Jennifer Maia used her technical punch on Saturday to become the first opponent to defeat a previously up-and-coming flyweight competitor Casey O’Neill.
The fight was part of the UFC286 Main card at The O2 in London and saw Maia (21-9-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) defeat O’Neill (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29 -28).
The fight was mostly a technical flashy match for its duration. While O’Neill was successful with her punches, her combinations were shorter and less loud than Maia’s. Since O’Neill often fired single punches, Maia would respond with two or three. O’Neill urged action but Maia used her footwork to dodge the pressured opponent.
Maia’s jab in particular found a home. When O’Neill tried to pin her in round 2, Maia switched positions against the fence. In round 3, O’Neill pursued with increased urgency. She was successful with her punches and range, although Maia had her nose bleeding.
In the final minute, the two fighters opened up. Maia fired for a takedown and controlled O’Neill against the fence until the last 10 seconds. O’Neill landed a handful of significant punches in the final seconds.
With the win, Maia extends her winning streak to two. In November, Maia defeated Maryna Moroz by unanimous decision. The two-fight streak comes after three losses in the previous four bouts, including a UFC255 title challenge against then champion Valentina Shevchenko.
O’Neill experienced her first MMA defeat at the age of 25. She spent the months leading up to the fight recovering and preparing for it a cruciate ligament tear Early 2022. Her previous UFC wins include Shana Dobson, Lara Fritzen, Antonina Shevchenko and Roxanne Modafferi.
Top News UFC 286 Results contain:
Defeated Jennifer Maia. Casey O’Neill by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Marvin Vettori defeated. Roman Dolidze by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Jack Shore defeated. Makwan Amirkhani via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:27
Chris Duncan defeated. Omar Morales by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Yanal Ashmoz defeated. Sam Patterson via KO (punches) – Round 1, 1:15
Muhammad Mokaev defeated. Jafel Filho via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 3, 4:32
Defeated Lerone Murphy. Gabriel Santos via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Christian Duncan defeated. Dusko Todorovic via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 1:52
Jake Hadley defeated. Malcolm Gordon via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:01
Joanne Wood defeated. Luana Carolina by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Jai Herbert vs. Ludovit Klein declared majority tie (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
Defeated Veronica Hardy. Juliana Miller by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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Source : sports.yahoo.com