Rose Namajunas defeated Jessica Andrade via split decision at UFC 251 at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night in a rematch between two of the top fighters in the women’s strawweight division.
Two judges scored the fight 29-29 in favor of Namajunas and the other judge scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Andrade.
Namajunas came out swinging in the first two rounds, connecting with quick jabs to Andrade’s face. She finished with 63 head strikes, 12 body strikes and seven leg strikes. She also attempted to hit Andrade with a flying knee but failed to make a big connection.
Andrade made Namajunas bleed from the nose and gave her a black eye and still came up short. She connected with 31 head strikes, 25 body strikes and 15 leg strikes.
With the win, Namajunas gets revenge from a UFC 237 loss to Andrade in 2019. Andrade won that fight via a knockout slam that landed Namajunas on her head. Andrade finished that fight with a few punches to the head.
Namajunas getting the win at UFC 251 possibly sets her up for a championship fight against Zhang Weili. Zhang defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 185. She’s held the title for 315 days.
