Amanda Nunes is still UFC bantamweight champion, but her fifth title defense wasn’t easy.
It took all five rounds at UFC 245, but Nunes (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC), who also holds the featherweight title, earned a unanimous decision nod over challenger Germaine de Randamie. The judges’ scores at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas 49-44, 49-46, and 49-45.
The first round was rough for de Randamie (9-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC). After a few exchanges on the feet, Nunes landed in an advantageous position on the ground. Standing over de Randamie, Nunes rained down dozens of strikes. Somehow, de Randamie did just enough to avoid a referee stoppage.
In the second, de Randamie’s toughness wasn’t solely displayed through her defense, but her offense, too. The former featherweight champion landed big shots on the champion, including a head kick, a jumping knee, and strikes from the clinch. Smartly, Nunes dragged the fight to the ground, where she controlled for its remainder.
Nunes went directly to her grappling-centric gameplan in rounds three through five. She dragged the fight to the ground in each round, where she controlled the majority of the final 15 minutes.
De Randamie’s offense in the final three rounds was largely limited to a hard upkick she landed in Round 3 and a triangle attempt in Round 4. The final round was all Nunes.
After the fight, Nunes took to the microphone to give her condolences to her friend and American Top Team teammate Walt Harris, who stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard, was recently murdered in a case which drew national attention.
Nunes’ victory is her 10th straight and her fifth successful UFC bantamweight title defense. It was her second win over her foe: At UFC Fight Night 31 in November 2013, Nunes defeated de Randamie via elbow strikes at 3:56 of Round 1.
With the loss, de Randamie’s five-fight win streak was snapped. Half of her four pro losses have been to de Randamie.
The bantamweight title bout was part of the main card at T-Mobile Arena. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 245 results include:
Amanda Nunes def. Germaine de Randamie via unanimous decision (49-44, 49-46, 49-45)
В Pokémon TCG Pocket обновится система торговли карточками
В демоверсию Silver Palace можно будет поиграть 3 августа в Китае
As the Nintendo eShop fails to protect from 'eslop', indie devs reflect on how it affects their work and why Steam is just better: 'Their algorithm will more or less naturally bury AI slop'
The origin of 'AI Appreciation Day' isn't what you think: It was started by an Elon Musk admirer who camped outside of SpaceX Starbase for a year hoping to talk to the billionaire about AI regulation
