Sara McMann Defeats Jessica Eye At UFC Fight Night 88 In Las VegasIt was not the exciting performance that fans had hoped for, but Olympic silver medallist Sara McMann emerged victorious tonight at UFC Fight Night 88: “Almeida vs Garbrandt” in Las Vegas, Nevada. The standout wrestler outpointed former training partner Jessica “Evil” Eye in a bantamweight bout.

Tonight’s fight featured sparse action, and the crowd grew restless as the fighters cautiously circled each other throughout the tepid opening round. McMann’s takedowns and ground control in the final ten minutes were enough to earn her a clear-cut but uninspiring Unanimous Decision victory.

 

McMann (9-3-0) tried unsuccessfully for a takedown in the opening round following a period of inactivity during which neither fighter committed to any sustained offence. Eye (11-5-0, 1 ND) remained on her feet and McMann threw knees to the body in a clinch. After being separated by referee John McCarthy, McMann landed another knee to Eye’s body late in the lacklustre round.

In round two, McMann landed occasional right hands and pursued a takedown until she was able to get Eye down to the mat. She fought off an armbar and a gogoplata from Eye and finished the round with ground and pound after taking Eye’s back. McMann secured another takedown in the final round and she scored with hammerfists from side control. Eye tried to stand, but McMann pulled her back down and threatened with a North-South choke late in the fight.

All three judges had it 30-27 for McMann, who requested a shot at the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship following her victory. She previously suffered back-to-back losses against current UFC champion Miesha “Cupcake” Tate and upcoming title challenger Amanda “Lioness” Nunes, and will likely need to string together multiple wins before she is considered for another championship fight.

Winner: Sara McMann by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 9-3-0.

 

 

(Photo Credit: UFC)

  1. Sarah has a long comeback trail ahead of her before she starts thinking about challenging for the title. Her performance in this fight was definitely not inspiring, and she is only lucky that Jessica performed even worse.