Lauren Murphy: “I’m Glad My Corner Didn’t Stop The Fight”

Former UFC flyweight challenger Lauren Murphy was glad her corner didn’t stop the fight in between rounds against Jéssica Andrade. Murphy lost to Andrade via a unanimous decision (25-30 x 2, 26-30) on the UFC 283 main card in Rio de Janeiro. Andr…

Former UFC flyweight challenger Lauren Murphy was glad her corner didn’t stop the fight in between rounds against Jéssica Andrade. Murphy lost to Andrade via a unanimous decision (25-30 x 2, 26-30) on the UFC 283 main card in Rio de Janeiro. Andrade dominated the majority of the exchanges on the feet and ground in…

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Fighters React To Jessica Andrade’s One-Sided Victory At UFC 283

Jessica Andrade absolutely battered Lauren Murphy for three full rounds during their women’s flyweight bout on the main card of UFC 283. “Bate Estaca” entered the matchup with Murphy as a significant favorite, but nobody could have predicted how one-si…

Jessica Andrade absolutely battered Lauren Murphy for three full rounds during their women’s flyweight bout on the main card of UFC 283. “Bate Estaca” entered the matchup with Murphy as a significant favorite, but nobody could have predicted how one-sided and brutal a performance the Brazilian was going to put on for the fans in…

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Submission of the Year – LowKick MMA 2022 Awards

Submission of the YearFrom all the awards hosted by LowKickMMA this annum, the accolade for Submission of the Year saw the most separate nominations – with a stunning eight separate fight-ending stoppages receiving votes. However, its former UFC strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade who scoops the award for her most recent victory.  Submission of the Year – Jessica Andrade […]

Submission of the Year

From all the awards hosted by LowKickMMA this annum, the accolade for Submission of the Year saw the most separate nominations – with a stunning eight separate fight-ending stoppages receiving votes.

However, its former UFC strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade who scoops the award for her most recent victory. 

Submission of the Year – Jessica Andrade vs. Amanda Lemos – Standing arm-triangle (3 votes)

Headlining UFC Vegas 52 back in April against compatriot, Amanda Lemos in a return to her former strawweight stomping grounds, Jessica Andrade turned in her second straight victory, stopping her fellow Brazil native with an innovative finish.

Locking up at the Octagon fence in the opening frame, Andrade out-muscled and maneuvered Lemos at the fence, securing a standing arm-triangle submission win. With the victory, Andrade has positioned herself in the running for title challengers at both flyweight and strawweight in the near future.

Honorable Mentions

Stevie Ray vs. Anthony Pettis – Scottish Twister (1 vote)

Turning in both a contender for Submission of the Year as well as arguably the most high-profile win of his professional career, UFC alum, Stevie Ray secured a spectacular, and rare Twister submission win over former WEC and UFC champion, Anthony Pettis.

Twice defeating the Roufusport staple this alum under the banner of the PFL (Professional Fighters League), Ray notched his ninth career submission win with his Twister effort over Pettis in Atlanta. 

Ilia Topuria vs. Bryce Mitchell – Arm-triangle (1 vote) 

Handing featherweight grappler his first professional loss on the main card of UFC 282 earlier this month, German-born division contender, Ilia Topuria maintained his undefeated record, with a blistering arm-triangle submission win over the TUF alum. Following the brutal, one-sided defeat, Mitchell admitted he was weighing up his future in mixed martial arts entirely.

Paul Craig vs. Nikita Krylov – Triangle (2 votes)

Enjoyed a mixed bag of success throughout the year in his attempt to climb the light heavyweight rankings, Scottish grappler, Paul Craig submitted former FNG champion, Nikita Krylov with a first-round triangle win at UFC London in March. The victory landed Craig a post-fight Performance of the Night bonus. 

Angela Lee vs. Stamp Fairtex – Rear-naked choke (1 vote)

Successfully defending her ONE Championship atomweight championship back in March before eventually dropping a strawweight title challenge loss to Xiong Jing Nan, Angela Lee handed a second-round rear-naked choke to kickboxing talent, Stamp Fairtex. A supreme grappler, Vancouver grappler, Lee matched with striking ace, Fairtex – successfully defending her throne with a rear-naked choke stoppage.  

Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje – Rear-naked choke (1 vote)

Former UFC lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira successfully prevented former interim titleholder, Justin Gaethje from obtaining gold in May of this year, however, was unable to exit Phoenix, Arizona with his title.

Missing weight for their UFC 274 title headliner in the ‘Copper State’, Oliveira survived a pair of knockdowns against the Arizonian, to rally and land a knockdown of his own, before securing a rear-naked choke victory. 

Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka – Rear-naked choke (2 votes)

Sans hooks, Czech Republic native, Jiri Prochazka managed to land himself the undisputed light heavyweight title at UFC 275 back in June with a buzzer-beating fifth round rear-naked choke win over Glover Teixeira.

Prochazka, who was losing their Singapore fight on all three judges’ scorecards – attempting to win the fifth round and secure a potential draw on the night, managed to take Minas Gerais veteran, Teixeira’s back, and without hooks to boot, submitted the Brazilian to win light heavyweight gold.

Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makahchev – Arm-triangle (1 vote)

Seeing his division-best winning run halted back in October on ‘Fight Island’, Charles Oliveira failed in his bid to become a two-time lightweight titleholder, suffering a rather one-sided second round arm-triangle submission loss to American Kickboxing Academy staple, Islam Makhachev

Suffering a knockdown in the second frame, Oliveira was jumped upon by Makhachev, who quickly assumed half guard and then stepped across, locking up an arm-triangle submission win.

Frank Bonada: Stevie Ray

Ross Markey: Charles Oliveira

Murdo Todd: Paul Craig

Patrick Post: Jiri Prochazka

Ian Shutts: Paul Craig

Brady Ordway Briggs: Islam Makhachev

Marc Ray: Jessica Andrade

Ollie Brockett: Jessica Andrade

Keelin McNamara: Ilia Topuria

Tim Wheaton: Angela Lee

Arshan Dhillon: Jiri Prochazka

Alex Lough: Jessica Andrade

Jéssica Andrade Steadies Gaze On Zhang Weili Rematch

Former champion Jéssica Andrade is looking to regain her strawweight belt after her next win. Whenever there is a new champion crowned in the UFC, the possibilities for title shots become more open in that division. Now that Zhang Weili has defeated Ca…

Former champion Jéssica Andrade is looking to regain her strawweight belt after her next win. Whenever there is a new champion crowned in the UFC, the possibilities for title shots become more open in that division. Now that Zhang Weili has defeated Carla Esparza at UFC 281, the top fighters in the strawweight division are…

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Jéssica Andrade’s UFC Return Date, Opponent Revealed

Former UFC strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade is continuing her pursuit of another UFC belt at flyweight for her Octagon return. Andrade will fight on the upcoming UFC 283 pay-per-view card taking place in Rio de Janeiro, BR on January 21st. She&#821…

Former UFC strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade is continuing her pursuit of another UFC belt at flyweight for her Octagon return. Andrade will fight on the upcoming UFC 283 pay-per-view card taking place in Rio de Janeiro, BR on January 21st. She’ll face former flyweight title challenger Lauren Murphy in a three-round contest. News of the…

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Carla Esparza Dismisses ‘Classless’ Jéssica Andrade As A “Troll”

Carla Esparza knows she has a target on her back as the UFC’s strawweight champion, but she’s also not afraid to ignore the chatter of fighters looking for a chance at her belt. “The Cookie Monster” won the strawweight title from Rose Namajunas via split-decision at UFC 274 last May. It wasn’t the most dominant…

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Carla Esparza knows she has a target on her back as the UFC’s strawweight champion, but she’s also not afraid to ignore the chatter of fighters looking for a chance at her belt.

“The Cookie Monster” won the strawweight title from Rose Namajunas via split-decision at UFC 274 last May. It wasn’t the most dominant performance or an especially exciting fight, but Esparza improved to 2-0 against Namajunas after first beating her in 2014 to become the UFC’s inaugural strawweight champion.

There’s no shortage of fighters looking to be Esparza’s first challenger, and former champion Jéssica Andrade has been particularly vocal about how unimpressed she was by Esparza’s win at UFC 274.

For her part, Esparza isn’t concerned with what Andrade has to say and hasn’t been too thrilled by their previous interactions.

“I think she’s trying to just shoot her shot and trying to get an opportunity at the title again,” Esparza told MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn. “For me, not to be rude or whatever, but she was super rude to me, so I just view her as a troll and I just blocked her. I’m not gonna engage with her because to me she’s just annoying. I think she’s not the classiest of fighters. I just don’t want to deal with her.”

Andrade most recently submitted Amanda Lemos last April. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Andrade defeated Rose Namajunas in 2019 to claim the UFC’s strawweight belt but lost the title to Zhang Weili in her next fight. The UFC’s #6-ranked strawweight is currently on a two-fight win streak after first-round stoppages of Cynthia Calvillo and Amanda Lemos.

While there’s no opponent or date set for Esparza’s first title defense, former champion Zhang appears the likely first challenger after her spinning back fist knockout of Joanna J?drzejczyk at UFC 275.

What’s your reaction to Esparza referring to Andrade as a “troll” and choosing to ignore her comments?

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