Dern was not so lucky. She’s one of several fighters who could be on the shelf until April, unless cleared by a doctor or via a negative x-ray. In Dern’s case, her right thumb is the culprit.

Charlie Ontiveros might have been the worst off following Saturday’s card. Facing six months off, he’ll need to be cleared by an orthopedic doctor for “fragments along distal medial humerus in right forearm” and must have an “OMF, ENT or ophthalmologist doctor’s clearance for fracture of region of junction of left zygoma and squamous portion of left temporal bone.”

The full list of medical suspensions from UFC Vegas 39 is as follows:

Marina Rodriguez – no suspension
Mackenzie Dern – six months unless x-ray on right thumb is negative. Minimum one month suspension, no contact until 10/31/2021
Randy Brown – six months unless cleared by orthopedic doctor following x-ray of right toe and MRI of left knee
Jared Gooden – no suspension
Matheus Nicolau – 30 days, no contact until 10/31/21
Tim Elliott – 21 days, no contact until 10/24/21
Mariya Agapova – six months, unless cleared by ENT following nasal x-ray. No contact until 11/09/21
Sabina Mazo – 30 days, no contact until 10/31/21
Chris Gutierrez – 21 days, no contact until 10/24/21
Felipe Colares – six months unless cleared by orthopedic doctor/negative x-ray on left elbow provided. Minimum suspension until 11/24/21, no contact for 30 days
Alexander Romanov – six months unless cleared by orthopedic doctor/negative x-ray on left middle finger provided. Minimum suspension 30 days, no contact until 10/31/21
Jared Vanderaa – No contest until 11/24/21 unless facial lacerations cleared by doctor. No contact for 30 days
Damon Jackson – six months unless right ankle x-ray is negative or cleared by orthopedic doctor. Minimum suspension until 12/09/21, no contact until 11/24/21
Charles Rosa – six months unless left great toe x-ray is negative, or cleared by orthopedic doctor. Minimum suspension of 30 days, no contact until 10/31/21
Lupita Godinez – no suspension
Silvana Gomez Juarez – six months unless left elbow x-ray is negative or cleared by orthopedic doctor. Minimum suspension 30 days, no contact until 10/31/21
Steve Garcia – Suspended until 11/24/21, no contact for 30 days
Charlie Ontiveros – Six months, or must be cleared by orthopedic doctor re fragments along distal medial humerus in right forearm and must have OMF, ENT or ophthalmologist doctor clearance for fracture of region of junction of left zygoma and squamous portion of left temporal bone. Minimum suspension until 11/24/21, no contact for 30 days.

Suspensions first reported by mixedmartialarts.com

The post UFC Vegas 39 Medical Suspensions: No Time Off for Rodriguez, Dern, Others May Sit appeared first on Cageside Press.

Marina Rodriguez

This win puts Rodriguez on a three-fight winning streak with her last three wins being against Dern, Michelle Waterson, and Amanda Ribas. After her victory, Rodriguez called out Joanna Jedrzejczyk for her next fight. She also said that Weili Zhang should not be fighting Rose Namajunas and that Carla Esparza deserves the next title shot. Jerdrzejczyk has not fought since her she lost to Weili Zhang in March of 2020. Her kickboxing style matches up great against Rodriguez and the winner of this fight will likely be right next to Esparza as a number one contender. If the UFC can lure Jedrzejczyk back to action, they should.

Rodriguez’s next fight: Joanna Jedrzejczyk 

Randy Brown

With his win this past Saturday, Brown is now 4-1 since 2019. His only loss was a TKO at the hands of Vicente Luque. In his last two fights, Brown has defeated two very durable opponents in Jared Gooden and Alex Oliveira. Brown showed great standup skills in his fight with Gooden and should be looking to fight another guy with exciting finishing ability. Niko Price is that guy. Price is coming off a decision win over Alex Oliveria a few weeks ago. Ten of Price’s 15 wins coming by knockout and he has a brown belt in jiu-jitsu. His mix of striking and grappling skills should make for a great match-up with Randy Brown.

