Former kickboxing champion Gustavo Sousa added another finish to his growing MMA highlight reel last Sunday. <\/p>\n
It was a busy week of action in the combat sports world, and on Saturday alone the UFC returned with a UFC Fight Night event in Perth<\/a>, Australia before a high-profile RIZIN 51 card, and earlier in the day Marcin Szo\u0142tysik made headlines when he tapped out <\/a>the moment his fight with Przemyslaw Mysiala started at Babilon MMA 54. <\/p>\n MMA fans could be forgiven for being a tad burnt around by the time Thunder Fight 51 went down in Brazil on Sunday, but arguably the card\u2019s biggest highlight came in the co-main event when Sousa collected his fourth win in MMA. <\/p>\n Taking place at Thunder Fight Center in Sao Paulo Brazil, Thunder Fight 51 featured an eight-fight MMA card and saw Sousa square off with 24-fight MMA veteran Marco Pirata in the night\u2019s co-main event. <\/p>\n READ MORE: Former MMA double-champ wants to rebook first UFC fight after shocking weight miss<\/a><\/p>\n Pirata was returning to action for the first time since he was stopped by a body kick from Arseniy Smirnov at RCC: Intro 17 back in 2021, and Sousa gave his countryman a rude welcome back to MMA when he quickly backed him up with punches before leaping in with a flying knee against the cage (clip courtesy of @nojikoskiMMA<\/a>).<\/p>\n Former WGP Kickboxing champ Gustavo “Jones” Sousa moves up to 4-0 (MMA) as he defeats Brave and RCC vet Marc\u00e3o Pirata (16-9) in just 17 seconds inside the first round.<\/p>\n 4-0 with 4 finishes in the 1st round!#ThunderFight51<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/uYEsciz9A4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jorge Nojikoski (@nojikoskiMMA) September 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMarc\u00e3o\u201d immediately shot for a takedown after absorbing the flying knee, but Sousa rained down some absolutely vicious elbows to the side of Pirata\u2019s head until the referee stepped in to end things just 17 seconds into the light heavyweight contest. <\/p>\n Pirata\u2019s MMA record fell to 16-9 with the loss, while Sousa improved to 4-0 in an MMA career that he\u2019s started to take more seriously within the last year. <\/p>\n READ MORE: UFC mainstay changes weight classes for UFC Qatar fight after brual knockout loss<\/a><\/p>\n A former WGP Kickboxing champion in his native Brazil, Sousa actually made his professional MMA debut back in 2019 and submitted Francisco Assis with a triangle choke just under three minutes into the first round at Victorious MMA 3. \u201cJones\u201d didn\u2019t return to MMA until late last year at Russia\u2019s MMA Series: Dyakonov vs. Andryushko, where he stopped Aleksandar Kurshinsky with ground and pound late in the opening round. <\/p>\n \u201cJones\u201d only needed 25 seconds to submit Erick Araujo at MMA University 2 in June. After extending his run of first-round wins with an even quicker finish against Pirata, combat sports fans will probably be playing close attention to see if Sousa intends to prioritize his MMA career going forward. <\/p>\n \u2022 UFC unveils head-scratching main event for Las Vegas Fight Night card<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 JDM sees legendary potential with UFC 322 super fight against Islam Makhachev at MSG<\/a> <\/p>\n \u2022 Joe Rogan has brutal outlook on Dricus du Plessis regaining UFC title <\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Dana White backs UFC’s long-term success in hard-hitting ’60 Minutes’ CBS special<\/a><\/p>\n Stick with MMAKnockout<\/a> for more FREE coverage of the UFC and MMA.<\/p>\n Follow MMAKnockout on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n