UFC Vegas 6 Results: Yana Kunitskaya Grinds a Victory Against Julija Stoliarenko

Yana Kunitskaya vs. Julija Stoli, UFC Vegas 6arenko
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 08: (R-L) Yana Kunitskaya of Russia kicks Julija Stoliarenko of Lithuania in their bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on August 08, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Yana Kunitskaya utilized her size advantage against Julija Stoliarenko at UFC Vegas 6, clinching her way to a unanimous decision win.

Yana Kunitskaya returned to the octagon Saturday at UFC Vegas 6, looking to bounce back from a tough loss to Aspen Ladd in December.

Kunitskaya, a former Invicta FC bantamweight champion, had strung together a couple of wins at 135lbs prior to that. She had been seen as a bit of a dark horse candidate in the title picture at bantamweight, especially given her lone UFC loss prior to that had been in a featherweight title fight against Cris Cyborg. She’s also in a relationship with light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos, by the way.

However the Ladd loss lowered her stock, and she’d need to turn things around against Julija Stoliarenko. A fighter who had won five straight since appearing on The Ultimate Fighter 28, including four wins by arm-bar.

The fighters went to the clinch right away, trading advantageous positions along the fence. Kunitskaya was able to plant Stoliarenko against the cage for an extended period of time. Stoliarenko started climbing up the legs to try to work for a guillotine, but that did not work out. After a bit more time, Stoliarenko tried again, and this time was thrown to the mat by Kunitskaya. Stoliarenko stayed persistent and was reaching for the leg, but ended up with her back against the cage again. That’s where the round ended.

Kunitskaya went right back to the clinch to start round two. She was able to bring Stoliarenko to the ground, but that was all she did, as she stood back up without engaging in any ground work. Back to the clinch they went with Kunitskaya dominating position. She eventually got a takedown, but then was battling as Stoliarenko went to an armbar. Kunitskaya used her weight to prevent anything serious from happening, and the round came to a close with Kunitskaya in side control.

Kunitskaya opened the round with a knee to the body leading to another clinch against the cage. Stoliarenko pulled guard and Kunitskaya just had her pressed against the cage. Nothing much was going on for an extended period of time and the referee stood them up. Kunitskaya went right back to the clinch and Stoliarenko pulled guard again. Kunitskaya stood up and the after some desperation strikes from Stoliarenko, Kunitskaya drove the fight to the fence again.

Yana Kunitskaya def. Julija Stoliarenko by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 30-26)