Gustavo Balart outpoints former ONE strawweight world champion Alex Silva at ONE 162

Gustavo Balart scored the biggest win of his MMA career so far, outpointing former ONE strawweight world champion Alex Silva on the main card of ONE 162: Zhang vs. Di Bella.

The pair clashed in a close three-round affair inside the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 21, where the Cuban barely escaped with a razor-close split decision victory. Surprisingly, the battle of wrestling vs. Brazilian jiu-jitsu was mainly contested on the feet.

Balart let his hands go as soon as the bell rang and tried to find a home for that massive overhand left hook. ‘Little Rock’, however, proved to be a tough customer and kept his distance. Once ‘El Gladiador’ got close, the Brazilian wisely pulled guard and immediately went for a leg lock. Gustavo Balart came prepared with his submission defense and escaped Silva’s attacks with ease.

The second round was more of the same, as the No.4-ranked strawweight fighter kept tagging Silva with power shots. Moreover, he managed to get back up each time Silva tried to take the fight to the ground. After not finding luck with his submissions, the 40-year-old decided to trade with Gustavo Balart on the feet and landed some kicks.

However, Balart, a three-time Pan-American Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion, still clipped him with the more damaging blows. Feeling he was behind on the judges’ scorecards, the 40-year-old fought with a sense of urgency in the final five minutes.

‘Little Rock’ landed the most significant shot of the fight, hitting Balart with a beautiful spinning heel kick right on the chin.

‘El Gladiador’, though, took the hit like a champ and kept moving forward. He picked up Silva with one of his signature power slams, but the Brazilian got back on his feet and threatened a guillotine as the round ended.

In the end, Balart’s aggression was rewarded by the judges as he got his hand raised. After losing his first three fights inside the Circle, the American Top Team product has racked up three straight victories and improved his overall record to 11-4.

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Gustavo Balart wants to fight for the world title

Gustavo Balart has beaten two former world champions in his last two fights.

Before besting Silva, ‘El Gladiador’ also outpointed Yosuke Saruta at ONE 156 this past April. While he did not specifically call out ONE strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio, the Cuban wrestler made it clear that winning the gold strap is his ultimate goal.

He said in his post-fight interview:

“It doesn’t matter who I’m fighting next, all I want is the belt. I want to be here, and I want to be the champion here.”