UFC Fight Night 113 takes place tonight (July 16) in Glasgow, Scotland and is headlined by a welterweight fight between Gunnar Nelson and Santiago Ponzinibbio. In the co-main event, Scotland’s very own Joanne Calderwood takes on undefeated prospect Cynthia Calvillo in a women’s strawweight battle.
Full card:
Gunnar Nelson vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Joanne Calderwood vs. Cynthia Calvillo
Stevie Ray vs. Paul Felder
Jack Marshman vs. Ryan Janes
Khalil Rountree vs. Paul Craig
James Mulheron vs. Justin Willis
Danny Roberts vs. Bobby Nash
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Neil Seery
Charlie Ward vs. Galore Bofando
Danny Henry vs. Daniel Teymur
Brett Johns vs. Albert Morales
Leslie Smith vs. Amanda Lemos
If you want to avoid spoilers, look away now…
22:47: Ponzinibbio scores the knockout and win of the night. He also hands SBG their second loss of the evening at a time when they’re looking for all the momentum they can gather. As the hype machine goes into overdrive ahead of the so-called ‘Money Fight’ on August 26′, tonight was a reminder of just how unforgiving and unpredictable the sport of mixed martial arts can be.
ROUND ONE: Nelson comes out with his bouncy, praying mantis style, almost goading Ponzinibbio to make his move. Which he does. He lands a right hand that hurts Nelson and a left hook that cold-cocks him and sends him to the deck. The Argentinean then makes sure of it with two more punches as Nelson is inert on the ground. The fight ends at 1:20 of round one and Santiago Ponzinibbio scores the win of his career.
The crowd are in stunned silence as Nelson, unsure of his whereabouts, starts to tackle the referee.
22:36: Gunnar Nelson makes his walk, accompanied by coach John Kavanagh, the man responsible for the game plan Conor McGregor will somehow look to execute against Floyd Mayweather on August 26. An interesting aside: Kavanagh was mobbed by hundreds of fans at yesterday’s weigh-in. You’d have sworn McGregor himself was in the building.
22:33: Main event time and Santiago Ponzinibbio, a puncher who wants to keep this thing standing, is on his way to the Octagon. Not looking forward to continually trying to spell his name for the next 15 minutes, I have to say.
22:28: A victorious Calvillo just conducted her post-fight interview but I didn’t catch a word of it. The boos of the crowd drowned her out. She won’t be back here in a hurry.
RESULT: As they wait for the decision, both girls want to go at it some more. But it’s Calvillo who gets the win by scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-28.
ROUND THREE: More movement from Calvillo to start round three. She’s yet to stay still for a moment. Calderwood, meanwhile, is still on seek and destroy mode, only she’s struggling to get near the fleet-footed American. Not only that, she finds herself spiked by punches whenever she closes the range. Calvillo, not content with moving, now takes to shaking her hips and almost dancing away from Calderwood. It leads to slow hand claps from the Scottish crowd, the majority of whom are desperate to see Calderwood catch her prey. It’s Calvillo, though, who stabs punches to Calderwood’s body from afar and then gets out the way of any response. It’s Dominick Cruz-lite at times.
Calvillo trips Calderwood with a minute to go and again looks for a submission, this time a rear-naked choke, but JoJo makes it to the finish line. Just.
ROUND TWO: Perpetual motion, Calvillo might look jittery and unsure of herself standing up, but she’s landing some good, short counter-punches as Calderwood measures her up from the centre of the Octagon. She has also bloodied the nose of the Scottish favourite. Calderwood needs her to stop moving. She wants to slow her down. But it’s Calvillo who is showing the better strategic mind at this point.
Moment of the fight so far – they both throw spinning back-fists at the same time, both miss, and then high-five each other as they regain their balance and composure.
ROUND ONE: Calderwood appears the more comfortable of the two in the striking battle. Picking spots for her punches and kicks, she’s cleaner with her work and seemingly relaxed in this raucous atmosphere. But it’s Calvillo who takes the fight into her territory in the final 30 seconds. She gets Calderwood to the mat and starts to go to work. There’s an arm-bar attempt that is only thwarted due to the sound of the klaxon to end the opening round.
22:06: Calderwood smiles across the Octagon at Calvillo. These two nearly went at it at the weigh-in, remember. There’s some animosity, no doubt.
