Cynthia Calvillo and Marina Rodriguez fought to a spirited majority draw decision tonight at UFC On ESPN 7.
Round One:
Leg kick for Calvillo. Nice right hand gets through for Rodriguez. Another inside leg kick for Calvillo. She goes to it again.
Right hand again for Rodriguez. Again she connects with it and then lands a leg kick. Leg kick for Calvillo. Knee to the body from Rodriguez.
Calvillo goes for the takedown. Rodriguez defends, but Calvillo adjusts and completes the takedown. Half-guard for Calvillo now.
Rodriguez does well to scramble though and manages to stand up, then immediately presses forward aggressively with punches and knees. Good strikes here. She lands another heavy knee to the body.
Calvillo gets some distance. Rodriguez lands another knee to the body. Rodriguez stepping into another right hand – that punch has landed several times for her now.
Calvillo presses Rodriguez into the cage. Rodriguez marches out of that though and then lands a head kick. Now a big knee upstairs connects for Calvillo, who does well to take that, but it must have hurt.
Rodriguez tries to go on the attack, but this time Calvillo lands a takedown and gets on top landing ground and pound to end the round.
Round Two:
They exchange punches to start the second round and Rodriguez got the better of that. Calvillo tries for an inside leg kick, but eats a counter punch.
Right hand from Calvillo, but a big knee to the body from Rodriguez too. Light one-two for Calvillo then a couple of leg kicks.
Rodriguez trying to threaten with knees. Nice right hand for her. Now a body kick. Front kick lands. Calvillo wants a takedown, but struggling to find an entry here.
Spinning kick to the body from Rodriguez now. Hard knee to the body, punch and then a kick to the body for good measure from Rodriguez.
Calvillo really starting to struggle with this body work and another knee lands there. Rodriguez trying to a jumping knee now and then attempts to throw Calvillo off-balance to the mat, without success as the round comes to a close.
Round Three:
Spinning kick from Calvillo misses. Oblique kick from Rodriguez. Calvillo goes for a double-leg and she lands it. Big moment for her.
Half-guard for Calvillo and trying to mount. She abandons that for now and lands an elbow. Now Calvillo is working for a kimura and drops down some hard elbows to the body. Rodriguez trying to work her way upright, but Calvillo takes her back now.
Big ground and pound blows landing for Calvillo now and she’s still got two minutes to work. A flurry of right hands landing now. Rodriguez struggling to break free under this pressure.
Calvillo mounts again. Rodriguez gives up her back for a moment as Calvillo rains down punches. She manages to keep moving though and somehow scrambles to her feet.
Now it’s Rodriguez marching forward in teh final 30 seconds. She tries a spinning backfist that misses. Punch and a kick lands for Rodriguez and then a final kick attempt upstairs.
Decision:
Good fight then with Rodriguez having the bigger moments on the feet, but Calvillo doing some excellent work on the mat too. In the end that leads to a majority draw, with one judge seeing it in Calvillo’s favour and the two others opting for a draw (29-28, 28-28 x2).
