Jasmine Jasudavicius, top, fights Priscila Cachoeira during UFC 297 in Toronto on Saturday, January 20, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan DenetteNathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Canadian bantamweight Jasmine Jasudavicius dominated Brazil’s Priscila (Zombie Girl) Cachoeira on the ground en route to a third-round submission win Saturday night on the undercard of UFC 297.
The 34-year-old from Niagara, Ont., bloodied the Brazilian on the ground in a lopsided first round then knocked her down in the second with a right to the head before administering more ground-and-pound pain. Cachoeira (12-6-0), her battered face leaking blood, tapped to an anaconda choke at 4:21 of the third round.
“I want to show how mean I am,” said Jasudavicius (10-3-0), who improved her UFC record to 4-2-0.
Mission accomplished.
The main event pitted UFC middleweight champion Sean (Tarzan) Strickland against South African challenger Dricus (Stillknocks) Du Plessis, ranked No. 2 among 185-pound contenders.
The undercard featured seven Canadian fighters with two more — welterweight (Proper) Mike Malott and middleweight Marc-Andre (Power Bar) Barriault — on the main card.
Canadians went 2-5 on the undercard with all five men losing.
The show was the UFC’s first in Toronto since UFC 231 in December 2018.
The Scotiabank Arena crowd was loud from the get-go, greeting American flyweight Jimmy (The Brick) Flick — the first fighter to appear — with boos as he walked out to Drake’s “Started From the Bottom.” Toronto’s Malcom (X) Gordon, his opponent, got a hero’s welcome.
That trend continued all night, with Canadian fighters feeling the love from the crowd, which launched into several unsolicited, obscene Justin Trudeau chants as the night wore on.
The first loud “Let’s Go Canada” chant came less than three minutes into the first round as Gordon pummelled Flick on the ground. But Gordon’s aggression cost him in the second as he ended on the canvas and Flick (17-7-0) finished him with an arm-triangle at 1:17 of the round for his 15th career submission win, drawing more boos.
Gordon (14-8-0) forfeited 20 per cent of his purse to Flick after weighing 1.5 pounds over the 126-pound flyweight non-title limit.
Canadian bantamweight Brad (Superman) Katona lost a unanimous (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) decision to American Garret Armfield in a close fight, the featured preliminary bout on the undercard.
Katona (15-3-0) had a strong third round, taking Armfield (11-3-0) down several times. But it was not enough.
Katona, a native of Winnipeg now fighting out of Dublin, is in his second go-round with the UFC after winning “The Ultimate Fighter” reality TV show for a second time.
England welterweight Sam (The Future) Patterson (11-2-1) made short work of Canadian Yohan (White Lion) Lainesse (9-3-0), choking him out at 2:03 of the first round. Lainesse, from St-Bruno, Que., has now lost three of his four UFC fights.
“If I get hold of your neck, I’m putting you to sleep. Guaranteed,” said Patterson, earning his first UFC win after losing as a lightweight in his debut.
Canadian strawweight Gillian (The Savage) Robertson used her ground game to dispatch Brazil’s Polyana Viana (13-7-0) via second-round TKO. Robertson (13-8-0) took the Brazilian down in both rounds, punishing her until referee Kevin McDonald stepped in at 3:12 of the round.
It marked the 16th UFC outing for Robertson, a native of Niagara Falls, Ont., who now fights out of Coconut Creek, Fla. Her record in the promotion now stands at 10-6-0 (2-0-0 in Canada) and she is now tied for second-most finishes in UFC women’s history (nine).
Robertson set records as a flyweight (125 pounds) for most submission wins (six) and finishes (seven) in division history before dropping down to strawweight (115 pounds) at the end of 2022.
American bantamweight Ramon (The Savage) Taveras won a rematch over Canadian Serhiy Sidey via a split (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) decision in an entertaining battle fought on the feet.
Taveras (10-2-0) staggered Sidey at the end of the first round and felled him in the second, with the blond Sidey’s face a crimson mask. Sidey (10-2-0) kept coming and finished the round strongly but Taveras; striking was too good.
The two met in September on Dana White’s Contender Series with Sidey, from Burlington, Ont., winning via first-round TKO. But most observers, including White, thought it was a premature stoppage and so the two were matched up again after Taveras recorded a 29-second KO in October on the Contender Series.
Taveras failed to make weight here, however, and forfeited 30 per cent of his purse after weighing in at 139.75 pounds, 3.75 over the bantamweight non-title limit.
American featherweight Sean (The Sniper) Woodson (11-1-1) used his size advantage to win a split (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) decision over Charles (Air) Jourdain. The decision drew boos from the crowd and Jourdain, from Beloeil, Que., left the cage shaking his head.
At five foot nine, Jourdain (15-7-1) was giving up five inches in height and nine inches in reach and had troubled getting to his opponent, despite trying some flashy kick and spinning strikes. Woodson, who went 46-3 as an amateur boxer, showed off his striking skills and takedown defence.
Jourdain pulled guard in the dying seconds of the fight, attempting an unsuccessful guillotine choke.