22:04: Calderwood gets the hero’s welcome. She enters with a Scottish flag and then does away with it before entering the Octagon. This is a huge fight for Calderwood, who last time out was stopped inside a round by Jessica Andrade.
22:02: Calvillo enters to House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’. She’s got attitude. She’s all-action. It fits.
22:00: Next up is my favourite fight of the night: the women’s strawweight bout between Joanne Calderwood and Cynthia Calvillo. Calderwood is fighting in her home city and undefeated Calvillo, a potential star of this division, is taking a serious step up in class. This fight will tell us a lot about both.
22:04: Calderwood gets the hero’s welcome. She enters with a Scottish flag and then does away with it before entering the Octagon. This is a huge fight for Calderwood, who last time out was stopped inside a round by Jessica Andrade.
22:02: Calvillo enters to House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’. She’s got attitude. She’s all-action. It fits.
22:00: Next up is my favourite fight of the night: the women’s strawweight bout between Joanne Calderwood and Cynthia Calvillo. Calderwood is fighting in her home city and undefeated Calvillo, a potential star of this division, is taking a serious step up in class. This fight will tell us a lot about both.
21:49: Paul Felder beats the boo boys by informing them all that his father died of cancer in the lead up to this fight. He then wins them over completely by saying, “I have nothing but respect for the Scottish fans.” Classy stuff, Mr. Felder, and a tremendous win under the circumstances.
21:45: ‘Stevie, Stevie, Stevie fucking Ray.’ The singing starts up again as a dejected Ray recovers on his stool. They still love him, despite the first-round loss.
ROUND ONE: Stevie Ray chants ring around the arena as he tries to get the measure of Felder in the early going. He gets Felder up against the fence and looks to take him down. ‘Stevie, Stevie, Stevie fucking Ray’ is now the chant. Probably chant of the night so far.
Not so fast. Now they’re singing ‘Flower of Scotland’. That takes some beating. You haven’t been to a sporting event in Scotland until you’ve heard that one travel around the arena or stadium. Oh, Felder and Ray are still locked up against the fence, by the way. We’ve missed nothing there. The soundtrack is superior to the film thus far.
But then Felder explodes with a knee and things all of a sudden get exciting. Ray goes down and the American looks to finish him and spoil the party. Felder lands a series of nasty elbows and Ray is knocked out at 3:57 of round one.
The sound of Scottish men and women singing stops immediately.
21:37: Stevie Ray of Scotland enters the Octagon to bagpipes playing the rousing ‘Amazing Grace’. Naturally. The crowd reacts with a noise all of its own. It’s the moment of the night so far.
21:35: Stevie Ray and Paul Felder up next. These boys started chatting on Twitter, liked the idea of a date in Glasgow and now, a couple of months later, here we are. Enjoy it. Should be a good one.
RESULT: In spite of a rocky final round, Jack Marshman gets the win over Ryan Janes by scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28.
ROUND THREE: Janes moves left, moves right, moves left, moves right. It’s hard to decipher the game plan now, however. He’s presumably losing the fight, yet doing little to change the momentum. He has yet to make any sort of impression on the Brit stood in front of him. Marshman is the one working. He lands a left hook as they break from a clinch situation and then digs Janes with a good dig to the body. There’s not much else. This one’s low on quality.
Janes comes on strong – well, it’s all relative – in the final 90 seconds, as he takes advantage of a tired Marshman and lands some good knees in the clinch against the fence. Now there’s some urgency and purpose to his work. He nails Marshman with a left hook and follows him around the Octagon. It’s not enough, though. Marshman makes it to the end and should have done enough to take the decision.
ROUND TWO: Marshman narrowly misses with a left hook as Janes looks to escape along the fence. He’s getting closer, though. Janes taps back with his jab, but doesn’t seem able to generate the power needed to get Marshman’s respect. He’s moving well and touching him. Not much more. Still, Marshman needs to be careful he doesn’t find himself outworked. Needs to stay busy. They trade and Marshman gets the better of it. A left hook causes Janes to try for a takedown against the fence. Marshman fights it off. He stays upright. They get tangled up on the fence, a stalemate that triggers boos from portions of the crowd. Once free, Marshman lands a hook to the body and a right hand to the face. Both shots register. Janes again gets on his bike and pokes with his left jab.
