- Women dominated the UFC prelims Saturday with a series of ass-kicking performances in Las Vegas.
- Tamires Vidal finished Ramona Pascual with a knee before Polyana Viana brutalized her opponent.
LAS VEGAS — UFC debutante Tamires Vidal kicked off an 11-fight MMA card in style Saturday when she stopped Ramona Pascual with a knee and punches in the very first round.
Vidal, 24, had only fought in regional MMA shows since 2018 but stepped up to the big leagues at the Apex in Las Vegas like it was no big deal as she swept Pascual aside with ease.
Vidal landed 22 of 34 strikes for 65% accuracy, culminating her attacking output with a knee that seemed to puncture Pascual's solar plexus in such horrible fashion that all the Hong Kong fighter could do was grimace in agony.
Pascual's natural fighter instinct took over as she got upright as soon as possible to defend herself, and wait for an attack of her own.
However, the referee knew she was in a bad way, could not continue, and rescued her from herself. It was all over.
Watch the awesome finish right here:
—UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2022
Speaking to Insider and other reporters backstage, Vidal said reality hadn't yet settled in after her victory — which advanced her pro-MMA record to seven wins against one defeat.
"It's not real yet," she said through a translator.
"We were at the airport, our flight got canceled, and we had to sleep on a bench," Vidal said. "My master, who is like a father to me, said: 'It doesn't matter because I am with you.' So that gave me confidence."
Insider asked Vidal at which point she knew the fight was over — whether it was when she threw that knee to the liver, landed it, or saw the effect it had on her opponent.
"When I landed it, I thought when the fight stopped that I was going to get punished," she said, expecting the worst.
As things turned out, it was all for the best. For Pascual to recover, and for Vidal to get crowned an emerging queen in the UFC.
Another MMA queen won big as Polyana Viana unapologetically pummeled Jinh Yu Frey
Arguably the greatest win on the preliminary section of the UFC card came when Polyana Viana entered the Octagon, and scored a win 45 seconds later.
Viana is not known for her lightning-quick fists and knockout abilities but she smashed Jinh Yu Frey to smithereens in as unapologetic manner as one can fathom.
She put Frey down with a punch combination that featured unrelenting accuracy and then finished the show with an almighty hammer fist to the skull: Bang.
As Frey regained her senses, she got to her feet, but still looked dazed and confused.
Viana had not even finished celebrating and waltzed over to Frey to give her a kiss for good measure.
Watch Viana's awesome finish right here:
—UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2022
Victory advanced Viana's pro-MMA record to 13 wins (five knockouts, eight submissions) against five defeats.
Johnny Munoz praised Donald Trump and Elon Musk after his win
Earlier in the prelims, Johnny Munoz overcame Liudvik Sholinian after three rounds of bantamweight fighting.
Munoz was, by far, the more active combatant having landed 114 of 270 strikes for a 42% accuracy combined with two takedowns from four attempts.
Sholinian didn't succeed with any of his takedowns and landed only 70 shots from 166 attempted.
It was a clean sweep for Munoz on two of the judges' three scorecards as he earned a unanimous decision with results of 30-27 (x2) and 29-28.
Following his win, he gave an unprompted MAGA victory speech by shouting out former president Donald Trump, and also referenced new Twitter owner Elon Musk.
—Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) November 5, 2022
English fighter Jake Hadley also got a win on the prelims when he submitted Carlos Candalerio with a triangle choke in the second round at a catchweight of 128.5-pounds.
Victory advanced Hadley's pro-MMA record to nine wins against one defeat. It was his first win in the UFC after dropping a decision to Allan Nascimento on his debut with the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion earlier this year.
See Hadley's finish right here:
—UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2022
Elsewhere on the prelims, Mario Bautista caught Benito Lopez in a reverse triangle armbar in a buzzer-beating submission, and Miranda Maverick edged Shanna Young in the final bout before the main UFC card on ESPN+.