Sabina Mazo and JJ Aldrich had the honor of kicking off 2020 for the UFC on Saturday. The strawweight pair opened up UFC 246 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card might be best known for the return of one Conor McGregor, but it also had a number of young talents, including Mazo, the ‘Colombian Queen’ who was looking to make it two in a row at the event.

While Mazo entered the fight off a win last year against Shana Dobson, Aldrich was in a similar situation, having defeated Lauren Mueller last time out. Aldrich, in fact, was 4-1 across her past five contests.

Here is how the fight went down:

Round 1

Aldrich came out in the southpaw stance while Mazo took the center in an orthodox stance. The Colombian fighter came out with a heavy kicking game plan while the American kept circling to her left to avoid the strikes. Aldrich was the first to land anything clean with a hard straight left hand. Mazo kept tracking down her opponent with her long strikes. Both fighters took turns darting into the pocket and fired off combinations. Aldrich appeared to be the faster fighter and landed the better shots. With a minute remaining in the round, she snapped Mazo’s head back twice with two hard straight left hands.

Cageside Press scored the round 10-9 Aldrich

Round 2

Mazo came out very aggressively to start the round popping out a jab. The American tagged her with a hard 1-2 combination but the former LFA champion continued to press the action. However it was Aldrich that was landing the harder shots. The Kings MMA representative began to chop at Aldrich’s legs but continually got countered with clean combinations from Aldrich. Midway through the round, Mazo hit Aldrich with a perfectly timed step-in knee. Aldrich stayed on her game plan and responded with another combination. With 90 seconds left in the round, Aldrich smashed Mazo with two sharp left hands. The punches caused Mazo’s nose to start dripping blood. Mazo grabbed the plum clinch and attacked with a few hard knees to the body and head. She snapped Aldrich’s head back with a perfectly timed head kick as the round came to end.

Mazo’s late rally made the round close.

Cageside Press scored the round 10-9 Aldrich

Round 3

Mazo came out very aggressive again but was tagged by Aldrich. Mazo grabbed the clinch and fired off some brutal body kicks. She pressed Aldrich against the cage but couldn’t get the American down. Aldrich started to slow down a bit and Mazo picked up the pace. She grabbed the plum clinch once again and hurt Aldrich with a series of hard knees and elbows. She pressed her against the fence and went back to work. Aldrich’s nose began to pour blood. The referee broke the clinch without a warning to Mazo to stay active. After the break, Aldrich began to pick up the action and started to land some clean shots. As the round came to an end, Mazo grabbed the clinch once again and hit Aldrich with a crushing knee as the round expired.

Big round for Mazo.

Cageside Press scored the round 10-9 Mazo. 

Cageside Press scored the fight 29-28 Aldrich

Official Results: Sabina Mazo beats JJ Aldrich by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28). 

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Top prospect Maycee Barber made her flyweight debut Saturday at UFC Nashville, after a reportedly torturous effort to make the strawweight division limit. Welcoming Barber to 125lbs was J.J. Aldrich, herself making her UFC debut as a flyweight (Aldrich had competed in the weight class outside the promotion).

Barber, known as ‘The Future’ and very much hoped to be part of the UFC’s future as a potential star, had struggled both in and out of the organization on trips to the scales. That was a thing of the past in Nashville. What was a surprise was some early struggles, but Barber also showed she could overcome adversity.

Aldirch came right out and pressed the action, backing Maycee Barber up in the early going. Barber returned fire, but it was an early victory for Aldirch, who then dropped Barber with a straight punch! Barber was on her back, but Aldrich failed to engage, allowed Barber to recover and get back up. However on the feet, Aldrich continued to push the fight, landing a couple of solid blows that stood Barber up. Barber, for her part, was struggling to land, and continued to eat right hands. A head kick by Barber fanned, with Aldrich out of range, seconds later, JJ landed yet another right hand on her opponent. Barber was knocked off balance and onto her back late in the round, but they would head to a second.

A demoralizing round for Maycee Barber, who would now have to show she could overcome some early adversity. She opened the second firing some kicks to the leg and body, but again, it was Aldrich pressing forward, landing this time with a left. Barber was looking worse for the wear, but initiated a clinch. The second round, as it unfolded, became a different story however. Barber landed a left, rocking Aldrich and backing her up. Barber chased, firing a few more strikes and Aldrich covered up and escaped. Barber stayed on her, landing a number of hooks as Aldrich covered up, and as she doubled over, a knee from Barber connected to seal the deal.

More than just the win, Barber gained some key experience in the bout, showing she could battle back after her early struggles.

