Alexa Grasso proves that she is worthy of the hype with a comfortable win over Heather Jo Clark tonight at UFC fight Night 98, doing her best work with combination striking in the opening round that appeared to break her opponent’s nose.
Round One:
Clark takes the center of the Octagon to start and fires off a striking combo. Body kick for Grasso.
Overhand for Clark and then drives into the clinch against the cage. Grasso moves out of danger nicely though.
Right hand for Grasso and then covers up to block the counter. Clark blasts forward with a short flurry of punches.
Leg kick for Grasso and then Clark returns the favor. Side kick to the body for Clark now. Right hand gets through for her, but the head kick behind it misses.
Clark showing a willigness to let her hands go early, but Grasso gets caught by a kick and falls forward to the mat. She gets back up, but Grasso moves into top gear with an offensive onslaught that backs Clark up against the cage.
Clark in survival mode here as Grasso batters her with a barrage of blows to the body and head, bloodying her up in the process. Clark fires back though and manages to stay in the fight.
Grasso continues to piece together nice combinations of punches and kicks, but Clark is able to work into the clinch to close out the round.
inbetween rounds Clark tells her coach she can’t see straight and her nose looks broken. She sounds uncertain about continuing, but while her coach gives her the opportunity to quit if she wants, Clark stops short of doing so and he opts not to throw in the towel.
Round Two:
Clark with a body kick. Now she lunges in with a right hand that’s blocked. Upstairs with a head kick now, but that’s also blocked by Grasso.
Grasso taking her time, perhaps not realizing how badly hurt Clark is. Clark catches a kick from Grasso and drives her to the cage. Working in the clinch she tries to work for her a takedown, but Grasso defends well and reverses the position.
Clark tries for a guillotine, but there’s nothing doing there. A little dirty boxing from Grasso then she backs away to striking range.
Clark drives back into the clinch against the cage again. Clark with a lateral drop takedown, but Grasso immediately tries for a submission, then scrambles back to her feet and goes straight back on the offensive as the bell sounds.
Round Three:
Nice body kick for Grasso. Clark pushes into the clinch, though she eats a punch on the way in. The two jostle for position against the cage, with Grasso ending in the dominant position. Couple of knees for her and then Clark turns her and tries for a lateral drop again, but this time it doesn’t work out.
Back to striking range then. Side kick to the body for Clark. Body punches for the blood-smeared Clark. Not much output from Grasso so far in this round.
Leg kick for Grasso. Lengthy jab and then back to the leg kick. Another chopping leg kick. Punch then a kick this time as she starts to gradually increase her work rate again.
Right hand lands for Clark, then again, but Grasso gets into the clinch to stifle that offense. Big takedown for Grasso, then fires off a combo as her opponent gets back to her feet to end the round.
Decision:
so, a very good first round for Grasso and then she largely coasted in the second and third en-route to a unanimous decision victory (30-27 x2, 29-28).
