Jéssica Andrade, Bethe Correia Victorious At UFC 203 In OhioJéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade continued her reign of terror in the women’s strawweight division with another highly impressive victory tonight at UFC 203: “Miocic vs Overeem” in Cleveland, Ohio. The former bantamweight submitted Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood with a first-round guillotine choke.

Andrade completely dominated tonight’s main-card matchup after taking Calderwood to the mat, and she now takes another big step towards a UFC title shot. In bantamweight action on the preliminary card, Bethe “Pitbull” Correia narrowly defeated hometown fan favourite Jessica “Evil” Eye.

 

Andrade (15-5-0) countered Calderwood’s (11-2-0) early kicks with punches and knees that led to two slam takedowns near the cage wall. From top position, Andrade landed punches and hammerfists and avoided a Calderwood triangle choke attempt. Andrade passed to side control and she landed more hard punches from the top that forced Calderwood to scramble up to her knees. Within seconds, Andrade pulled guard with her signature guillotine choke and Calderwood was forced to tap out.

Tonight’s victory was Andrade’s second dominant stoppage win since dropping down to strawweight earlier this year. She destroyed former Invicta FC champion Jessica Penne at UFC 199 in June and made another big statement by dispatching of Calderwood in Cleveland. All but three of the talented 24-year-old’s professional victories have come inside the distance.

Winner: Jéssica Andrade by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:38 of round one. She improves to 15-5-0.

 

Correia (10-2-0) entered hostile territory and picked up a much-needed win over Cleveland’s own Eye (11-6-0, 1 ND), who suffered her fourth straight defeat in heartbreaking fashion.

The opening round was an uneventful one, with Correia countering Eye’s punches by landing occasional kicks to the lead leg and body. In the clinch, Correia threw more knees, but Eye appeared to hold an edge in the sparse striking exchanges. Both women sustained cuts from strikes in round two and Eye scored with stiff jabs and combinations. Correia remained effective with kicks, but Eye stunned her at one point with a three-punch flurry and the bout was still very much up for grabs after ten minutes.

In the third and final round, Eye’s offence slowed way down and she allowed Correia to dictate the pace on the feet. Correia kept Eye at bay with leg kicks and combinations, and she initiated a clinch after backing Eye up with a lead left hook. The round clearly belonged to Correia, and the fight ended with an exchange of knees and elbows in close.

Correia’s late rally proved to be just enough to secure a victory on the scorecards. Two judges saw the fight 29-28 in her favour, while a third had it 29-28 for Eye. An elated Correia got herself back on track with the crucial victory after suffering back-to-back defeats inside the Octagon.

Winner: Bethe Correia by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 10-2-0.

 

 

(Photo Credit: UFC)