UFC Vegas 64 was headlined by a women’s strawweight bout between No. 3 ranked Marina Rodriguez and No. 7 ranked Amanda Lemos on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Rodriguez entered the bout riding a four-fight winning streak with wins over Yan Xiaonan, Mackenzie Dern, Michelle Waterson, and Amanda Ribas. Her last loss was in July 2020 to current champion Carla Esparza. Lemos was coming of a win over Waterson and looking to jump into contender status with a win over Rodriguez.
They showed each other a lot of respect in the early going as they searched for timing and range. The output was low in the opening frame. Late in the round, Lemos attempted to get Rodriguez to the ground but ended up on the bottom. The rounded ended with Rodriguez on top, but the rounded ended before any damage could be done.
Both women utilized kicks. Lemos pressed forward in the second round. She clinched when Rodriguez stepped into the pocked. She tripped Rodriguez to the ground and quickly took her back. Lemos applied a body triangle and worked to secure a choke. Rodriguez worked her way to half guard and controlled Lemos’ posture. Lemos created enough room to deliver short punches and elbows.
Between rounds, Rodriguez’ corner urged her to pick up the pace, and she did. Lemos connected with a right hand followed by a combination. Rodriguez was wobbled and backed away. Lemos unloaded punches and the referee stopped the fight.
“When I hit her I saw her legs started wobbling a little bit, and I didn’t think twice. I was going to finish the fight right there,” Lemos said following the win.
After taking out the third-ranked contender, Lemos asked to be the backup fighter of next week’s 281 title bout between champion Carla Esparza and former titleholder Zhang Weili.
“Hey Dana [White], I’m here already. Put me as backup for the title fight in New York,” she said.
UFC Vegas 64 Results: Amanda Lemos stops Marina Rodriguez in main event