ROUND ONE: Janes is immediately on the move, happy to fight on the back foot and wait for Marshman to make a mistake. For Marshman, it’s all about patience. He can’t get frustrated with Janes’ long and awkward style. He gets through with a good straight right, which seems to get Janes’ attention. Another jolts his head back in the air. Every shot Marshman lands has the same result, in fact, so high is Janes’ chin. When Janes answers back, he does so with pokes and prods. It’s Marshman who packs the power, it would seem.
21:07: Marshman, the Welshman, is fighting out of the red corner. That’s got to be a good omen, right?
21:04. We’ve already had one Welsh victory tonight in Glasgow. Can Jack Marshman make it 2-0 in his fight against Canada’s Ryan Janes? He enters with the Welsh flag draped over his shoulders…
20:55: Two first-round knockouts in a row now for Khalil Rountree. He has his limitations, sure, but the man can whack.
ROUND ONE: Rountree has Craig on the move, having taken centre of the Octagon and got to work with his southpaw jab. Craig seems tentative early. He’s waiting for his moment, rather than forcing it. Rountree, on the other hand, has a look of intent. He’s shaping up to land something big. He thrusts his hips in an attempt to get Craig to offer him some form of attack. Craig gets jolted by a couple of left crosses from Rountree, who seems to be having fun in there. He smiles. He shrugs his shoulders. His hands are down by his sides. There’s a cocksure smirk. He knows Craig is struggling to get a foothold in the fight. He can sense he’s tense. A Rountree left uppercut stuns Craig and encourages him to shoot for a takedown. He appears a man wary of what is coming his way.
Rountree waits for his moment and then it arrives. He throws a left kick, followed by a left uppercut, and both shots connect on Craig, folding him to the floor. Rountree then adds punches for good measure and a final right hand turns out the lights of Craig at 4:56 of round one.
20:42: Paul Craig, the home hero, on his way to the Octagon now. He fights American Khalil Rountree. Craig was stopped in a round last time out by Tyson Pedro, whereas Rountree scored a 52-second knockout of Daniel Jolly. Craig is cheered to the rafters; Rountree is roundly booed.
20:34: Justin Willis tells Dan Hardy he was “jet-lagged and it’s fucking crazy”. That explains it then.
RESULT: Justin Willis wins the battle of heavyweight debutants by scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-27.
ROUND THREE: Third and final round and both these heavyweights, in fairness, have so far maintained a decent pace. They come out throwing for round three, too. Willis now turns his cross into an uppercut and tries to catch Mulheron steaming forward. He narrowly misses one attempt. Mulheron needs a breakthrough shot – a sign he can hurt Willis – but so far nothing seems to be working. His punches no longer carry the necessary snap. Right hands are wayward. Willis is able to tie him up when close and time him with punches when distance is created.
Up against the fence, with a minute to go, Mulheron lands a couple of good right hooks to the body, but it’s likely a case of too little, too late. Indeed, all that follows is a Willis takedown and more in the way of clinch control. The fight fizzles out. Some of the crowd start to boo. Willis raises his right arm in the air before the fight has even officially ended. He knows who has won, just as we all know.
ROUND TWO: Mulheron continues to struggle getting out the way of Willis’ southpaw left cross, which lands with regularity every time he walks forward. Willis is economical with it. He isn’t doing a lot else, but the pot-shotting with his left hand is getting the job done so far. Mulheron, in contrast, is wild with swings of his own. He’s huffing and puffing and trying to get on the front foot, but has yet to find the answer to Willis’ counter-punching style.
Mulheron tries a couple of spinning back-fists only to find himself taken down following the second of them. The noise of the landing acts as a reminder that these two men weigh a combined 500 lbs. It’s also bad news for Mulheron, who needs to be on his feet if he’s got a chance of winning this fight.
ROUND ONE: Southpaw Willis takes the centre of the Octagon and tries to find his range with kicks as Mulheron, surprisingly light on his feet, circles away from him. Willis lands a solid left hand on Mulheron’s face. And another. Mulheron’s lateral movement might be impressive, but it’s Willis who is dictating the tempo and range at this point. Mulheron needs to find a way inside.
Bored of striking, Willis shoots in for a takedown and completes it with ease. Mulheron, though, to his credit, shows a great ability to climb back to his feet and shake Willis off. They get back to striking. Both take shots in the centre of the Octagon but Willis’ work remains the cleaner. For Mulheron, it’s all about the big right hand, which he seems to have cocked and ready to launch at all times. But Willis, the quicker man, is able to get home with his left hand first.
