Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas returned to the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian contender Amanda Ribas in the flyweight main event of UFC Vegas 89.
The pair met in the headline bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, with Namajunas holding the crucial advantage during the five-round matchup to earn scores of 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 and improve her career record to 12-6.
It was a crucial victory for Namajunas, whose last win came back in November 2021 against Zhang Weili in a strawweight title defence back at UFC 268.
Since then, however, “Thug Rose” dropped an unexpected split decision loss to Carla Esparza at UFC 274 as she lost her 115-pound title. That prompted her to move up to flyweight, but her debut at 125 pounds also ended in defeat as she was outpointed by French contender Manon Fiorot last September in Paris.
It meant that Namajunas’ bout with Ribas was something of a crossroads fight and, in a competitive fight, she showed the striking skills and range control that previously helped her to the strawweight title as she ran out the decision winner.
In the co-main event Karl Williams defeated Justin Tafa on the scorecards after their heavyweight bout went all the way, while middleweight Edmen Shahbazyan scored a first-round knockout of AJ Dobson.
One of the standout performances of the night came from undefeated bantamweight Payton Talbott, who defeated rising South American prospect Cameron Saaiman via second-round TKO, while Youssef Zalal returned to the UFC with a notable win, as he submitted Billy Quarantillo in the second round of their featherweight bout.
Earlier in the night, there was a bizarre moment during the bout between UFC debutants Andre Lima and Igor Severino. Referee Chris Tognioni stopped the fight mid-way through the second round and, after conferring with cageside officials, disqualified Severino for biting his opponent.
With the UFC commentary team in disbelief, replays showed the bite, then Lima raised his arm to show a massive bite mark on the inside of his left arm.
Not something you see every night in the Octagon 👀 #UFCVegas89 pic.twitter.com/v46iqBf74J
— UFC (@ufc) March 23, 2024
The egregious nature of the foul cost Severino not just the chance of victory on his Octagon debut, but also his UFC career, with UFC CEO Dana White later confirming that Severino would be cut from the organisation as a result of his conduct.
Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
The night also saw English heavyweight Mick Parkin extend his perfect professional record with a unanimous decision victory over fellow prospect Mohammed Usman.
In a closely-contested matchup, Usman started the faster of the pair, but Parkin stayed composed, listened to his corner team and did enough to win Rounds 2 and 3 to claim scores of 29-28 from all three judges and improve his record to 9-0.
UFC Vegas 89: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Rose Namajunas def. Amanda Ribas via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
- Karl Williams def. Justin Tafa via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Edmen Shahbazyan def. AJ Dobson via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:33
- Payton Talbott def. Cameron Saaiman via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:21
- Youssef Zalal def. Billy Quarantillo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:50
- Fernando Padilla def. Luis Pajuelo via submission (brabo choke) – Round 1, 2:45
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Trey Ogden def. Kurt Holobaugh via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Julian Erosa def. Ricardo Ramos via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:15
- Miles Johns def. Cody Gibson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jarno Errens def. Steven Nguyen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Darya Zheleznyakova def. Montserrat Rendon via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Andre Lima def. Igor Severino via disqualification (biting) – Round 2, 2:52
- Mick Parkin def. Mohammed Usman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
