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Rodriguez has begun to make serious headway in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight
division. The Brazilian muay Thai practitioner outstruck Mackenzie
Dern and withstood a few harrowing ground exchanges with the
jiu-jitsu ace, as she took a unanimous decision from the 2015 Abu
Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold
medalist in the
UFC Fight Night 194 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas. All three cageside judges saw it the same: 49-46 for
Rodriguez (15-1-2, 5-1-2 UFC).
Dern (11-2, 6-2 UFC) had her chances. The Checkmat RVCA rep dragged
Rodriguez to the canvas in the second round, threatened with a leg
lock and moved into side control. From there she applied her
ground-and-pound from a reverse crucifix position and advanced to
the back. However, the submission Dern needed never materialized.
She managed to get Rodriguez back to the mat with roughly 40
seconds left in the fourth round, and though she ended the period
in full mount, her last legitimate opportunity at a victory had
passed her by.
Rodriguez was the vastly superior striker and knitted together her
weapons beautifully, from multi-punch volleys, front kicks to the
body and crisp jabs to oblique kicks, knees to the body and
standing elbows. Fatigue also played a role in Dern’s demise, as
she slowed noticeably in the championship rounds.
Brown Denies Overweight Gooden
Former Ring of Combat champion Randy Brown
posted his second win in as many appearances and laid claim to a
unanimous decision over Jared
Gooden in their three-round welterweight co-main event. All
three judges struck 30-27 scorecards for Brown (14-4, 8-4 UFC).
Gooden (18-7, 1-3 UFC) was successful in spurts, especially with
leg kicks, but could not get enough done with his hands to spring
the upset. Brown did not leave the cage unscathed. He suffered a
significant toe injury in the first round when he wobbled Gooden
with a front kick under the chin. Brown fought through the pain,
fed his opponent a steady diet of jabs and flurried with power
punches whenever the situation called for it. The Budokan Martial
Arts Academy product increased the frequency and intensity of his
attacks in the third round—he incorporated flying knees—but could
not get rid of the granite-chinned Gooden, a man who missed weight
by three pounds for the match.
The 27-year-old Gooden has lost three of his last four
fights.
Resurgent Nicolau Bests Elliott
Nova Uniao representative Matheus
Nicolau rode an efficient standup attack and stellar takedown
defense to a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
24 winner Tim Elliott
in a three-round flyweight attraction. All three cageside judges
scored it the same: 29-28 Nicolau (17-2-1, 5-1 UFC).
Elliott (17-12-1, 6-10 UFC) enjoyed a strong start with a takedown
and effective use of the clinch. However, the Glory MMA export lost
his way in the middle stanza. Nicolaus connected in combination,
mixed in sneaky counters and zeroed in on the body with left hooks.
Elliott answered with hopping front kicks and a few left hands of
his own in Round 3 but conceded a takedown to the Brazilian and
remained on his back in closed guard for far too long. By the time
he returned to an upright position, it was too late for him to
offer much of a response.
Nicolau has rattled off four consecutive victories.
Agapova Choke Submits Mazo
Dana White’s Contender Series alum Mariya
Agapova submitted former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion
Sabina
Mazo with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their
women’s flyweight showcase. Mazo (9-3, 3-3 UFC) raised the white
flag 53 seconds into Round 3, the unwitting victim of a classic
club-and-sub finish.
Agapova (10-2, 2-1 UFC) spent the first 10 minutes picking apart
the Kings MMA-trained Colombian with clean combinations and
well-timed kicks to the body. Mazo greeted the third round with a
sense of urgency, but her forward aggression resulted in her
undoing. Agapova connected with a crushing counter right hook that
dropped her adversary to all fours and then moved in for the kill,
cinching the choke for the quick tapout.
Mazo, 24, has suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in
her career.
Surging Gutierrez Outlasts Colares
A probing jab and punishing kicks to the body and legs carried
Factory X standout Chris
Gutierrez to a split decision over Felipe
Dias Colares in a three-round bantamweight attraction. Judge
Rick Winter scored it 29-28 for Colares, while Michael Bell and Sal
D’Amato saw it 30-27 for Gutierrez.
Neither man gained much separation in a closely contest first
round. Gutierrez (17-4-2, 5-1-1 UFC) hit the accelerator from that
point forward, as he exploited holes in the former Jungle Fight
champion’s game with superior boxing and a consistent barrage of
kicks. Colares (10-3, 2-3 UFC) executed a takedown in Round 3 but
failed to consolidate his efforts with damage or meaningful control
and certainly did not do enough to offset his opponent’s gains in
their standup exchanges.
Gutierrez, who owns a 5-0-1 record across his last six outings, has
not tasted defeat since Nov. 30, 2018.
Continue Reading »
UFC Fight Night 194 Prelims: Undefeated Romanov Wears Down
Vanderaa 
