Kicking off the UFC Vegas 116 card at the Meta Apex on Saturday was a women’s strawweight fight featuring Talita Alencar and Julia Polastri.
Alencar was the last fighter to step on the scales at Friday’s official weigh-in, but she did make weight. Both ladies were entering their fifth UFC bouts.
Polastri had the height and length advantage, but Alencar had no issues landing some low kicks early. Polastri, however, went to the body with a kick after catching one of Alencar’s. A high kick from Alencar landed to the body shortly after. She looked to punch her way inside next, trying to puzzle out the length of Polastri.
Throughout the opening round, Polastri was light on her feet, moving forward and back, in and out before Alencar finally tied things up with all of 90 seconds left in the frame. Polastri, however, reversed along the fence. Back at center, a caught kick saw Polastri dumped on her back, with Alencar standing over her, chopping at the thighs with kicks. When Polastri tried to scramble up, Alencar took that moment to drive her back down, getting on top in side control. She’d end the round there.
Round two found Alencar pressing forward early and Polastri answering with kicks. The pair traded kicks for a bit, Alencar mixing her hands in, Polastri trying to come at her opponent at angles. A brief clinch saw Polastri get a Thai plum, but nothing came of it. After finishing round one strong off a takedown, Alencar couldn’t seem to repeat the process. When she did chase a leg, she quite literally chased it, not coming close to landing a single leg.
More back-and-forth followed until again, with barely over a minute on the clock, Alencar finally got the fight down. This time, she was in half-guard, looking to land elbows. Polastri just held on, tying Alencar up and hoping to ride out the round without taking too much damage. Despite the limited amount of time on top, the ground game was one-sided enough in Talita Alencar’s favor that she might have secured the round with the judges.
There was a good chance that Alencar was up two rounds heading into the final frame in the UFC Vegas 116 preliminary card opener. Polastri’s path to victory was going to be on the feet, with the pair trading early and both landing. They’d go the distance, but with no finish for Polastri to be found the winner was clear.
Official Result: Talita Alencar def. Julia Polastri by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