Brown’s next fight: Niko Price 

Matheus Nicolau

Matheus Nicolau won a decision over Tim Elliott at UFC Vegas 39. All three judges scored the contest 29-28. This was a very close fight but Nicolau has looked great in his latest stint with the UFC. Prior to this fight, Nicolau was ranked 11th in the flyweight division, while Elliott was ranked ninth in the division. Meaning Nicolau should be ranked inside the top ten once the rankings are updated. Number four ranked Alex Perez is set to fight number eight ranked Matt Schnell in December. The winner of that fight will likely be in a number one contender spot. The loser will be in a must-win situation in his next fight. Nicolau fighting the loser of Schnell-Perez would be a win-win situation for both parties. While it would be a winner vs. loser pairing, the rankings need to matter sometimes.

Nicolau’s next fight: Loser of Schnell-Perez

Mariya Agapova

Mariya Agapova was able to submit Sabina Mazo in the third and final round of their bout this past weekend. She was winning the fight standing and eventually rocked Mazo in the third round. When Mazo fell, Agapova jump straight into a rear-naked choke. This makes Agapova 2-1 in the UFC and 10-2 overall. While she called out Maryna Moroz after the fight, Moroz recently pulled out of a bout and her status is uncertain.

Erin Blanchfield is another up-and-comer in the women’s flyweight division. Blanchfield won her UFC debut by decision over Sarah Alpar in September. She is 7-1 in her career with her only loss being a split decision loss to Tracy Cortez. A win in this fight would be a huge spark in either one of these women’s careers.

Agapova’s next fight: Erin Blanchfield 

Chris Gutierrez

Chris Gutierrez was the beneficiary of a last-minute shake-up to UFC Vegas 39, which resulted in his fight with Felipe Colares being promoted to the main card. As much as such things matter, given the entire even was on ESPN+ anyway.

In any case, Gutierrez earned himself a split decision win over Colares, which improves his UFC record to 5-1-1. That’s not too shabby at all, though Gutierrez has bounced around between bantamweight, featherweight, and even a 140lb catchweight.

Now that he’s back at bantamweight, how about a rematch? Outside of the UFC, Gutierrez picked up a win over the highly touted Tim Valiev. Valiev was supposed to be fighting this coming weekend, but was forced out due to injury. Depending on the severity of the injury, running this on back inside the octagon makes sense, and adds a nice little storyline to the fight.

Gutierrez’s next fight: Timur Valiev

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 39 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

In the main event, Mackenzie Dern came up short in a litmus test against Marina Rodriguez. What’s next for the BJJ ace? It’s time to play matchmaker for Dern and other main card fighters who fell short on Saturday.

Mackenzie Dern

Mackenzie Dern rode a strong four-fight win streak into UFC Vegas 39’s main event, but lost a unanimous decision to Marina Rodriguez. Dern’s grappling in the second round was a spectacle to behold, but that’s to be expected from someone with her qualifications in BJJ. The question now becomes, where does Dern go from here? She was out-struck by Rodriguez and struggled to close the distance for takedowns throughout most of the fight. Ranked #4 ahead of the fight, she’s likely to slip back a spot or two.

What’s really wild is, prior to the Rodriguez fight, there was talk of Dern moving to flyweight and being a test for Valentina Shevchenko, who has never fought someone with Mackenzie’s grappling credentials. But if she can’t get the fight down, it appears Dern will continue to struggle until she shores up her striking game.

A smart option here is Yan Xiaonan. The Chinese fighter last fought in March, where she was finished by Carla Esparza. A Sanda expert, she’ll test Dern on the feet, and give us a chance to see what lessons were learned from UFC Vegas 39. She was tied with Dern in the rankings prior to this weekend, and the winner will instantly be back in the hunt.

Dern’s next fight: Yan Xiaonan

Jared Gooden

Jared Gooden missed weight for his UFC Vegas 39 co-feature with Randy Brown, then lost the fight on top of that. Never a good look. Gooden is now 1-3 in his last four, which comprises the entirety of his UFC run. On a deeper card, he’s nowhere near the top of the bill, and unfortunately, he wasn’t able to take advantage of the spotlight.

Gooden may well find himself fighting for his job next time out. But since he’s coming off something of a high profile fight, why not tap him for Gunnar Nelson’s return? Nelson has been sitting out since 2019. He had been aiming to return in the first half of 2021, but that hasn’t happened. Like Gooden, he’s 1-3 in his last four. Book these two unranked welterweights, and see who still has more upside.

Gooden’s next fight: Gunnar Nelson

Tim Elliott

Former UFC flyweight title challenger and TUF: Tournament of Nations winner Tim Elliott is rarely in a bad fight. At UFC Vegas 39, he came up just short against Matheus Nicolau, something coach James Krause took the blame for. The loss snapped Elliott’s two-fight win streak, so he’ll be looking to bounce back. Our suggestion, fellow top 15 flyweight Tyson Nam.

