Strawweights Shauna Bannon and Nicole Caliari kicked off Saturday’s UFC Vegas 117 card at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
At 2-2 in the company, Bannon looked to bounce back from a loss to Sam Hughes, while Carliari was still in search of her first UFC win after starting her run in the company 0-2. She was moving down to strawweight for the fight.
Lots of grappling action early in the preliminary card opener, with Caliari landing a couple of throws. The first saw Bannon escape out, only for Caliari to clinch up against the fence and eventually hit the second. That set the tone for the round, with Caliari spending lots of time on top, controlling. Eventually, she had Bannon stacked up along the fence. Bannon tried to scramble out but instead Carliari used the space to land some ground n’ pound and move into side control.
Off her back, Bannon hit the ribs, but she really wasn’t being all that effective. Caliari, meanwhile, worked on a kimura, but ran out of time in the round.
Caliari clinched up early in round two, pressing Bannon against the fence and looking for a takedown. She wound up grabbing a single leg and spinning Bannon around, though Bannon showed impressive balance and managed to remain upright. A moment later, however, Caliari had the fight down, working from guard while Bannon fired elbows off her back.
By the midway point of round two, Bannon was no closer to escaping, until Caliari actually chose to back off. Back on the feet, Bannon circled, fired a kick, circled more, and nearly had a second kick caught. Caliari then grabbed a leg again, but appeared to have lost a step and couldn’t complete it. This time, it was Bannon getting on top, working to pass guard and even threatening with a crucifix. Bannon found a home for an elbow or two, in an impressive comeback given how the round had started. A very active Bannon moved to side control and began dropping more elbows, potentially stealing back the round.
Bannon opened with a low kick in round three, crashed in closing the distance then moved back up. She fired a spinning back kick, connecting but eating a punch in return. Caliari clinched up after a brief flurry of punches, and landed a key takedown, settling into half-guard. Bannon, meanwhile, was showing swelling around her left eye.
Soon, Caliari had set up an arm-triangle choke. And as she moved to mount and stepped over Bannon’s frame, the choke got tighter and the tap was a mere formality. A submission win for Nicolle Caliari, as she picked up her first UFC victory.
Official Result: Nicolle Caliari def. Shauna Bannon by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 3, 3:08
