Round 2
Todd Frederickson starts the second frame and the Brazilians waste no time trying to exchange. Franca again starts with kicks going low and high. Nothing is catching Aurelio flush, but Franca is showing dominance. Franca’s unorthodox style is working. Combos are coming from Franca. Left jab, right straight and a low kick for good measure. Aurelio is trying to answer, but nothing is landing hard. Finally Aurelio has a combo that grazes Franca. Flurries from both men miss. The fighters engage again and both land decent shots, but still Franca is the more effective striker. With 10 seconds remaining, Franca lands another hard low kick. 10-9 Hermes Franca.

Round 3
Franca again takes the center of the cage and starts where he left off, leg kicks. Aurelio is obviously frustrated and sore. He shoots but cannot secure a takedown. Aurelio then shoots off of another Franca leg kick and finally takes his opponent down. On the floor Aurelio passes to half and lands some strikes. Aurelio is scoring here and Franca then gets guard. He pushes Aurelio away and stands. As Franca gets back to his feet Aurelio lands a knee to the head of Franca. Fredrickson stops the bout and says the knee was illegal. Replays show that the knee was legal. The fighters restart with Franca landing a leg kick. Aurelio shoots for a single and the two men clinch. They separate for the closing moments of the bout. Franca throws a three-punch combo that misses.

Franca tries to shake Aurelio’s hand and Marcus has none of it. Franca then flips him off. 10-9 for Franca. The official judges see the bout 29-28 (twice) and 30-27 for Hermes Franca.