Elliott and Nam were supposed to fight last year, but the bout was scratched as Elliott was on a medical suspension from his previous fight. Nam was expected to face Tagir Ulanbekov this past June, but that fell through when Ulanbekov fell ill. Nam’s available, Elliott probably won’t need too much time off, so this could happen by the end of the year.

Elliott’s next fight: Tyson Nam

Sabina Mazo

After entering the UFC with a ton of hype following her LFA run, Sabina Mazo has posted a .500 average across six fights. That’s a great average in baseball, but not so much in mixed martial arts. Mazo has lost her last two, and she was beat up before being choked into submission by Mariya Agapova at UFC Vegas 39.

Mazo needs a bounce back fight, and needs to avoid the dreaded third straight loss. Gina Mazany is 1-2 in her second run with the UFC, and 2-5 overall inside the octagon. Mazany is coming off a loss in May against Priscila Cachoeira at UFC 262, and doesn’t appear to have a fight lined up. Mazany has looked better at flyweight than in her previous bantamweight run, and the pairing should show if “The Colombian Queen” still has that killer instinct.

Mazo’s next fight: Gina Mazany

Felipe Colares

Brazil’s Felipe Colares has traded wins and losses throughout his five-fight UFC career, and dropped a decision to Chris Gutierrez at UFC Vegas 39. TUF 29’s Liudvik Sholinian stepped into the octagon on short notice against Jack Shore last month, becoming Shore’s latest victim. With both fighters coming off a loss, it makes sense to pair these two bantamweights up.

Colares’ next fight: Liudvik Sholinian

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 39 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Starring in the co-main event opposite Jared Gooden, Brown (14-4) picked up a unanimous decision victory in what turned out to be a catchweight fight.

Ahead of the would-be welterweight scrap, Brown had spoken out about his opponent’s flub at the scales, suggesting a 20% fine wasn’t enough for fighters missing weight. Following the win, Brown expanded on just why he was upset with Gooden, but clarified that there was no chance of him ever declining the fight.

Dude misses weigh by 4 1/2 lbs lol. ok i get 20 % from purse, but the issue is homie only got 3 fights in the UFC. He's prob making like 15grand. So i get 20% of That in exchange for a weight advantage smh. Gotta start hitting these dudes for like 50% #unapologeticallyoverweight

— Randy Brown (@TouchNgo_) October 8, 2021

“He didn’t make weight. I was a little upset about that, I’m not gonna lie,” Brown said backstage at the UFC Apex. “And not the fact that he didn’t make weight, it was the way after— he swole up on me at the weigh-ins.”

“If I didn’t make weight, I’m more apologetic, I’m going to be like ‘yo, my bad, I f*cked up, I over-anticipated’ or something,” continued Brown. “But I saw the dude walking around, before we got on the shuttle to get here. I saw him outside the bus, meanwhile I’m on the bus starving. I document my weight cuts, my weight cuts are not easy. That’s why I took offense to it.”

It was more Gooden’s actions, trying to cut an imposing figure during their face-off, that bothered Brown, rather than the miss itself. “‘Bro, you didn’t even say anything, you’re just trying to swell up like you’re tough. I took that personal.”

The feud, such as it was, has been put to rest, however. Gooden explained to Brown in the cage following the fight that he’d made weight earlier, got a little over-confident, and messed up. “It’s squashed in the fight. It’s just fight sh*t,” Brown finished.

The post Randy Brown Admits He Was “A Little Upset” Over Gooden Weight Miss at UFC Vegas 39 appeared first on Cageside Press.

UFC Vegas 39 was an odd duck of a card that, on paper, underwhelmed. The lack of star power was plain as day, but as is so often the case, what failed to impress on paper turned out to dazzle in the cage.

The Fight Night event kicked off with three of four early fights ending inside the distance, with several bloodbaths on the preliminary card. While Charlie Ontiveros was smashed into submission by Steve Garcia, and Damon Jackson overcame a nasty gash to get the better of Charles Rosa, it was Lupita Godinez who really stunned.

Strawweight Godinez (6-1) secured her first UFC victory on Saturday, dominating newcomer Silvana Gomez Juarez prior to securing an arm-bar just before the end of round one. That earned her one of two Performance of the Night bonuses.

