The UFC Fight Night 185 co-main event came down to a battle of
damage vs. positional control.
Ultimately, it was Yana
Kunitskaya’s activity that won the day, as she captured a
unanimous decision triumph against Ketlen
Vieira in a matchup of ranked women’s bantamweights at the UFC
Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The former Invicta FC champion
was buoyed by a strong finish down the stretch in the final stanza,
when she reversed from being mounted and bloodied her Brazilian foe
with elbows before the horn.
Although Vieira controlled much of the contest through takedowns
and grappling, her inability to land offense from above ultimately
cost her. While all three judges submitted 29-28 tallies for
Kunitskaya, media scorecards told a different story, with 14 of the
18 tracked by
MMADecisions.com favoring Vieira. Kunitskaya admitted feeling
some tension before the final verdict was announced.
“I feel I won the fight. I did more damage, but sometimes judges
make very strange decisions,” she said. “I wasn’t happy before I
heard the result.”
Kunitskaya, who began her UFC tenure as a short-notice title
challenger for Cristiane
Justino at featherweight, has now won four of her last five
appearances at 135 pounds. The Russian fighter was aware of how
highly regarded Vieira in the division and claims that her mental
state was a key factor in earning a victory.
“Every fight is important for me. Every fight feels like the
biggest win. If you look at how high she was ranked, and before
everyone thought she could be champion, I feel proud of myself,”
she said.
“I feel like I’m physically and technically prepared for anyone,
but I always have a mindset issue. I’m proud of me and my team for
putting me in the right place. I feel so good that I won this fight
in my head.”
Kunitskaya’s lone setback at bantamweight in UFC competition came
via third-round TKO against Aspen Ladd
at UFC on ESPN 7 in December 2019. If given a chance, she would
like another shot against Ladd in the near future.
“Every fight is important. I was not happy with my performance
against Aspen. I feel I can do better than that,” Kunitskaya said.
“If I could get the rematch, that would be my dream fight. I want
to prove I can beat anyone.”