Angela Hill had the strongest performance of her career at UFC Fort Lauderdale, winning by a clean unanimous decision over Jodie Esquibel.
Angela Hill is stepping up on short notice to replace her injured teammate Jessica Penne at UFC Fort Lauderdale. She initially joined the UFC through The Ultimate Fighter 20 when she was just 1-0 as a professional. After losing to eventual champion Carla Esparza on the show, she defeated Emily Kagan in her promotional debut. After losing to Rose Namajunas and Tecia Torres (nothing to be ashamed of) Hill went to Invicta FC and flourished. She went 4-0 and won the promotion’s strawweight title, defending it once. However, since returning to the Octagon, she is 2-4 having lost three of her last four fights.
After a 2-0 start to her MMA career, Jodie Esquibel went 4-2 in Invicta with a win over current atomweight champion Jinh Yu Frey. After signing with the UFC, the former professional boxer lost a tough debut to former title contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz. She was unable to bounce back in her next appearance, losing to former WSOF champion Jessica Aguilar.
There was no glove touch to start the fight and both competitors started swinging. Jodie Esquibel was the one advancing with heavy two punch combinations while Angela Hill had a more patient approach, picking her shots on the counter. Hill caught Esquibel with a long hook and got on her horse to avoid Esquibel’s response, peppering her with shots on the backpedal. Halfway through the round and Esquibel was still pressing forward. A hard knee to the body landed followed by a beautiful trip. Hill didn’t follow her to the canvas and continued to win the striking exchanges. With less than 30 seconds left in the round, Esquibel dug deep for a takedown and somehow Hill was able to stay standing. Hill landed a slick combination to end the round.
Cageside Press Scored the First Round 10-9 Angela Hill
The combinations continued flying from both fighters to start the second round. Hill’s striking was cleaner and she was able to avoid a takedown from Esquibel. Hill caught her opponent with an excellent intercept knee on the way in then tried to catch her with a head kick but could not connect. The kicks and knees from Hill were simply too much for Esquibel to get through. The backstepping punches continued to land for Hill as Esquibel struggled to get inside. Anytime Esquibel tried, Hill would smoothly step out of the way and land several strikes of her own. An excellent performance by Hill thus far.
Cageside Press Scored the Second Round 10-9 Angela Hill
Esquibel ran in to clinch up with Hill again but couldn’t get a hold of her. Hill landed a combination that cut Esquibel open next to the left eye. Esquibel was able to catch Hill off-balance with a punch that sent her to the ground. Hill bounced back up and got right back to winning the striking exchanges. Hill continued to land strikes from every angle as Esquibel unsuccessfully pushed forward. Both fighters landed strikes to the final bell including a big knee from Hill.
BIG knee for @AngieOverkill to end the round#UFCFtLauderdale pic.twitter.com/XptfdBatMy
— UFC (@ufc) April 27, 2019
Cageside Press Scored the Third Round 10-9 Angela Hill (30-27)
Angela Hill def. Jodie Esquibel by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