The other went to main card flyweight Mariya Agapova (10-2). In her first fight back from a loss to Shana Dobson, arguably the biggest upset in UFC history, Agapova battered the favorite in the fight, Sabina Mazo. Rocking “The Colombian Queen” early in the third round, she jumped on Mazo’s back to secure the rear-naked choke.

Fight of the Night at UFC Vegas 39 went to the main event battle between Marina Rodriguez (15-1-2) and Mackenzie Dern (11-2). While Dern dazzled in the second round with her world-class jiu-jitsu, Rodriguez for the most part put on a striking clinic. Dern was simply out of her element, and when the takedowns wouldn’t come, she was picked apart en route to Rodriguez winning a unanimous decision.

These 2 were rewarded for their bonus worthy performances at #UFCVegas39 💸 pic.twitter.com/ZWav3W0X7M

— UFC (@ufc) October 10, 2021

The first women’s fight in the UFC came in February 2013, when Ronda Rousey defended her bantamweight title (having been promoted from Strikeforce) against Liz Carmouche at UFC 157. Rousey would defend the championship six times in total, and earn five post-fight bonuses. With strawweight, flyweight, and (sort of) featherweight divisions later joining the promotion on the women’s side, the UFC has seen numerous female stars blossom under their watch. Until today, however, the post-fight bonuses had never been swept by the ladies.

All four fighters will pocket an extra $50,000 for their efforts in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The post Women Sweep UFC Vegas 39 Bonuses in Historic First appeared first on Cageside Press.

The submission wizard that is Mackenzie Dern had a chance to shine once again at UFC Vegas 39, but this time under the bright lights of the main event. Marina Rodriguez’s style was a massive threat to Dern’s championship aspirations, but with a record of 11-1, and incredible grappling credentials, she appears built for main event status. She also rode a four-fight win streak into the event.

Marina Rodriguez has been on the rise a little while now, and what a way to make a splash in the division. She could switch positions with Dern in the rankings with a win at UFC Vegas 39 and maybe get the buzz around her name when it comes to title contention talk.

After being in danger of the elite grappling that Mackenzie Dern possesses in the second round, Marina Rodriguez settled down and did not give her opponent any momentum. Rodriguez picked Dern apart on the feet, and the underdog cruised to an unanimous decision win.

PROS GIVE THEIR TAKE

Check out how the pros reacted to the UFC Vegas 39 main event between Marina Rodriguez and Mackenzie Dern.

Awesome fight girls 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 congrats @wmmarz

— Amanda Nunes (@Amanda_Leoa) October 9, 2021

Great fight between both ladies. Congrats @wmmarz 👊🏼

— Raquel Pennington (@RockyPMMA) October 9, 2021

Big win for Marina Rodriguez!!#UFCVegas39

— Herbert Burns (@HerbertBurnsMMA) October 9, 2021

Some feints would’ve done Dern well in this fight. Too much chasing and predictable attacks for Rodriguez to read and cut angles out of danger. Fun fight still. Both ladies showed some serious threats in both their worlds of experience #UFCVegas39

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) October 9, 2021

49-46 Rodriguez, very good striking and very intelligent. dern very well too #UFCVegas39 @ufc

— Juan Espino El Guapo (@juan_espino_ofi) October 9, 2021

Rodriguez is really good in the forward blitz’s.

— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) October 9, 2021

Give me marina vs Valentina in a kickboxing match

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) October 9, 2021

👀👀🔥 #UFCVegas39

— Amanda Ribas (@amandaribasufc) October 9, 2021

I’m a fan. Her skills are raw but her effort is as good as any. https://t.co/iY8QAh1LBJ

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) October 9, 2021

The post The Pro Take: Marina Rodriguez Stifles Mackenzie Dern’s Grappling, Striking Shines appeared first on Cageside Press.

The BJJ expert entered Saturday riding the crest of four straight wins, and was coming off a Performance of the Night submission over fellow contender Nina Nunes. While the finish came on the ground, Dern held her own on the feet, and if she could do the same at UFC Vegas 39 against Marina Rodriguez, she could be set for something much bigger moving forward.

Rodriguez, likewise, has flirted with the top of the division, and was sitting at #6 in the women’s 115lb weight class— just behind the #4 ranked Dern.

Dern held center early in the octagon in Saturday’s main event, and began firing combos. She had to be careful, getting sloppy with a kick and almost giving up position; she was also having trouble landing, with Rodriguez’s leg kicks being the real difference maker through the first half of the frame.

