Italian standout Mara “Kunoichici” Romero Borella made a big statement in her short-notice Octagon debut tonight at UFC 216: “Ferguson vs Lee” in Las Vegas, Nevada. Romero Borella dominated and submitted Titan FC champion Kalindra Faria in featured flyweight action on the main card.

Stepping in to replace Andrea “KGB” Lee on less than two weeks’ notice, Romero Borella extended her winning streak to four with tonight’s impressive showing. Also on the UFC 216 card, XFC champ Poliana Botelho picked up her first UFC victory by defeating Pearl Gonzalez at strawweight.

Romero Borella (12-4-0, 1 NC) took Faria (18-6-1) down into mount very early in the opening round, and she isolated Faria’s left arm while peppering her with punches that ultimately set up a move to back control. From there, Romero Borella worked for a rear-naked choke until she was able to get under Faria’s chin. With nowhere to go, Faria reluctantly tapped out to the choke at the 2:54 mark of round one, giving Romero Borella a quick and dominant submission victory in her UFC debut.

In preliminary-card strawweight action, Botelho (6-1-0) fought off countless takedown attempts en route to a Unanimous Decision victory over Gonzalez (6-3-0), whose lacklustre performance drew boos from the crowd on multiple occasions.

Gonzalez’s best offence came in the form of powerful leg kicks in the opening seconds of round one, but she spent the remainder of the fight trying unsuccessfully for ill-advised takedowns against the cage. Botelho defended well by landing elbows to the temples and knees to the body in each round. She secured a takedown of her own late in the final stanza, and the bout went to the scorecards. All three judges favoured Botelho’s defensive striking over Gonzalez’s ineffective clinchwork and scored the fight 30-27 in Botelho’s favour. The Brazilian rising star has won four straight bouts.

(Photo Credit: UFC)