With both Melissa Mullins and Nora Cornolle missing weight for UFC Vegas 90, you’d be forgiven for wondering why the promotion ever let it’s women’s featherweight division fail.
Initially scheduled as a bantamweight bout, the fight was shifted to a 138.5lb catchweight when Mullins came in at 138, and Cornolle 138.5lbs at Friday’s weigh-in.
For both fighters, the bout was a sophomore outing, with both women 1-0 under the UFC banner.
The fight began with Mullins firing off the jab-cross combinations and tagging her opponent Cornolle. Nora was able to fire back with some nice combinations before Mullins moved in and clinched, pushing her opponent to the fence.
Mullins tried multiple times to bring the fight to the ground from the clinch position against the cage, constantly keeping pressure on her opponent. Nearly midway thru the round, Mullins was finally able to drag her opponent to the ground. Melissa quickly went to work on the ground trying to gain a better position until Cornolle was able to reverse the position on the ground and work back up to the feet. Mullins again threw punches into the clinch and bullied her opponent to the cage. Mullins kept the pressure up and landed a nice elbow against the fence towards the end of the round.
The second round began with Mullins again pushing the pace and striking into the clinch against the cage. Cornolle was temporarily able to reverse the position before once again, finding her back against the cage. The two women battled back and forth on the cage with Conrolle finding some solid knees to the body and a glancing head kick as the fighters broke the clinch. As the fighters engaged in space, Cornolle found a brutal knee to the body doubling over her opponent. Smelling blood in the water, Nora threw two head kicks, neither of which really landed flush, but the damage was already done as Melissa retreated and crumpled to the ground against the cage. Nora landed a couple of follow up strikes, but the fight was really over as soon as Cornolle landed that well placed knee.
Official Result: Nora Cornolle defeats Melissa Mullins by TKO, Round 2, 3:06
