Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Two fights down, two early contenders for UFC on ESPN 13 “Performance of the Night” awards. After Jack Shore kicked things off on “Fight Island” with a second round submission over Aaron Phillips (see it here), Liana Jojua one-upped him by submitting Diana Belbita in round one a few minutes later.
Belbita started off strong throwing some good combinations, though she did eat some nice knees to the body for her troubles. After the action hit the ground, it seemed as if Belbita was in full control while in guard. She quickly had to go into defense mode, as Jojua went for the armbar on numerous occasions.
Undeterred by Belbita’s defensive efforts, Jojua stayed with it and ultimately latched onto her arm to force the tap halfway through round one. That is now five wins via armbar for “She Wolf,” who also scored her first UFC win.
MMAmania.com is delivering LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC on ESPN 13 fight card right now, right here, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC on ESPN 13: “Kattar vs. Ige” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.