Amanda Lemos scored a big win at strawweight in Saturday’s main event, using her powerful boxing skills to stop Marina Rodriguez in the third round of their bout.
Lemos’ win headlined a “Fight Night” card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The finishing sequence of the fight started with a right hook from Lemos that rocked Rodriguez. Lemos followed up on this with a series of hook punches which continued to back Rodriguez up. While Rodriguez never went down to the canvas, referee Jason Herzog eventually stepped in to stop the fight due to the one-sided nature of the fight at that point.
There wasn’t much striking earlier in the fight, as the strawweights were cautious of each other’s power. Lemos was able to connect with a few shots despite this, including a strong counter left in the second round.
Lemos showed skills on the ground in the second round, taking the back of Rodriguez briefly to attempt a rear naked choke.
The fight on Saturday was Lemos’ first win in a UFC main event appearance. She appeared in a headlining bout for the first time earlier this year, suffering a submission loss against former champion Jessica Andrade in April.
Lemos has now won seven fights since 2019, making her one of the most successful current names at strawweight.
She considered herself as part of the title picture afterward, offering to be a backup fighter for next week’s championship fight between Zhang Weili and Carla Esparza at UFC 281.
The result put an end to one of the strongest runs at strawweight as of late. Rodriguez entered this weekend on a four-fight winning streak, including a victory over Yan Xiaonan from earlier this year and two UFC main event appearances.
Magny Ends Rodriguez’s Winning Streak
Neil Magny stopped Daniel Rodriguez’s recent momentum in Saturday’s co-main event, submitting him late with a darce choke.
Magny’s third-round submission secured a victory for him after a successful, but competitive fight.
Magny succeeded in earlier rounds through his mix of grappling and striking skills. Rodriguez’s best work came on the feet, where he was able to frequently connect with left cross punches.
Rodriguez entered this weekend on a four-fight winning streak. His most recent win was in September, when he beat Li Jingliang via split decision. That fight was notably made less than 24 hours before it happened due to a shakeup in the UFC 279 lineup that week.
The fight put Magny back into the win column after losing to undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov in June.
Magny broke a UFC record with the performance on Saturday, scoring his 20th win as a welterweight in the promotion. The milestone makes him the leader for all-time wins in the promotion’s weight class.
Early Injury To Minner Keeps Winning Streak Alive For Nuerdanbieke
An early injury for Darrick Minner allowed Shayilan Nuerdanbieke to walk away with a quick in on Saturday.
Minner suffered an injury just seconds into his fight, clearly hurting himself with a kick to the body of Nuerdanbieke. This moment caused Minner to back up immediately after, beginning to deal with his sudden injury.
Nuerdanbieke jumped on Minner to follow-up on this moment. After dropping him with a knee to the head, he finished the fight with ground and pound punches.
Nuerdanbieke has now put together a trio of wins in the UFC cage. Previous victories saw him beat TJ Brown and Sean Soriano on scorecards.
Minner has suffered three consecutive losses. His two prior bouts were in 2021, when he lost to Ryan Hall and Darren Elkins.
Ulanbekov Submits Flyweight Newcomer Maness Early
Tagir Ulanbekov handed Nate Maness a loss in his debut at flyweight, catching him early with a standing guillotine choke.
Ulanbekov applied a guillotine choke on Maness as they both returned to their feet from a ground position in the first round. Maness tried to resist the strong position for a few moments, but eventually tapped out to end the fight.
Ulanbekov briefly had control on the ground before the submission as well.
Maness made the move down to flyweight after previously competing as a bantamweight and featherweight in the UFC. He took his first promotional defeat in his prior appearance, losing a decision to undefeated contender Umar Nurmagomedov in June.
The fight on Saturday put Ulanbekov back into the win column after suffering his first UFC loss earlier this year against Tim Elliott.
Dawson Submits Madsen Late, Gives Olympian First MMA Loss
Grant Dawson handed Mark Madsen his first pro loss to open the main card, submitting him in the third round to wrap up a one-sided performance.
Dawson earned a tap through a rear naked choke attempt in the final round. That finish came after a dominant performance on the ground for Dawson, earning control time against the former Greco-Roman wrestling Olympian in each round of the fight.
Dawson hurt Madsen during the brief stand-up positions as well, dropping him with leg kicks at points.
Madsen entered this weekend with a flawless record of 12 pro victories, including four in the UFC cage. His previous fight was at UFC 273 in April, when he beat Vinc Pichel on scorecards.
Dawson, while not undefeated, has yet to lose in the UFC cage. His other victory this year was also a late rear naked choke win, that time defeating Jared Gordon. After the fight, Dawson called for a fight against Tony Ferguson in a fired-up promo.
“If me and Tony don’t face each other next, it’s because he turned me down,” said Dawson in his post-fight interview.
Dawson notably missed weight for the fight on Friday, coming in one-and-a-half pounds over the non-championship lightweight limit.
The Rest of the Card
A game plan from Miranda Maverick that mostly consisted of ground control proved to be effective against Shanna Young, earning her a clear unanimous decision win after three rounds.
Mario Bautista spoiled the return of Benito Lopez, piecing him up with strikes on the feet before ending the fight in the first round with an armbar. Lopez was making his first appearance since 2019.
Polyana Viana picked up a quick finish win on Saturday, stopping Jinh Yu Frey in the first minute with punches. Viana stormed Frey with a series of hook punches, eventually dropping her hard and causing the fight to end. The fight brought Viana back to her winning ways after suffering a loss to Tabatha Ricci earlier this year.
Johnny Munoz Jr. returned to the win column on the prelims, using his sharp striking skills to out-do “The Ultimate Fighter” alum Liudvik Sholinian and earn a unanimous decision win.
Jake Hadley picked up his first UFC win on the prelims, catching Carlos Candelario in the second round with a triangle choke for a submission. Before ending the fight with the choke, Hadley used the triangle position to land dozens of elbows to Candelario’s head.
Tamires Vidal won her UFC debut with a first-round finish, stopping Ramona Pascual in the first round with a flying switch knee to the body. Vidal now has won seven fights, with her sole loss being a 2019 defeat against now-UFC talent Karol Rosa.
Saturday’s card lost a heavyweight fight between Josh Parisian and Chase Sherman in the hours leading up to it. Parisian was admitted to a hospital on Saturday morning after feeling a severe sickness, per a social media post made by the fighter.
Quick Results
Main Card (7:00PM EDT / 4:00PM PDT) (ESPN+ / TSN 3)
Bout 11: Amanda Lemos def. Marina Rodriguez via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:54)
Bout 10: Neil Magny def. Daniel Rodriguez via Submission, Darce Choke (RD 3, 3:33)
Bout 9: Shayilan Nuerdanbieke def. Darrick Minner via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:07)
Bout 8: Tagir Ulanbekov def. Nate Maness via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 2:11)
Bout 7: Grant Dawson def. Mark Madsen via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 2:05)
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT / 1:00PM PDT) (ESPN+ / TSN 3)
Bout 6: Miranda Maverick def. Shanna Young via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Mario Bautista def. Benito Lopez via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 4:54)
Bout 4: Polyana Viana def. Jinh Yu Frey via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:47)
Bout 3: Johnny Munoz Jr. def. Liudvik Sholinian via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Jake Hadley def. Carlos Candelario via Submission, Triangle Choke (RD 2, 2:39)
Bout 1: Tamires Vidal def. Ramona Pascual via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:06)
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