If Cheyanne Buys looked like she was all business as she walked into the octagon at UFC Vegas 33 it’s because she was. Buys landed a clean head kick on Gloria de Paula as she stood back up from a takedown, after which some ground strikes ended the fight.
The first round TKO victory for Buys is her first in the UFC and puts the rest of the strawweight division on notice. It also became the fourth-fastest finish in UFC strawweight history.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH pt. 2 #UFCVegas33 pic.twitter.com/iMSZXachM5
— UFC (@ufc) August 1, 2021
At the start of the fight Buys took the center of the cage quickly looking to put pressure on de Paula early, and it worked perfectly as the Brazilian was on her heels from start to finish. After landing some clean strikes Buys managed to get de Paula to the ground. Buys then stood up, and as de Paula made her way to her feet, landed a clean head kick and put her down. All it took was a couple of ground shots to force the referee to save her opponent.
For de Paula it becomes her second consecutive loss in the UFC. She was finished for the first time in her career.
Cheyanne Buys vs. Gloria de Paula was not expected to serve as the UFC Vegas 33 co-main event. Nowhere near it. But when fight after fight was cancelled, the strawweight pair were left in a much more high-profile position.
No fewer than four co-main event bouts were lost prior to Buys vs. de Paula being penciled in: Sam Alvey vs. Roman Kopylov, Chris Daukaus vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov, Niklas Stolze vs. Mounir Lazzez, and Rani Yahya vs. Kyung Ho Kang. Leaving Buys and de Paula hoping to break the curse of the co-main event on Saturday.
Even with the lack of expectation from this fight if not this entire card, Buys made sure to deliver in her second UFC appearance.
Official Result: Cheyanne Buys def. Gloria de Paula by KO (head kick/punches), Round 1, 1:00
