UFC Vegas 31 video: Billy Quarantillo bloodies and batters Gabriel Benitez to earn third-round stoppage
With his honeymoon just days away, Billy Quarantillo can now celebrate his new marriage with an impressive third-round stoppage added to his resume following his win at UFC Vegas 31.
It was a complete performance from Quarantillo, who looked sharp on his feet and dangerous on the ground as he definitely had a battle on his hands with Gabriel Benitez. Round after round, Quarantillo continued to pour on the punishment until he had Benitez blooded with one eye nearly closed and that was more than enough for referee Mark Smith to stop the fight at 3:40 in the third round.
“It felt great,” Quarantillo said after his win. “I got that dog in me. We made it an ugly, dirty, grimy, bloody fight and we got the [win].”
Coming off his first loss in the octagon, Quarantillo was fighting like he had something to prove as he came out inviting Benitez to throw down with him as both fighters were swinging heavy leather early and often. That strategy paid off for Quarantillo after he clipped Benitez with a lightning quick right hand that dropped the Ultimate Fighter: Latin America veteran down to the ground.
Quarantillo followed him to the canvas as he looked for the finish but Benitez did a good job to stay out of too much trouble before eventually scrambling to get back to his feet.
While Quarantillo couldn’t put Benitez away in the opening round, he continued his assault with each passing minute as he took the fight to the mat and blasted away with vicious punches. By the time the fighters eventually worked back to the feet, Benitez was sporting a massive mouse under his left eye as he struggled to get a beat on Quarantillo’s combinations coming at him.
Despite being down on the scorecards, Benitez kept throwing with power behind his punches as the fight faded into the third and final round. Just when it looked like Benitez might be staging a comeback, Quarantillo turned the tables with a takedown and then quickly transitioning to latch onto the body triangle.
From there, Quarantillo just started hammering away with punches from the back and without Benitez showing much resistance, the referee had no choice but to halt the contest.
Now back in the win column, Quarantillo wasted no time calling his shot with hopes to face another featherweight veteran in his next fight.
“I’ve got somebody in mind, he just came off a huge win,” Quarantillo said. “Charles Rosa, I think that Boston versus Buffalo rivalry. He’s a longtime vet, I’m here fighting vets now.”
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