"Namajunas looked like the quicker fighter early, practically bouncing on her feet. Silva fired a number of kicks, all of which missed. Through the first minute, little if anything either fighter had thrown actually landed. Silva nearly landed a shot clean off a caught kick, with Rose just pulling free in the nick of time. Namajunas then fired a kick of her own up high, which also missed."
"Namajunas was in-and-out early in the second, landing then fading back out of reach of Silva. The Brazilian continued to feint, but her offense was stymied: anything thrown seemed to hit air. Namajunas had a slight edge in strikes actually landed thanks to her speed, and the ex-champ was actually leading the dance, initiating most of the exchanges. In a clinch, the pair went down briefly roughly halfway into round two, but they scrambled back up immediately."
Natalia Silva entered the bout as the division's No. 2 and a front-runner for a title shot after higher-ranked opponents faltered. Rose Namajunas exhibited quicker footwork and sharper timing, bouncing on her feet and landing outside leg kicks while Silva's kicks often missed. The first round contained feints, near-misses and a late standing clinch with little sustained offense. Namajunas continued to be in-and-out early in round two, landing then fading, maintaining a slight edge in strikes. Midway through round two Silva reversed momentum, driving Namajunas to the fence after a brief scramble that saw both fighters return to standing.
Read at Cageside Press
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