However, just past the midway mark of the round, Dern punched her way in and went after the takedown. Rodriguez tied her up and landed a nasty elbow to the ribs, which had Dern repositioning; Rodriguez would eventually push off and move back to center. With Dern unable to get the fight down, the first frame was likely scored for Marina Rodriguez.

Dern went back to the takedown attempt early in the second, but Rodriguez easily fought it off. On a second attempt, Dern punched her way in, and this time put Rodriguez on her back. Impressively, Rodriguez worked for a d’arce off her back, but when she lost it, she was out of position and in a tight spot. What followed was jiu-jitsu brilliance from Mackenzie Dern. She trapped both hands, used her feet and hips to manipulate a sort of improvised arm-bar, flowed smoothly between positions, and even landed some ground n’ pound at the end of the round.

As brilliant as Dern was on the ground in the second, in the third, she couldn’t get the fight there. Instead, Rodriguez got her kicks going early, kept Dern at a distance, and picked her apart on the feet. A head kick from Rodriguez nearly connected clean. Fatigue appeared to be a factor for Dern, who slowed and got sloppy with her striking as the round wore on. Rodriguez finished the frame fending off a takedown.

Rodriguez finding her range here in the third 👊

[ #UFCVegas39 | Tune in LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/NiLTEhW33B

— UFC (@ufc) October 9, 2021

A groin strike by Rodriguez paused the action briefly at the start of round four, but Dern didn’t take much in the way of recovery time. Another takedown was stuffed by Rodriguez; every attempt fought off was a confidence boost for her, and a drag on the tiring Dern. As the round wore on, Rodriguez was light on her feet, and she tad her timing down. When Dern did close the distance, the takedowns weren’t there, and she was being backed up at times. Rodriguez’s knees were a threat as well, and when Dern turned her back, the Brazilian fired a kick across Dern’s shoulders.

Then, with under a minute in the fourth, Dern got the fight down, moved to mount, and began dropping ground n’ pound. With seconds ticking away, she transitioned to an arm-bar attempt, but couldn’t secure it.

🇧🇷 @WMMARZ is feeling it in the fourth 🔥

[ #UFCVegas39 | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/JnLYuL3NdQ

— UFC (@ufc) October 9, 2021

The fifth and final frame saw Rodriguez looking to keep Dern on the outside again. Dern pressed forward, but it was Rodriguez catching her about two minutes in. Dern nearly caught a leg after that, and briefly pushed her opponent against the cage. She also managed to land a few solid punches; Rodriguez was soon showing some damage around one eye. The remainder of the fight would play out on the feet, with Dern trying in vain to find a takedown. Rodriguez had one last flurry before it went to the scorecards.

If Saturday was a litmus test for Mackenzie Dern, it’s back to the drawing board. As good as her jiu-jitsu looked, her striking remains a work in progress. Marina Rodriguez, meanwhile, showed she’s well-rounded and ready to land a spot in the top five.

Official Result: Marina Rodriguez def. Mackenzie Dern by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

The post UFC Vegas 39 Results: Marina Rodriguez Fends Off Mackenzie Dern, Wins Decision appeared first on Cageside Press.

The co-main event of UFC Vegas 39 was a welterweight scrap between Randy Brown and Jared Gooden. One that technically wound up as a catchweight after Gooden missed the mark by 3lbs at weigh-ins on Friday.

Brown accepted the fight, and 20% of his opponent’s purse, no doubt happy to be fighting. But as he later pointed out on social media, Gooden wasn’t exactly a UFC vet, meaning that 20% was a relatively small amount of money. Meanwhile Brown was giving up the advantage in weight, and perhaps in energy too, depending on how seriously Gooden tried to cut those last three pounds.

Brown came out nice and loose early, but Gooden soon was able to take him down briefly and get the back. Brown recovered quickly however and landed a big knee in the clinch while exiting. Brown then landed a huge front kick over the middle that wobbled Gooden badly. Gooden survived though and quickly began targeting the legs of Brown.  Brown was sharp with his jab and his right uppercut. Gooden did a great job of surviving the early onslaught from Brown, but it was a lead for Brown after one round.

Brown’s corner focused on his toes in between rounds, as he apparently hurt them with the front kick in round one. But that didn’t stop Brown from opening round two with some head kick attempts. However it wound up being the right hand from Brown that had the most success in round two. Gooden did a great job of working his jab, staying active, and landing leg kicks. But Brown had the biggest moment of the round, as he hurt Gooden with a straight right hand in the final seconds of the round.

