Women’s bantamweights Karol Rosa and Nora Cornolle looked to work their way up the 135lb division at UFC Vegas 108.
Rosa had been trading wins and losses of late, while Cornolle had picked up a win over Hailey Cowan at UFC 314 in Miami back in April.
Rosa and Cornolle were both active in the opening minute, firing some big shots, feinting, and exchanging kicks. Rosa in particular was firing with ill intent, and landed heavy before tying things up against the fence. That slowed the fight down, with positional battles following for what seemed like (and actually was) several minutes. Rosa was in control most of the time, with Cornolle unable to reverse or get her back off the fence, though in the final minute she did finally separate, firing an elbow over the top as she did.
Karol Rosa, however, tried to clinch up again, though this time it wouldn’t last.
Round two opened with an emphatic takedown being landed by Rosa. She settled into half guard, the pair a couple of a feet away from the fence to start. Cornolle tied up one arm, but Rosa pounded away at the body with her free hand.
And there they would stay, Rosa on top for pretty much the entirety of the round. She would hunt a choke towards the end of the round, though time ran out before she could secure it.
There was a decent argument that Karol Rosa had won the opening round. There was no question she had won the second. In the third, she immediately took Nora Cornolle down again, once again finding herself in half guard. Cornolle, meanwhile, just could not get out from under Rosa. Rosa’s top control was too strong, her ground game far superior. By the end of 15 minutes, there was zero question as to who the winner was, with Karol Rosa winning a one-sided decision.
Official Result: Karol Rosa def. Nora Cornolle by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-27)
