With Luana Pinheiro ranked one spot higher at strawweight, she opted to don the red fight kit at UFC Vegas 100 on Saturday, forcing Canadian Gillian Robertson to forgo her usual look and don the black – for a funeral, as she put it.
The strawweight scrap was the second fight in on Saturday’s main card, and saw Robertson earn an early takedown inside of a minute. While Pinheiro was quickly back up, Robertson nearly took her down a second time. The ref, meanwhile, was all over the fence grabs of Pinheiro, though he did not halt the action. Robertson nearly took the back off her next takedown attempt; moments later, as the Brazilian escaped, the ref finally halted the fight, giving a hard warning to Pinheiro for the repeated fence grabs.
At range, Robertson looked to land kicks and punch her way in to another takedown attempt, while Pinheiro circled on the outside. With just under a minute to go, Robertson landed a slick takedown, perfectly timed, and nearly found herself in mount, though in tight against the fence, space was an issue. Still, the Canadian ended the fame in a dominant position.
Robertson shot for a few takedowns early in round two that Pinheiro easily avoided, while working her jab and short combinations. The Brazilian stayed mobile while Robertson came at her at angles; Pinheiro went to the body, and through the first half of round two appeared to be back in the fight. Robertson did close the distance then, tying Pinheiro up against the fence, looking for a trip. It wasn’t there, and they instead wound up back at center, where Luana Pinheiro had the edge. At the end of the round, Robertson would look to take the back standing, then landed a takedown with just seconds remaining.
Gillian Robertson would take the fight to the ground and make her way to mount early in round three. With her corner egging her on, Robertson looked to land elbows, while Pinheiro attempted to push off the fence and reverse. She could not, but she was able to survive, with Robertson ended up in side control, catching the Brazilian in a crucifix. Pinheiro would again survive, and escape, leading to a scramble that saw Pinheiro come out on top. And just when it seemed like Luana Pinheiro was in control, Gillian Robertson reversed! She would end up in half-guard, then fended off some upkicks at the horn.
All three judges scored the fight for Gillian Robertson, who was not satisfied with her second straight decision win, given her love for finding the finish.
Official Result: Gillian Robertson def. Luana Pinheiro by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