20:10: In the likely event that one of these two heavyweights finds themselves hurt in this fight, I will refrain from saying they were “wobbled”. Not only are there better turns of phrase for such a moment, but “wobbling” is something both of these big men will be doing a lot of from the word go.
20:08: A combined 500 lbs of heavyweight meat is about to land inside the UFC’s Octagon. Hope it’s ready.
19:58: The (big) boy James Mulheron is up next. It’s his UFC debut. If you want to know more about the South Shields heavyweight, check out the interview I did with him shortly after tonight’s fight against Justin Willis was announced. He calls himself the fighting Jimmy Krankie and says eating food is one of the best things in life. A man of the people, then. Relatable.
19:55: It’s Baba O’Reilly time. You know what that means. Joe Rogan is shouting at us on the big screen. Fighters are doing crazy shit and slamming each other and knocking each other out. Bruce Buffer is telling us “it’s tiiiiiiiiiime”. Oh, and main card action is on its way.
ROUND TWO: Good left kick from Nash to start round two. It lands somewhere around Roberts’ ribs. They then clinch and pummel each other in close, mainly with punches. Nash, it seems, wants another takedown. Roberts, though, is having none of it. He breaks free and then gets kicked in the balls. In terms of severity, it’s a nut shot so bad it puts Roberts on his knees.
To the Englishman’s credit, he’s up again soon after and seems ready to go after a minute’s respite. Nash gets a deserved warning from the referee. He then comes out and lands a solid right hand, one Roberts shakes off. Now Roberts comes forward behind a sharp southpaw left, only to find himself tied up by Nash and taken down against the fence. Suffice to say, this isn’t where Roberts, the former professional boxer, wants to be. He manages to get to his feet and control Nash in a clinch, landing knees – called for by the crowd – as he does so. It’s then they separate and a huge left hand from Roberts, thrown like it’s his last, drops Nash on his back. He follows with a couple more shots on the ground, but it’s really not necessary. Roberts TKOs Nash at 3:59 of round two.
What. A. Shot.
ROUND ONE: Both comfortable on their feet, it’s hard to see either Roberts or Nash choosing to take this one to the ground. Roberts, a southpaw, is the quicker with his strikes, especially his kicks, but Nash appears to carry power. The American also sets up his attacks nicely with the jab and with feints. He can also wrestle, as he decides to show with two minutes left in the round, taking Roberts down with a double-leg takedown and keeping him there up against the fence. Once up, Roberts lets his hands fly, causing Nash to panic and again revert to type – he throws the Brit on his back for the second time this round and looks for a front choke as the klaxon ends the opening five minutes.
19:34: Bobby Nash makes his way to the Octagon. He goes by the nickname ‘Nashty’, which, for me, will only ever bring to mind the great Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash, the original ‘Nashty’, and his many, many through-the-eye-of-a-needle passes and three-pointers.
19:33: Danny Roberts and Bobby Nash fight next and are both coming off losses. It’s weird when a fight is described as must-win – when is that ever not the case? – but, certainly, there’s additional pressure whenever a fighter is setting foot inside the Octagon with a defeat fresh in their mind.
19:23: Seery says, “I live to fight another day – just not here. He was a heavy hitter and he set a fast pace.”
19:23: Pantoja, the first man to stop Seery in the UFC, pays tribute to the tough Irishman. “He’s a guy who leaves everything in the cage,” he says. “I love it.”
19:20: An emotional Seery raises both hands to the crowd and gets plenty of goodwill and applause in response. It may be the end, but the Irishman will always be remembered. A pro since 2005, he has UFC wins over Phil Harris, Chris Beal and John delos Reyes. Tonight was the first time he has been stopped in his UFC career.
ROUND THREE: “Let’s go, Seery, come on now – let’s do it,” says a voice behind me. For Seery, it really is the last round. Pantoja doesn’t care much about that, as we’ve established. He flusters Seery on his feet and then takes him down immediately after. After that comes the mount. Now Seery looks in danger. Pantoja gets his back and tries to set up a rear-naked choke. What a horrible end this will be for Seery….
And there it is. The tap comes and Alexandre Pantoja ends the career of Neil Seery with a rear-naked choke at 2:31 of round three.