Maycee Barber def. JJ Aldrich by TKO, Round 2, 3:01

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UFC Fight Night 124 in St. Louis now has four bouts on the card from the women’s side of the sport. That’s because a strawweight bout between Danielle Taylor and J.J. Aldrich has been booked for the event. It will join Paige VanZant vs. Jessica Rose-Clark, Jessica Eye vs. Kalindra Faria, and Irene Aldana vs. Talita Oliveira on the UFC St. Louis card.

Aldrich announced the bout on her official Twitter account.

It’s on! My next fight will be against a super tough Danielle Taylor keep your eyes peeled cause… https://t.co/a3fK5zBrc5

— JJ Aldrich (@JJAldrich1) November 25, 2017

UFC officials later confirmed the bout, adding it to the event’s fight card on the promotion’s website.

Aldrich (5–2), a Denver native, is an Invicta FC veteran who appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 23. After being submitted by eventual TUF 23 winner Tatiana Suarez in the quarterfinals, Aldrich went on to sign with the promotion, where she has gone 1-1 to date. Heading into UFC St. Louis, the twenty-five year old is coming off a win over Chan-Mi Jeon from UFC Fight Night 110 in June.

In Danielle Taylor, Aldrich gets a gritty fighter currently on a two-fight win streak in the promotion. Taylor (9-2) is a two-time King of the Cage strawweight champion; in her past two bouts she claimed a split decision victory over Seo Hee Ham, and a unanimous decision win over Jessica Penne at UFC Fight Night 108.

With this and three other women’s MMA bouts added to UFC Fight Night 124, fans of the women’s side of the sport should have lots to get excited for. In addition, Brazilian legend Vitor Belfort will take on the dangerous Uriah Hall at the event. No main event has yet been announced for the show, which takes place January 14 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO.

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The Fight Pass preliminary portion of the card was to feature two bouts, including the UFC debut of nineteen year old South Korean Chan-Mi Jeon. Jeon missed weight for the bout, originally expected to be contested at strawweight, and will forfeit 20% of her purse to her opponent, J. J. Aldrich. The fight will go ahead at a 118lb catchweight.

The other UFC Auckland Fight Pass fight was to see Thibault Gouti taking on Dong Hyun Kim, better known as “Maestro” (and not to be confused with Stun Gun Kim). However, just prior to the event, the UFC announced that Gouti had fallen ill, and was removed from the card for precautionary reasons.

Chan-Mi Jeon vs. J. J. Aldrich

With a big cheer from the crowd, they were off. South Korea’s Jeon was active early, throwing kicks, but ate a jab and found herself being forced onto her heels by Aldrich. Jeon continued to work in kicks, going to the body and using her jab to set up leg strikes and combos. It was good back-and-forth action through the first two minutes of the round. Aldrich ate a couple of Jeon rights, and appeared to be feeling some of the Korean fighter’s kicks. Jeon managed to floor Alrich with a knee to the body with about two minutes left in the round, but the American recovered quickly. She began finding a home with some righ hands of her own, and landed an inside leg kick as well. A head kick from Aldrich drew the biggest reaction of the round. It appeared that this point, with a minute or so in the round that Aldrich was figuring out her opponent’s timing, landing more and more frequently.

In the second, Aldrich continued to press forward, at Jeon found herself eating another big shot. The story of the second was the movement and feints of Aldrich, and an increased mixture of strikes being landed. Aldrich continued to find a home for her leg and high kicks, while the South Korean fighter’s own attacks seemed to be telegraphed, with Aldrich easily using her movement to avoid the majority of them. However, with seconds left in the second round, Jeon turned the affair into a brawl, catching her opponent a couple of times before the bell sounded.

Jeon opened the third round with a war cry, that was a first! A minute in the Korean fighter was able to rock Aldrich, but wasn’t able to turn up the heat to capitalize on it. Aldrich continued finding a way to fade back and away from Jeon’s punches. With two minutes to go, Jeon ate a hard spinning kick that bloodied her, but the Korean actually gestured for her opponent to keep bringing it. Towards the end of the third Aldrich began mixing it up, adding in super-punches and jump kicks, looking for a way to finish a fight she was likely up in anyway. Ultimately, it went to the scorecards, with Aldrich taking the one-sided decision.

J. J. Aldrich def. Chan-Mi Jeon by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

UFC Fight Night 110 Fight Pass Preliminary Results

J. J. Aldrich def. Chan-Mi Jeon by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Thibault Gouti vs. Dong Hyun Kim — bout cancelled due to Gouti falling ill

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