Ukrainian prospect Maryna “The Iron Woman” Moroz rebounded from the first loss of her pro career with a hard-fought victory tonight at UFC Fight Night 86: “Rothwell vs dos Santos” in Zagreb, Croatia. Moroz outpointed Cristina “Barbie” Stanciu in a back-and-forth strawweight bout on the card.

Moroz found herself in early danger when Stanciu threatened with a series of submission attempts in the opening round, but Moroz stayed calm and Stanciu, a former flyweight, slowed down in the final ten minutes. The bout went to the scorecards and Moroz took home a Unanimous Decision win.

Moroz (7-1-0) was forced to retreat in the opening seconds of round one after Stanciu (5-1-0) backed her up to the cage with a jumping front kick and a barrage of punches. Stanciu attempted a flying guillotine choke and she transitioned to an omoplata and a heel hook. Moroz escaped, but she ate a series of upkicks before settling into Stanciu’s guard. The fight returned to the feet and Moroz used a flurry to set up a takedown into side control. She worked for a neck crank before the bell sounded.

Stanciu tried to keep Moroz at bay with kicks in the second stanza, but Moroz jabbed from a distance and she fought off a failed flying armbar from Stanciu. A scramble ensued on the mat and Stanciu locked on a kneebar, but Moroz escaped and she moved from half-guard to S-mount. Stanciu eventually battled back to her feet, but not before Moroz landed some nice elbows on the ground.

Both women landed punch-kick combos in the final round and Stanciu targeted Moroz’s lead leg and body. She reversed a takedown and wound up on top in Moroz’s guard, but Moroz remained active on the bottom and she framed up an armbar. Stanciu defended well and she eventually trapped Moroz in an inverted triangle choke. Moroz freed herself and she went belly-down with another armbar attempt before time expired in the competitive fight.

All three judges favoured Moroz’s late rally in round one and her submission attempts in round three, leading to a trio of 30-27 scorecards for the Ukrainian. In spite of the setback in her previous bout in August, 24-year-old Moroz remains one of the brightest prospects in the women’s strawweight division, and Romania’s Stanciu also put forth a solid showing in defeat in her UFC and 115-pound debut.

Winner: Maryna Moroz by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 7-1-0.

(Photo Credit: UFC)