ROUND TWO: Frantic start to round two with both men coming out the blocks fast. Soon, though, they find themselves in tight up against the fence. Pantoja works a plum clinch and looks for knees. Seery tries to escape. Too close to work, they eventually separate and return to striking. Both seem happier here – striking. Seery’s face is reddening, as a result of this striking, and Pantoja continues to dictate the pace of the contest. There’s a good southpaw left hand from Seery, but he needs more of it. It’s one shot at a time for the most part. The crowd return to their ‘ole, ole, ole’ chant, but this one’s short-lived. Seery bangs Pantoja to the body to show there’s still life in the old dog yet. Pantoja, however, simply nods his head and smiles. Buoyed by the crowd, Seery is willing his body on, forcing out punches and kicks. This is his last fight, remember – may as well leave it all out there.
ROUND ONE: Pantoja knocks Seery off balance with a right hand, but the Irishman bounces right back to his feet. Patoja the more elaborate striker and he’s getting through with punches. Seery struggling with the younger man’s pace early. The first chants of ‘ole, ole, ole’ are heard from the Scottish crowd. They seem to be having fun as they wait for this one to catch fire. Slow hand claps are next.
Meanwhile, Pantoja continues to pick Seery apart with leg kicks and the occasional punch. They trade punches in the final 30 seconds and both get through with decent shots. It’s then Pantoja decides to clinch with Seery up against the cage. They break. More punches are thrown, predominantly by Pantoja, and then the klaxon sounds.
18:57: This is 37-year-old Neil Seery’s last fight, win or lose. He’s doing the Brad Pickett thing. Let’s hope, unlike Pickett, he’s able to go out with a win. His opponent, Alexandre Pantoja, won’t give a damn, of course.
18:52: FYI, if the live blog dips out or seems behind at any stage this evening, don’t blame me, blame the thousands of people in the SSE Hydro currently gobbling up the bandwidth in order to tell their friends and followers they’re here. It’s making things very, very sloooooooow. Bear with me, though. I may be down and bloodied and seemingly on the brink of defeat, but there’s always a way back. Ask Darren Elkins.
18:44: Bofando, a man booed for the last three minutes, tells the crowd to “follow your dreams” and boos quickly turn to cheers and applause. All it takes is some motivational spiel with this lot. They’re a fickle bunch.
ROUND ONE: Bofando is flashy in the extreme. Strikes come from all angles and there is little in the way of stance. This might be his UFC debut but he looks relaxed and at home. Ward watches for the most part. He waits for his hyperactive opponent to settle down.
“Keep your fucking hands up!” shouts a member of the crowd, a command presumably aimed in the direction of Galore. He doesn’t listen. Instead, he tosses Ward to the floor out of a clinch and its the canvas that knocks Ward out as he lands on his head. An unfortunate, nasty ending, Galore Bofando will nevertheless walk away with a first round TKO (2:10) win on his Octagon debut, much to the disapproval of the Scottish and Irish crowd.
18:36: Charlie Ward and Galore Bofando are in the Octagon. Bofando is based in London, England, but originally hails from Democratic Republic of Congo. Ward is an Irishman. There are, based on his reception, definitely Irish countrymen in the building tonight.
RESULT: Despite a shaky start, a new Scottish star is born in Danny Henry, who takes the win via scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 29-26. The home crowd couldn’t be happier.
ROUND THREE: A knee to the stomach and a right hand opens up the round for Henry. He’s full of confidence now. He knows Teymur is tiring and slowing down. He flurries away on him up against the fence and senses a finish is achievable here in round three. Teymur, in survival mode, tries to fend Henry off and keep him from taking his back as they hit the ground. Henry instead finds himself in full mount. Teymur works his way out of it, taking little punishment in the process, and they end up scrambling against the fence and jostling for position as the final klaxon sounds.
ROUND TWO: Big uppercut from Teymur hurts Henry and backs him up. But Henry is game if nothing else. He fires a kick at Teymur’s gut. Undeterred, Teymur is by now loading up on his punches, so sure is he of them landing. Uppercuts, in particular, are a punch of choice and the crowd ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ as their man continues to take punishment.
A left hook and right hand from Henry rock Teymur and force him to shoot in for a takedown. It’s Henry, though, who gets on top and looks to control his opponent on the ground.
