On Saturday’s UFC 305 card, the one girls’s battle of the evening featured a flyweight bout between Casey O’Neill and Luana Santos. O’Neill, who was as soon as seen as a rising star with an ideal 9-0 file, had stumbled in her latest outings, dropping back-to-back fights to Jennifer Maia and Ariane Lipski. Many had been curious to see if she may get again on monitor in opposition to Santos, who got here into the battle using a five-fight win streak.
From the beginning, it was clear that this battle was going to be a take a look at for each athletes. Simply over a minute into the primary spherical, Santos caught a kick from O’Neill, seizing the chance to press her opponent in opposition to the fence. Whereas she couldn’t safe the takedown instantly, she saved the strain on, with the fighters exchanging knees within the clinch. The 2 finally broke aside, transferring again to the middle of the octagon. O’Neill began discovering her rhythm, touchdown some strong proper arms, whereas Santos responded with kicks.
O’Neill’s lateral motion was on level, as she reduce off the cage at any time when Santos tried to create house. This allowed her to land her proper hand constantly, setting it up with a crisp left jab. Regardless of Santos’ efforts to counter together with her personal strikes, she struggled to take the battle to the bottom, the place she might need had a bonus. The primary spherical ended with O’Neill having established management, protecting the battle the place she wished it—on the ft.
Casey O’Neill Bounces Again with Unanimous Resolution Victory Over Luana Santos at UFC 305
Because the second spherical started, Santos tried one other takedown, coming shut with a throw. Nevertheless, O’Neill managed to interrupt free and continued to dictate the tempo. At vary, she focused Santos’ lead leg with low kicks, mixing up her strikes successfully. Santos fired again with a kick to the physique, however she was clearly being outworked. O’Neill’s quantity and precision had been proving an excessive amount of for Santos to deal with, and when the Brazilian tried to have interaction within the clinch once more, O’Neill simply shrugged her off.
By the top of the second spherical, it appeared doubtless that O’Neill was forward on the scorecards. For Santos, the third spherical was essential—she wanted to discover a solution to flip the tide. But, it was O’Neill who continued to regulate the battle, including extra energy to her strikes because the spherical progressed. Santos switched stances, maybe trying to throw O’Neill off, however it didn’t have the specified impact. The left jab and proper hand combo from O’Neill saved touchdown, with “King” Casey discovering success repeatedly.
With about two minutes left within the battle, Santos managed to safe a headlock takedown, however O’Neill shortly reversed the place, taking Santos’ again and locking in a physique triangle. This transfer successfully sealed the deal, as Santos appeared to expire of steam. Regardless of some warnings for grabbing the gloves, O’Neill maintained management, throwing in some heel kicks and making use of a face crank as the ultimate seconds ticked away.
The judges’ scorecards mirrored what had been a dominant efficiency by O’Neill, with all three scoring the battle in her favor. The official end result was a unanimous determination for Casey O’Neill, with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 30-26.
This victory is a major one for O’Neill, who will now look to construct on this momentum as she continues her journey within the UFC’s flyweight division. For Santos, it’s again to the drafting board, however she confirmed loads of coronary heart and dedication in a tricky battle. Each fighters can take classes from this bout as they transfer ahead of their careers.
Featured picture credit to Embed from Getty Photos
