Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. While it wasn’t the headliner most initially expected,
Marina
Rodriguez and Michelle
Waterson put on a striking showcase at
UFC on ESPN 24. Ultimately, it was Rodriguez’s muay Thai stylings that won the day,
as she outlanded Waterson over the course of five rounds to earn a
unanimous decision triumph at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday
night. All three judges saw the flyweight fight for the Brazilian:
48-47, 49-46 and 49-46. Rodriguez and Waterson, who both normally
compete at 115 pounds, agreed to step in for a makeshift main event
after the originally slated feature between T.J.
Dillashaw and Cory
Sandhagen fell through.
Rodriguez (14-1-2, 4-1-2 UFC) held a visible size advantage over
her opponent, who once reigned as
Invicta Fighting Championships’s atomweight queen. Over the
course of the first 15 minutes, Rodriguez racked up a lead on the
scorecards behind her powerful right hand, kicks to various levels
and solid elbows and knees in the clinch. Waterson’s chin held up
through the assault, and she kept things interesting with standing
side kicks to the body and heavy low kicks to her adversary’s lead
leg.
“The Karate Hottie” did her best work in Round 4, when she landed a
takedown with a little more than three minutes remaining and
punished Rodriguez from half guard with punches and elbows for the
rest of the period. It was the only time Waterson was able to
ground her opponent.
Waterson (18-9, 6-5 UFC) started well in the fifth round, landing a
high kick that caused some unusual swelling on Rodriguez’s chin and
a back kick to the body that momentarily stopped her opponent in
her tracks. From there, Rodriguez picked up the pace, displayed
sturdy takedown defense and stalked Waterson with punching
combinations against the fence to put a final stamp on her
victory.
Rodriguez has won back-to-back outings, while Waterson has tasted
defeat in three of her last four.
Morono Rocks, Swarms Cerrone on Short Notice
Alex
Morono made the the most of his short-notice opportunity.
Stepping in as a replacement for Diego
Sanchez, Morono came out with a violent purpose against
Donald
Cerrone, winning their co-main event via technical knockout
4:40 into the opening frame. The Fortis
MMA member hurt Cerrone with a right hand, then swarmed with
offense against the fence to force referee Marc Goddard
to intervene on the veteran fighter’s behalf.
Morono (19-7, 1 NC, 8-4, 1 NC UFC) was strong from the outset, as
he consistently found the range for solid right hands, bloodying
Cerrone’s nose in the process. When “Cowboy” attempted to shift
gears and wrestle, Morono denied all of his foe’s takedown
attempts. Eventually, Morono countered a Cerrone (36-16, 2 NC,
23-13, 1 NC UFC) jab with a massive overhand right that had the BMF
Ranch founder staggering backward in retreat. From there, the former lightweight title challenger had no
answers as Morono targeted the head and body with punches until the
bout was waved off.
“We didn’t throw any overhands in training — [I] always straighten
them out,” Morono said of the finish. “I’m gonna probably be
getting chewed out a little bit for it, but I’ll take it.”
Magny Outworks Neal
Volume striking, neutralizing clinch work and the occasional
takedown carried
Elevation Fight Team product Neil Magny to
a unanimous decision triumph over Fortis
MMA representative Geoff Neal at
welterweight. Two judges scored the fight 29-28, while a third saw
it 30-27 — all in favor of Magny, who has won four of his last five
in UFC competition.
Neal sent Magny a message in Round 1, when he pressured his foe and
connected with several hard left hands. The blows caused some
swelling under Magny’s left eye, but it didn’t slow him down in the
slightest. When Neal (13-4, 5-2 UFC) attempted to force more
exchanges as the bout progressed, Magny (25-8, 18-7 UFC) wisely
sucked him into the clinch, and when the two combatants were at
range, “The Haitian Sensation” outlanded his opponent with rangy
punches and a variety of kicks. Neal was never out of his depth,
but Magny’s pace and strategy proved to be the difference as the
bout progressed.
“I’m gonna use that cardio and conditioning as a weapon,” Magny
said. “It’s proven time and time again to help me out in my
fights.”
De Lima Grounds Greene
Marcos
Rogerio de Lima put together a rinse-and-repeat performance for
three rounds against Maurice
Greene to garner a clear-cut unanimous decision triumph in a
forgettable heavyweight affair. The 35-year-old Brazilian received
scorecards of 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27 to continue a string of
alternating wins and losses that dates back to December 2014.
Greene has lost four of his last five promotional outings.
Greene (9-6, 4-4 UFC) had no answers for his opponent’s wrestling.
In each round, “Pezao” closed the distance with ease, changed
levels and grounded Greene. From there, de Lima (18-7-1, 7-5 UFC)
was largely content to maintain half guard, remain heavy on top and
stay busy with moderate ground-and-pound. There was a chippy moment
at the end of Round 2 when de Lima drew a warning from referee
Herb
Dean for landing a punch after the horn, but that was the only
drama of the fight because Greene had no answers for his opponent
once he was planted on his back.
Gregor
Gillespie set a pace that Diego Ferreria simply couldn’t
match.
The four-time NCAA All-American wrestler from Edinboro University
survived a harrowing opening stanza, then wore down his fading
opponent to earn a stoppage in the second period. The end came 4:51
into Round 2, as Gillespie unloaded on Ferreira with punches and
elbows from back mount. It was Gillespie’s first appearances since
a head-kick KO loss to Kevin Lee in
November 2019.
Gillespie (14-1, 7-1 UFC) struggled to keep Ferreira (17-4, 8-4
UFC) grounded in the opening stanza, as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu
black belt scrambled out of bad positions, threatened with
submissions and cracked his adversary with stinging right hands. At
the end of Round 1, Gillespie headed back to his stool on wobbly
legs.
It didn’t take long for Gillespie to find his second wind. Once he
did, Ferreira must have felt like he was facing an avalanche.
Gillespie relentlessly pursued takedown after takedown, and it was
clear that Ferreira was accepting bottom position more freely as
his gas tank waned. Eventually, Gillespie scrambled to his foe’s
back, flattened him out and unloaded with a stream of
unanswered strikes to force the stoppage.
“I had to get tired myself to get him tired,” Gilespie said. “I was
tired, but I always think about it like, ‘If I’m tired, I can’t
imagine what he’s feeling.’ I made him quit. I make a lot of people
quit. That’s something that I’ll never do.”
Hawes Pulls Away from Daukaus
Phil
Hawes overcame a bumpy start to author a dominant third round
and earn a unanimous decision against Kyle Dakaus in a middleweight
clash. Hawes secured scorecards of 30-26, 30-26 and 29-27 from the
cageside judges for his seventh straight victory as a
professional.
Daukaus (10-2, 1-2 UFC) appeared to have an edge early, as he
attacked with rangy punching combinations while outgrappling Hawes
in scrambles and controlling the clinch against the fence. The
Martinez BJJ representative had Hawes (11-2, 3-0 UFC) reeling
in Round 2 when he connected with a spinning backfist after
whiffing on a high kick. An ensuing punching flurry put Hawes on
wobbly legs for a moment, but surviving that adversity only
strengthened the resolve of the
Sanford MMA product.
“He rocked me… Once someone hits you good and they see you’re not
backing down, they begin to break,” Hawes said.
From that point on, it was all Hawes. The New Jersey native turned
the tide over the second half of Round 2, when he pressured Daukaus
and landed effective combinations to the head and body while
opening a cut near his opponent’s eye. That set the stage for a
suffocating final frame, as Hawes landed a takedown 30 seconds in,
navigated Daukaus’ guard and then spent the rest of the period
punishing his foe with punches and elbows from above.
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