Welsh strawweight Cory McKenna faced off with Brazilian Julia Polastri as the third fight in on Saturday’s UFC Vegas 98 preliminary card.
McKenna, at one time the youngest fighter in the UFC, came out of the gate active, clinching up and firing knees at her opponent. Polastri returned to favor, connecting with some knees of her own. The Brazilian was able to reverse position along the fence, and after about a minute of trading elbows and knees in the clinch, the first few punches were thrown.
McKenna would turn the fight around again, changing levels and hunting for a double-leg takedown. Polastri had her back to the fence, and had the leverage to keep things standing. That forced McKenna to revert to clinch fighting, adding more knees before they swapped positions again around the midway point of the round.
Shortly thereafter, the pair finally returned to center, which gave Julia Polastri the chance to launch into a flying knee that feel short. The pair traded, both women throwing, the most boxing seen in the fight to that point. Polastri added a low kick, and more knees in the clinch, though this time, the pair broke after a brief moment. The round would end with them bang on the fence for a spell.
Between rounds, McKenna’s corner urged her not to clinch with Polastri any longer.
Polastri worked kicks and McKenna added one of her own to close out a combo early in round two. Polastri was bringing the fight to McKenna, and wound up bullying her to the fence. That wound up with McKenna looking for a throw; when she didn’t have it, “Poppins” changed levels for a more traditional takedown attempt, only for that to be stuffed. Polastri then reversed position, leading to an exchange of knees. This time, they came off the cage relatively quickly, with Polastri going back to walking McKenna down.
Flipping the script, at the midway mark of round two Polastri made a short shot in for a takedown. While stuffed, she was able to grab a body lock and fire knees to the body and thigh of Cory McKenna. Body lock still in place, Polastri briefly jumped on the back of McKenna, who remained standing alongside the fence. The Brazilian slipped off moments later, while McKenna fought hands to free herself.
As they did following round one, McKenna’s corner pleased with her to stay out of the clinch with Polastri. Heading into the third, there was a good chance McKenna would need a finish to have any hope of victory. That said, Polastri went back to walking the Welsh strawweight down. Poppins tried to circle out of the way, but when they did come together, Polastri was having more success in the exchanges. A left hand connected just shy of two minutes into the third, and that led to McKenna clinching up again, exactly what her corner had warned against. Especially given her lack of success in the takedown department.
The pair finally did go to the ground with about 90 seconds left, McKenna getting on top, but with Polastri active off her back, the opportunity for a badly needed finish just wasn’t there. Come the scorecards, there was but one surprise, with judge Sal D’Amato seeing it for McKenna. Still, Julia Polastri secured victory.
Official Result: Julia Polastri def. Cory McKenna by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
