It wasn’t exciting, but it was a standard Sara McMann (9-3) performance. The Olympic silver medalist suffocated Jessica Eye (11-5, 1 NC) en route to a unanimous-decision victory.
The first round was lacking on offense. Both women entered desperately needing a victory, and pressure was visible in the opening five minutes. Neither athlete wanted to make a fight-altering mistake right out of the chute.
McMann landed some solid knees to the body when she had Eye backed to the cage, but that was essentially all that the first round had to offer. Referee John McCarthy told both fighters entering the second round that they needed to do more.
The crowd was getting restless as more of the same inactivity continued in the second. McMann tried to get something going with a shot from way outside, but it was easily defended. McMann pressured Eye to the fence and then completed the first takedown of the fight. McMann’s smothering top control allowed her to win the round.
Eye began the third with a bit more activity, but McMann was able to shoot in and take her to the mat. Once there, the fight was a lock. McMann was too solid from top position for Eye to do anything of note.
This was not a good fight for the fans, and it was a disastrous fight for Eye. For McMann, she at least walks away with a victory—her first since 2014. It just won’t be enough to make her a contender again.
Eye will be in danger of being cut, but given the right opponent she can be an exciting addition to the UFC’s bantamweight roster. Her fights against Sarah Kaufman and Leslie Smith were exciting. The right opponent for Eye’s next fight is Bethe Correia.
Correia (5’5″, 134 lbs) is a smaller bantamweight like Eye (5’6″, 135 lbs), and is an aggressive striker as well. It’d be a fun tilt.
McMann doesn’t have too many options following Sunday’s fight as her possible opponents are booked. On the docket in the division is Holly Holm vs. Valentina Shevchenko and Cat Zingano vs. Julianna Pena. She will most likely fight the winner of one of those two fights. It will be up to the UFC to decide which route they want to take.
Eye and McMann had trained together in the past, and their familiarity with one another led to a lackluster affair. It is unfortunate to see with a top-10 level contest. McMann put herself back in position for a significant fight in the division, and now the attention turns to UFC 200 as bantamweight’s murky waters look to get a bit more clear.
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