Karate Combat 50 Highlights: Aline Pereira knockout, Daniel Sathler flying triangle!

Val Dewar

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Karate Combat 50 Highlights: Aline Pereira knockout, Daniel Sathler flying triangle! image

GLORY Kickboxing

Aline Pereira and her brother Alex

Karate Combat 50 took place on Friday evening in Salt Lake City, Utah, following in the footsteps of the UFC, which held their 307th numbered event there last week.

Aline Pereira

This time, instead of world champion Alex Pereira taking center stage, one of the stars of the show was his sister Aline. Aline Pereira had a career as a GLORY kickboxer, much like her brother, before transitioning to MMA.

Due to a 1-2 record in her first three mixed martial arts bouts, when Karate Combat came calling Aline said yes.

She was pitted against SBG-Ireland fighter Dee Begley, who has a 4-6 MMA record but has also competed in sports like boxing. 

With a six-inch height advantage and a clear power advantage, Aline Pereira was able to dispatch her foe in the first round with a vengeance.

Her combination attack of an outside leg kick, followed by a straight right hand and a left hook to finish the job reminded many fans around the world of her superstar brother's striking attack. 

The Pereira family is at the top of the combat sports world at the moment, and even if Alex happens to lose his belt at some point soon, that does not appear likely to change

 

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Although Karate Combat is a striking promotion first, with their unique rules regarded ground and pound setting them apart from other promotions in the USA, they have also embraced grappling.

Many Karate Combat shows put on one or more jiu-jitsu bouts in their fighting pit; its slanted walls add a new facet to the sport which is highly compelling. No grappler can just escape the mat to force a reset, like in traditional grappling on a flat surface. 

This setting also causes a number of unusual and thrilling moves to be possible.

One such was on display on Friday evening, as Daniel Sathler (a black belt under André Galvão) launched himself off the slanted pit wall into a flying triangle attack.

He got his legs around opponent Matheus Costa's head and managed to isolate an arm as well, turning it into a triangle-armbar.

As quickly as the attack was launched, so too was the bout over, as Costa was forced to tap lightning-quick or risk his arm being snapped.

The highlight is making the rounds on social. Hopefully the 23-year-old grappling phenom from Brazil will see his career take off and earn new opportunities as a result of such a special submission victory.

Val Dewar

Val Dewar Photo

Val was initiated into Steelers Nation from the moment he was born — his first memory is a game vs. New England from when "Slash" was QB — and doing sports writing has always been a dream career for him. In 2022 he broke into the industry by writing about combat sports for Cageside Press, and now has the opportunity to continue that work with TSN as an MMA writer, as well as get his feet wet on the Steelers beat.