UFC Fight Night 182 results: Cory McKenna decisions Kay Hansen in strawweight prospects fight

The UFC Fight Night 182 main-card opener between Cory McKenna and Kay Hansen wasn’t just a battle of intriguing strawweight prospects. It was also the youngest combined fight in UFC women’s history, with both fighters entering the octagon Saturday at age 21.

Both fighters, as it turned out, lived up to the hype, as McKenna (6-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Hansen (7-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) put on a solid, back-and-forth scrap. McKenna earned a unanimous nod at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, getting 29-28 scores across the board.

The first two rounds featured fast-paced action, but McKenna was simply a step quicker in the standup and both threw and landed with heavier volume, particularly in the opening round, which was McKenna’s most clear-cut round of the fight.

Hansen is best known for her ground skills, and she had her moments on the ground. But even there, McKenna had answers, such as late in the second round, when Hansen sinked in a rear-naked choke that looked tight, but McKenna managed to not only escape, but also sweep into top position and re-assert control. That late sequence may have been what sealed things for McKenna in what was the fight’s closest round.

In the third, Hansen fought like someone who knew she probably needed a finish. She scored a takedown, demonstrated solid ground-and-pound, and got a head-and-arm choke which nearly finished the fight. That was enough to give Hansen the round, but not the fight, ending her four-fight win streak.

McKenna, whose amateur career started at age 15, won in her UFC debut, having previously fought on Contender Series.

“Kay’s an amazing fighter, it was a good fight, I was expecting the best version of her, and I got it, I think we proved we both belong.”

McKenna, at 7,797 days old is the youngest fighter currently on the UFC roster. She’s just a bit over a month older than Hansen at 7,763 days.