Competing in her home state, Juliana “Ju Thai” de Lima Carneiro picked up her first Octagon victory tonight at UFC Fight Night 56: “Shogun vs St. Preux” in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Lima defeated UFC newcomer Nina “The Strina” Ansaroff in strawweight action on tonight’s main card.
Lima kept Ansaroff pinned down on the mat during much of rounds one and two, but Ansaroff remained active from her back and Lima’s offensive attacks were limited. The pace slowed in the final round and Ansaroff got the better of the striking exchanges, but still came up short on the scorecards.
Lima (7-2-0) traded kicks with Ansaroff (6-4-0) in the opening seconds and it was Ansaroff who pressed the action with a flurry of punches. Lima clinched and pushed Ansaroff to the mat, then settled into her guard. She landed short strikes from the top, but Ansaroff stayed busy from the bottom and attempted two triangle chokes. Lima scored with a nice knee as the fighters stood up and Ansaroff jumped into a guillotine choke. Lima pulled her head free and postured up with punches from the top. She was illegally upkicked in the jaw before the end of round one.
Ansaroff opened round two with a spinning back kick to the body and a combination. Lima dove at her leg and scored an ankle pick takedown. Ansaroff countered with a slick armbar attempt from her back, but Lima escaped and worked for a heel hook. She used it to sweep back into top position, but the fighters were stood up soon after. Lima backed Ansaroff up with a one-two and a body kick, and she countered leg kicks by taking Ansaroff down just before the bell.
After exchanging chopping leg kicks with Lima, Ansaroff held her opponent against the cage for much of the first half of round three. Lima defended well with elbows to the temples and knees to the body, and she stayed on her feet until the referee separated the fighters. Ansaroff stuffed a takedown and landed a body kick as a fatigued Lima slowed down. Ansaroff landed a combination and she closed out the round with a spinning back kick and two winging right hooks.
The close fight went to the scorecards and all three judges saw it 29-28 in Lima’s favour. The Brazilian notched her first UFC win in the process and bounced back from a loss to Joanna Jędrzejczyk in July. Ansaroff’s five-fight winning streak was halted by the loss in tonight’s strawweight debut.
Winner: Juliana de Lima Carneiro by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 7-2-0.
(Photo Credit: UFC)