After a closer second round, Brown did his best to erase all doubt in the third frame. Brown, despite the injury, was still the more accurate striker and did a great job of finding a home for his jab and continued battering Gooden with the right hand. Brown did his best to get Gooden out of there to no avail, and Gooden himself did some good work down the stretch of the fight with leg kicks and a takedown in the final seconds— but it was too little too late.

Official Result: Randy Brown def. Jared Gooden by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post UFC Vegas 39 Results: Randy Brown Beats Jared Gooden Despite Injury appeared first on Cageside Press.

Top 10 ranked flyweight Tim Elliott had built up a bit of steam lately, with two straight wins under his belt. Come Saturday’s UFC Vegas 39, he was looking for a third against Matheus Nicolau, who was in his second stint with the promotion and looking for win number four overall — with his last outing being his return fight against Manel Kape.

Elliott was truly vibing round one; the man normally is flowy and unique in his movements but it was on full display in round one. While he kept Nicolau guessing with his feints, his right straights were landing at will. Elliott got a massive slam takedown and briefly moved to the back but Nicolau did a good job of bouncing back to his feet, then found some success in the final moments of the round as he landed a good three-piece combination at the horn.

Elliott nearly secured a takedown within the opening seconds of round two but Nicolau did a good job of fighting him off. Nicolau began finding a home for his counters whenever Elliot blitzed in, but Elliott was still the more active and busy man. He continued his wild technique and movement to slip most of Nicolau’s punches and also kept control of the cage. Elliott shot for two takedowns in the final minute but was unable to get either; going into round three it was a drastically different fight than it was after the first frame.

Nicolau opened up with a great combination to start the third round but was soon stopped in his tracks by a solid left by Elliott. Elliott had a solid level-change but was unable to get the takedown once again, Elliott tried his best to keep up the pressure with his unique style but Nicolau countered with a perfect takedown of his own. Elliott was held on the bottom until the final ten seconds where he was able to get back to his feet for one final blitz.

Punches flying ✈️ to end an exciting 1️⃣5️⃣ minutes! #UFCVegas39 pic.twitter.com/ld3gJ08Mam

— UFC (@ufc) October 9, 2021

Official Result: Matheus Nicolau def. Tim Elliott via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC Vegas 39 Results: Matheus Nicolau Edges Out Tim Elliott In Close Bout appeared first on Cageside Press.

A women’s flyweight match-up at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 39 found Sabina Mazo and Mariya Agapova both looking to bounce back from losses last time out.

Agapova had come up short against Shana Dobson well over a year ago in one of the largest betting upsets in UFC history, while Mazo was coming in off a loss to Alexis Davis this past February.

In a stark contrast from her last Octagon appearance, Agapova came out calm and patient. She conceded the center of the cage to Mazo and she instead decided to work on her counter game, and she began to find a home for her right hand. Mazo struggled to find anything meaningful outside of her body kick, mainly because Agapova repeatedly landed combinations and then glided out of trouble. Agapova also hurt Mazo a couple of different times with kicks to the body, it was a dominant first frame for Agapova.

Round two was more of the same for Mazo, as she continued to get chewed up on the counter anytime she threw. Agapova’s straight left landed at will as Mazo began bleeding from the nose as well. Commentary pleaded with Mazo to even just feint a takedown to try and stifle Agapova and she did near the end of the round, but she nearly got caught in a guillotine. The two separated and although Mazo did end the round with a nice flurry, she needed a big comeback in round three.

Mazo came out aggressive in round three, throwing more output than normal but it would soon lead to her downfall. Agapova caught Mazo coming in with a short right hook that put her down badly. Rather than follow up with ground and pound Agapova jumped on with the rear-naked choke attempt and forced the tapout seconds later.

What a performance by @MMA_Mashka 🔥

[ #UFCVegas39 | We're LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/0wK1zNvk8D

— UFC (@ufc) October 9, 2021

Mariya Agapova had a rough night against Shana Dobson last year, but she showed against Mazo why prior to the Dobson bout that many thought she was one of the brightest prospects at 125.

Official Result: Mariya Agapova def. Sabina Mazo via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 0:53

The post UFC Vegas 39 Results: Mariya Agapova Dominates, Finishes Sabina Mazo appeared first on Cageside Press.