UFC 223 Prelims: Karolina Kowalkiewicz Slows Felice Herrig’s Rise at 115 Pounds
Karolina Kowalkiewicz kept her name on a short list of potential title contenders in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight division.
Kowalkiewicz leaned on multi-punch volleys, sneaky kicks and damaging standing elbows, as she took a split verdict from Felice Herrig in the featured UFC 223 prelim on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. All three judges scored it 29-28: Derek Cleary and Sal D’Amato for Kowalkiewicz, Chris Lee for Herrig.
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Aubin-Mercier Knees Fold Dunham
“The Ultimate Fighter Nations” finalist Olivier Aubin-Mercier dispatched Evan Dunham with a pair of knee strikes to the body and follow-up punches in the first round of their undercard confrontation at 155 pounds. A replacement for Mairbek Taisumov, Aubin-Mercier (11-2, 7-2 UFC) brought it to a close 53 seconds into Round 1.
Unbeaten in five appearances since July 2014, Dunham (18-7-1,
11-7-1 UFC) stung the
Tristar Gym representative with a straight left during their
initial exchange but saw his situation deteriorate from there.
Aubin-Mercier drew him into the clinch and blasted him with a knee
to the body. The stricken Dunham retreated to the cage, where he
was met with punches and another brutal knee to the solar plexus
before a sustained burst of punches finished it.
Aubin-Mercier has rattled off four consecutive victories.
Busy Evans-Smith Denies Rawlings
Team Oyama’s Ashlee Evans-Smith put an end to a two-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter 20” alum Bec Rawlings in a preliminary women’s flyweight affair. Evans-Smith (6-3, 3-3 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 marks.
Volume was the difference. Evans-Smith fought at a blistering pace, lighting up the Aussie with two-, three- and four-punch combinations. Short elbows, knees to the body and uppercuts buoyed her efforts in the clinch. Rawlings (7-8, 2-5 UFC) briefly turned a corner in the second round -- she connected with a stout right hand, strung together combinations and incorporated leg kicks -- but her efforts proved futile. Evans-Smith found another gear over the final five minutes, continued to pile up points and walked out with her hand raised.
Rawlings, 29, has lost four fights in a row.
Related » UFC 223 Round-by-Round Scoring
Clark Outhustles Newcomer Rodriguez
Multiple takedowns and a committed clinch carried former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion Devin Clark to a unanimous decision over Mike Rodriguez in an undercard clash at 205 pounds. All three cageside judges scored it for Clark (9-2, 3-2 UFC): 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.
It was not a blowout. Rodriguez (9-3, 0-1 UFC) performed well in open space, particularly with leg kicks. However, Clark was relentless. The Jackson-Wink MMA export bullied into the clinch, pressed Rodriguez into the fence and wore down the CES MMA veteran in close quarters. Clark sealed it with a strong third round, as he executed three takedowns, stayed glued to his counterpart and steered clear of danger.
The loss snapped a four-fight winning streak for Rodriguez.
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