In a fight that probably should have been contested at featherweight, Bea Malecki dropped to bantamweight at UFC Stockholm and submitted Brazil’s Duda Santana in the second round.
Duda Santana is a fairly inexperienced fighter joining the bantamweight division of the UFC. The Brazilian has three wins in her career, all coming in 2017. She was supposed to fight Luana Carolina on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series last year, but was removed due to visa issues.
Bea Malecki was 3-0 with two knockouts before joining the cast of the 28th season of The Ultimate Fighter. She only had one fight on the show, falling to Leah Letson, and has not stepped in the cage since.
While originally believed to be a candidate for the featherweight division, the bout was contested at bantamweight, and it was immediately apparent how drawn Bea Malecki appeared. The pair began exchanging immediately, with Malecki showing superior movement, and Santana having an obvious edge in power. Santana soon changed levels and secured a takedown; Malecki attempted to wall-walk back up only to have her legs pulled out from under her.
When Malecki finally did regain her feet, she found herself tied up in a clinch by Santana, who muscled her back down with a body lock. Malecki appeared overpowered, even after a short burst of offense toward the end of the frame.
In the second however it was a much different story. Malecki got the fight to the ground a minute in. It looked like Duda Santana was in real trouble. Malecki transitioned to the back, and worked to lock in a rear-naked choke. Santana fought it off, crawled to the fence, but Malecki re-established the submission. Again, Malecki went back to work, and finally forced the tap!
Bea Malecki def. Duda Santana by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:59
