Eduarda Moura snapped Veronica Hardy’s four-fight win streak and moved herself to 11-1 with an impressive three-round showing to kick off UFC 309 in NYC.
Moura stuck Hardy with a big right hand early on, that immediately put the Venezuelan on her backfoot. Hardy struggled to close the distance but managed to land a nice body kick at the end of a combination. However, Moura quickly made her pay for it with another booming right hand that popped Hardy’s back.
In the final seconds of the first, Hardy attempted to close the distance and connect with another body kick, but Moura quickly responded with a takedown that put a pretty big stamp on the first five minutes.
In the opening seconds of the second stanza, Hardy landed a nice left hand — her best of the fight up to that point — but Moura quickly shut things down with another successful takedown attempt.
Hardy attempted to fight her way back up for a majority of the round but ultimately acquiesced to the position and rode out the clock.
Likely down 2-0 going into the third, Hardy came out aggressive, but Moura once again caught her with a right-hand coming in. That prompted Hardy to start throwing kicks from the outside — including a punishing lead leg attack with a minute to go.
Hardy wasn’t able to muster much offense beyond that, bringing an end to their three-round affair with little fanfare.
Official Result: Eduarda Moura def. Veronica Hardy via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Check out highlights from Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura at UFC 309:
The first winner of #UFC309
@EduardaMouraUFC takes home her first UFC UD victory! pic.twitter.com/iC0GAhszOX
— UFC (@ufc) November 17, 2024
