Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Iasmin Lucindo at UFC 301 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Dylan Bowker/Cageside Press
Former UFC strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz looked to continue her recent resurgence by pairing with Yasmin Lucindo at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Kowalkiewicz, who competed against Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the gold medal in 2016, was at one point in a five-fight slump, but recently won four in a row, making a remarkable comeback from the brink of retirement.
The Polish fighter, ranked 13th in the division, had plenty of room to fight the unranked Lucindo early on, and Lucindo seemed to do damage in Kowalkiewicz’s eyes early on. It was a hard blow. Shortly after, the two men exchanged blows and the score was tied, with Lucindo locking his opponent in a guillotine with a knee kick. Kowalkiewicz managed to shoot his head free with his back to the fence, but had to counter further knee kicks from Yasmin Lucindo, who seemed to be fighting comfortably along the fence.
Both men exited the cage with just over a minute left in the round, but Lucindo landed a trip and went straight to mount. 45 seconds left. Kowalkiewicz tried to equalize Lucindo from below, stopping his attack long enough for time to run out.
In the second round, Karolina Kowalkiewicz came forward, but was met with a sharp counterattack from Lucindo. Kowalkiewicz’s own attacks didn’t seem to have much of an impact, with Lucindo’s knee noticeable in the exchange. Lucindo was stringing together punches and opening combinations between her body and head. Her hands were the fastest of the pair, and by the middle of the match Kowalkiewicz was at a significant disadvantage. The rest of the rounds went the same way, with Kowalkiewicz failing to make much of an impact.
Lucindo took the fight to the fence early in the third round and had a lot of early success. To be frank, the majority of the match was a success for Yasmine Lucindo, who had a huge lead in the match. With just over two minutes left, she briefly climbed to the back.
With the final blow, Lucindo took control of the fight and ended it, leaving no doubt about the result and a unanimous decision. With her third win in the UFC, she will earn her spot in the rankings early next week.
Official result: Iasmin Lucindo def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
