Rose Namajunas secured her first win in the flyweight division with a commanding performance against Amanda Ribas on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card.
The former two-time strawweight champion, Namajunas, earned a unanimous decision win against Ribas as judges Michael Bell and Junichiro Kamijo had 49-46 cards for Namajunas and Sal D’Amato turning in a 48-47 card.
Namajunas was quick on her feet. When Ribas would initiate a takedown, Namajunas appeared the stronger during scrambles to gain top position and thwart any submission set-ups by Ribas.
Ribas had her most effective round in the third, which all the judges awarded to her.
The fourth round saw a fair amount on the ground with Namajunas on top and both women striking from their respective positions. In the fifth, Namajunas put an exclamation point on her performance with the cleaner strikes on the feet and putting forth a solid outing to establish herself among the division’s elite.
After the fight, Namajunas (12-6) stated he would be interested in fighting the winner of next weekend’s contest between Manon Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield after a loss to Fiorot last year in Namajunas’ flyweight debut. The former champion also listed Maycee Barber, who holds a six-fight winning streak.
Karl Williams (10-1) remains unbeaten in the UFC as the heavyweight earned a unanimous decision victory against Justin Tafa (7-3) over three rounds.
Middleweight Edmen Shahbazyan (13-4) earned a must-needed victory by knocking out A.J. Dobson in the first round as Shahbazyan had lost four of his previous five fights coming into the bout.
Payton Talbott (8-0) and Fernando Padilla (16-5) earned Performance of the Night bonuses for their finishes on the main card. Talbott stopped Cameron Saaiman in the second round of their bantamweight fight. Padilla secured a Brabo choke to submit Luis Pajuelo in two minutes and forty-five seconds of the opening round.
The main card included a featherweight contest where Youseff Zalal (14-5-1) submitted Billy Quarantillo with a rear-naked choke.
The card included one of the more egregious fouls in recent memory as André Lima (8-0) was awarded his fight against Igor Severino after Lima was bit on the arm. A gigantic bite mark was visible on his biceps and led to the disqualification and UFC CEO Dana White informing reporter Kevin Iole that Severino was being cut.
Andre Lima picks up the win over Igor Severino due to a DQ from Severino, who bit Lima’s arm 😳 #UFCVegas89 pic.twitter.com/NQTJuSh9G3
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 23, 2024
Lima was also the recipient of a bonus from White for being bit, and the fighter has memorialized the event by adding a tattoo of the bite mark immediately afterward.
Tonight's BOTN 💰💰 #UFCVegas89 pic.twitter.com/Ngttbbryr8
— UFC (@ufc) March 24, 2024
RESULTS
*Rose Namajunas def. Amanda Ribas by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
*Karl Williams def. Justin Tafa by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
*Edmen Shahbazyan def. A.J. Dobson by KO at 4:43 of Round 1
*Payton Talbott def. Cameron Saaiman by TKO at 0:21 of Round 2
*Youseff Zalal def. Billy Quarantillo by rear-naked choke at 1:50 of Round 2
*Fernando Padilla def. Luis Pajuelo by Brabo choke at 2:45 of Round 1
*Trey Ogden def. Kurt Holobaugh by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
*Julian Erosa def. Ricardo Ramos by guillotine choke at 2:15 of Round 1
*Miles Johns def. Cody Gibson by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
*Jamo Errens def. Steven Nguyen by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
*Darya Zheleznyakova def. Montserrat Rendon by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
*André Lima def. Igor Severino by DQ (biting) at 2:52 of Round 2
*Mick Parkin def. Mohammed Usman by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