Back to their feet, Henry continues to build on this momentum and stalk an unsteady Teymur around the Octagon. He then drops him with a series of punches up against the fence and the crowd go nuts. Now in full mount, Henry looks to secure the finish with punches, before getting Teymur’s back and trying to sink in the rear-naked choke.
He runs out of time.
ROUND ONE: Daniel Teymur’s crisper and sharper striking is a fixture of the early going. He can’t miss Henry when he unloads. The sounds of his leg kicks are nasty, too. One trips Henry and he drops to the canvas. Teymur looks to make something happen on the ground but then decides against it and gets back to his feet. He kicks away at Henry’s legs as the Scotsman decides to stay on his back.
Once back on their feet, Teymur continues to light up Henry with leg kicks and quick punches. In the final seconds, however, Henry lands a cracking right knee, his best shot of the fight so far, and Teymur seems momentarily hurt.
18:03: Danny Henry enters the Octagon to the strains of Kasabian’s ‘Underdog’ and gets quite the reception. He’s from Edinburgh, of course.
RESULT: No surprises here. Brett Johns gets it 30-27, 30-27 and 30-25 on the judges’ scorecards.
ROUND THREE: Both land good right hands in the centre of the Octagon. Here, on their feet, it’s anyone’s fight. But then Johns once again goes for a takedown against the fence and, well, you know the rest… Morales is locked up, controlled and, yep, eventually slammed to the mat. ‘Here we go again,’ think the crowd.
This one feels different, though. Johns gets Morales’ back and seems to be looking for a rear-naked choke. He tries to flatten him out. He looks to soften him up. He then turns him over and works in his opponent’s half guard. From this position, Johns goes for an arm triangle and the crowd urge him to finish it. Morales is having none of it, though. He fights it off, punches Johns in the midriff and sees it out. This one goes to the cards.
17:45: “You need to get the fuck up off the mat,” Morales is told in between rounds two and three. Quite.
ROUND TWO: Morales tries to get his jab going. He seems happier on his feet. Johns, though, having entertained Morales for a minute or so, then shoots in for a takedown against the fence. He completes it and drops Morales on his back – again. The crowd proceed to ‘whooooo’ every elbow Johns aims at the face of Morales. It encourages him to throw more of them – over and over. Morales would rather the crowd were silent at this point. Johns stays in his guard, working both hands, trying desperately to get something decisive done, but the round simply fizzles out, much like it did earlier.
Make no mistake, Morales needs a big round three if he’s going to win this one.
ROUND ONE: Johns flies in for what can only be described as a rugby tackle. It has the desire effect, though, as seconds later, Morales is put on his back. From there, Johns goes to work in the American’s guard. He dominates the round from this position, but little in the way of notable damage is done.
17:33: In terms of skin tone, it’s easy to distinguish the two fighters. Pasty Johns looks like the guy who comes from the Valleys; bronzed Morales looks like the guy from California.
17: 27: Brett Johns, Wales’ very own, is about to make his walk to the Octagon ahead of his fight against Albert Morales. He’s undefeated. He hopes to remain that way.
17:20: Leslie Smith says it takes four wins to get a title shot and she’s now got two. She’s halfway there, then. Amped up, Smith also offers her middle finger to Bethe Correia. As you do.
ROUND TWO: Smith is overwhelming Lemos up against the fence, windmilling punches as if she’d be docked a point if she stops. There’s no let-up. Lemos is in full survival mode. There are elbows, knees and wide punches, and the referee asks Lemos to show him something. She doesn’t. Smith is merciless. She continues her assault until the referee intervenes and prevents Lemos from taking any further punishment. Leslie Smith wins by TKO in round two.
ROUND 1.5: Lemos cheekily lands a right knee just after the klaxon sounds to end the first round and the referee looks to pull them apart. Smith is far from happy.
ROUND ONE: Leslie Smith and Amanda Lemos get underway and an excitable Scottish crowd whoop and holler the early feeling out process. Lemos reacts to this sound with a vicious combination and Smith soaks it up. She continues to march forward.
Smith, the bigger fighter, gets to Lemos as the round goes on. She’s relentless. Her strikes might be wild, but, for Lemos, there’s no escaping them, as she’s constantly backed up to the fence and appears to be tiring. In the clinch, too, Smith seems to be the stronger fighter. She works away with knees to Lemos’ legs that chip away at the Brazilian’s resolve.
