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#4. Melissa Gatto ends Sijara Eubanks’ night with a vicious body kick
The flyweight bout between Melissa Gatto and Sijara Eubanks on last night’s preliminary card was largely flying under the radar, despite the fact that both women were coming off TKO wins.
After last night, though, it’s unlikely that Gatto will be going unnoticed again anytime soon. She looked excellent, and took out Eubanks with one of the most impressive and explosive finishes of the night.
The Brazilian took her time settling into the bout as Eubanks took her down and controlled proceedings in the first round. In the second round, Gatto began to turn the tide – outgrappling ‘Sarj’ and tiring her out.
That left her open in the third round, and Gatto took full advantage. She landed a beautiful front kick to the body in the third round that folded Eubanks, finishing her off for good.
The win not only moved Gatto to 2-0 in the UFC and 8-0-1 in her career overall, it was also enough to earn her a $50k bonus.
#3. Ricky Simon picks up the biggest win of his UFC career over Raphael Assuncao
Ricky Simon has attempted to break into the top 15 at 135 lbs on quite a few occasions before last night, but he’d never quite pulled it off, falling to both Urijah Faber and Rob Font.
After putting together a run of three straight wins, he was faced with another high-level fighter in Raphael Assuncao. Simon delivered the biggest and most impressive win of his UFC career so far.
Sure, the win should come with somewhat of a caveat, as Assuncao is 39 years old now and was without a win since 2018. Nevertheless, the Brazilian is still a wily veteran with a ton of experience.
Simon fought with poise and patience, winning the first round largely with his ground control. In the second round, he began to look more comfortable on his feet before landing a one-two that dropped Assuncao hard, effectively finishing the fight.
Simon should find himself in the UFC’s top 15 come Tuesday, which should cap off an excellent run in 2021 for the rising bantamweight.
