Kasey O’Neill and Luana Santos at the UFC 305 weigh-in. Photo credit: Youtube/UFC
The lone women’s bout at UFC 305 on Saturday was the flyweight division, with Casey O’Neill taking on Luana Santos.
After starting her career 9-0, O’Neal was seen as a front-runner for a title shot when she first arrived at UFC, but after four wins under the UFC banner, she suffered consecutive losses to Jennifer Maia and Ariane Lipski.
UFC 305 saw Luana Santos fight on a five-fight winning streak, giving O’Neal another fight against the Brazilian.
Just a minute into the bout, Santos caught a kick and took control, forcing O’Neal against the fence. A takedown attempt didn’t come quickly, but she hung on to the Scottish-Australian and the two traded knees. They eventually collapsed and traded back to the center, O’Neal landing punches and Santos responding with kicks. Casey O’Neal’s right punch landed and, so far, she had kept the fight standing. O’Neal made good lateral movements, cutting off the cage when Santos tried to circle, which allowed her to find a place to land her right and set up her left jab.
Santos, meanwhile, continued to fight back with right hands and kicks, but was unable to put her opponent down and was forced to fight in a style that was not her forte. That continued in the second round, when O’Neal fended off a takedown attempt from Santos but was nearly thrown before Casey escaped. She closed the distance and landed a low shot to Santos’ lead leg, followed immediately by another kick. Santos fought back with a kick to the body, but was outmaneuvered and outflanked.
O’Neal then changed her offense a bit, going for takedowns of her own, but it didn’t last long as she returned to the center, where she cut against the cage, landed combos and continued to stay strong on the edge. When Santos tried to clinch, O’Neal easily fought her off.
With O’Neal likely winning the first and second rounds, Luana Santos needed to turn up the heat in the third round. However, O’Neal continued her very successful game plan, adding a bit more power to her shots. Santos changed stances, but it didn’t seem to slow O’Neal down. The left jab/right punch continued to be a key weapon, and that one-two landed on “King” Casey O’Neal multiple times. Finally, with two minutes left, Santos scored a headlock takedown, but O’Neal was able to get her back and apply a body lock. This completely killed Santos’ momentum. She was warned for grabbing gloves, and O’Neal delivered a few face cranks and heel kicks to the thigh, but the winner was beyond doubt as the clock ticked down.
Official result: Casey O’Neill defeats Luana Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
