“Back to the wall” was a way to describe both Mark De La Rosa and Jordan Espinosa heading into UFC on ESPN 10.
Both men had competed at flyweight, but Saturday were throwing down at 135lbs. And both were on losing streaks: Espinosa had lost two straight. De La Rosa was in even more dire circumstances, having dropped his last three.
Whether it would result in a cautious game of chess, or a fire fight, remained to be seen. From the opening bell, there was very much a pressing start from both men. Espinosa however was able to wobble De La Rosa with a nice right hand. Some solid kick combinations were put together by Espinosa as well. De La Rosa clinched up and got off some good shots against the cage. When De La Rosa moved in for a takedown, Espinosa fired off some heavy elbows to the head to end the round.
Espinosa really put together his combinations beautifully opening up the second round. De La Rosa clinched Espinosa up against the cage. Espinosa answered with a knee to the body and continued with more surgical counter striking. Espinosa proceeded to light things up on the feet to end the round.
De La Rosa would clinch up quickly to open up the third round, but Espinosa ended up on top on the ground after a scramble. Espinosa allowed De La Rosa to stand, but hit him with a knee to body for good measure. Espinosa circled around the cage as time expired. In short, Espinosa seemed in a different gear throughout the bulk of the affair. And that was reflected when the scorecards were delivered.
Back in the win column! ✋@Statechamp103 earns the UD. #UFCVegas2 pic.twitter.com/aRV2IHuK2B
— UFC (@ufc) June 14, 2020
Official Result: Jordan Espinosa def. Mark De La Rosa by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,30-26)
