'Thug Rose' bled from the face and had her eye sealed shut during brutal, bruising UFC war with Jessica Andrade
- Rose Namajunas scored revenge on Saturday, beating Jessica Andrade in a rematch 14 months after losing to her at UFC 237.
- The women's strawweight bout took place at the Flash Forum on "Fight Island," which is a quarantined area in Abu Dhabi built by the UAE to help the UFC continue operations during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Namajunas and Andrade fought on the main card, providing a war that was more technical than savage.
- Namajunas' stand-up ability was praised by a boxing promoter called Lou DiBella on Twitter, who said she could transition into his sport.
- But though she had great punch variety, she could not prevent Andrade from damaging her face as she left the Octagon with a bloody face and her eye swollen shut.
FIGHT ISLAND — 'Thug' Rose Namajunas bled from the face and had her eye sealed shut during a brutal, bruising UFC war with Jessica Andrade at "Fight Island."
While it lacked the all-out carnage fans saw when strawweight champion Weili Zhang and challenger Joanna Jedrzejczyk beat each other until they looked disfigured earlier this year, there was great technical striking on display Saturday.
It all went down inside the purpose-built, behind-closed doors Flash Forum venue on "Fight Island," a quarantined area on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi specifically built to help the UFC continue operations, providing its international athletes with matches during the coronavirus pandemic.
Andrade and Namajunas had met once before at UFC 237, with Namajunas losing by slam knockout in the second round, something she complained about at the time saying: "That's not cool."
The rematch took 14 months to come together, but it was one Namajunas was able to get revenge in, winning by split decision at UFC 251 with scores of 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28.
Both athletes combined to throw 448 strikes over 15 minutes, with Namajunas landing 82 of 235 compared to Andrade's return of 79 of 213. There was little to separate them, as both fought hard for a win.
Watch some of the action here:
Namajunas' stand-up ability was praised on Twitter by the boxing promoter Lou DiBella, who said that the strikes were so accurate, and thrown with such technical appreciation for boxing, that she could transition into his sport, should she so desire.
DiBella noted her "balance, really solid footwork, reach, and quick hands," but her countering was also on point, as were her feints and general punch variety.
Both fighters lost blood. Andrade bled from the nose in the first, but Namajunas' face was split open later in the bout, bleeding heavily when she was on the canvas.
While Namajunas seemingly did enough to take the first two rounds, Andrade rallied late to score the third in her favor.
The judges appeared to agree, giving Namajunas the nod by split decision with scores of 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28.
With the win, Namajunas advanced her record to nine wins (one knockout, five submissions, and three decisions) against four losses.
Andrade fell to 20 wins (seven knockouts, seven submissions, and six decisions) against eight losses.
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