Undefeated flyweight Wang Cong looked to follow up her bonus-winning UFC debut when she took on Gabriella Fernandes at UFC Macau on Saturday.
In her UFC debut, Cong had knocked out Victoria Leonardo to claim the $50K Performance of the Night bonus. That improved her record to 6-0; Fernandes was 1-2 in the UFC through three fights.
Would the accredited kickboxing striker in Cong keep the streak going in front of her home crowd or would Fernandes spoil the party with an upset?
Wang started the fight looking understandably confident, taking up space and landing a well-placed body kick. Fernandes stayed on the outside, defensively sound and landed a couple of leg kicks. Seconds in, Wang began to open up throwing a sharp boxing combination that landed on Fernandes. Gabriella looked to land single strikes, but it was apparent early Cong was way more polished in the early striking exchanges.
Midway through the round and Wang threw a side kick that bounced Fernandes off the cage. Cong began to gain momentum, looking crisp with her shots and landing often, confidence rising. Fernandes successfully clinched after one exchange, but Cong shucked her off. Gabriella had success with her left-hand counter but as the exchanges continued, Cong’s body work began to pay dividends. The round ended with Gabriella eating another hard sidekick before the fighters returned to their respective corners.
Gabriella opened second round attempting to get her striking going but Wang seemed to have an answer for everything. Cong easily evaded multi punch combinations, patiently waiting to land body kicks that echoed throughout the arena. Fernandes whiffed on a couple of head kicks and mid-way thru the round looked for a takedown that was stuffed.
Then, a head kick from Fernandes landed flush to the temple of Wang dropping her to the canvas. Wang popped up and looked okay for a split second. She started firing back but Fernadez landed a picture-perfect left hand in the pocket that melted her opponent. Fernandes seized the moment leaping on her opponent’s back and after a couple of seconds of squeezing with a rear-naked choke, Cong was motionless, face down on the canvas. The ref stepped in to pull off Fernandes, to reveal that Cong was indeed unconscious. Gabriella had completed the improbable comeback against the hometown favorite, adding a nasty head kick and technical submission to her highlight reel in the process.
In the emotional post-fight interview, Gabriella Fernandes, brought to tears by her victory, explained thru a pair of translators that she that she lost both her father as well as her sister. She went on to say that she entered the fight with extensive injuries as the underdog and now she is leaving China as a winner.
Official Result: Gabriella Fernandes def. Wang Cong by technical submission (rear-naked Choke), Round 2, 3:49
