The UFC Vegas 104 card got off to a crazy start with back-to-back finishes in women’s fights. While Carli Judice’s head-kick KO over Yuneisy Duben was memorable, it paled in comparison to the pure savagery that came from Priscila Cachoeira against Josiane Nunes on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look at the KO posted by MMA Fighting:
Cachoeira catches Nunes flush with a well-placed uppercut that dropped the latter, immediately ending the fight. Cachoeira is affectionately referred to as Zombie Girl for her ability to walk through opponents’ attacks.
Brendan Fitzgerald dropped a gem on commentary as he exclaimed: “Zombie Girl just turned her opponent into a zombie.”
The win pushed Cachoeira to 13-6 with the finish. It came at a perfect time, allowing her to avoid a three-fight losing streak.
Cachoeira had lost back-to-back fights to Jasmine Jasudavicius and Miranda Maverick. Because Jasudavicius and Maverick are ranked No. 9 and No. 12, respectively, in the UFC’s flyweight division, you wonder how close Cachoeira might be to joining the Top 15.
The 36-year-old likely needs a win over a ranked opponent before she ascends to that level. For now, she may have done enough to earn a performance bonus.
She’s won two of those in her career. Not coincidentally, one of those performance-winning finishes came via uppercut against Shana Dobson just 40 seconds into the fight.
Perhaps she has a signature punch in her arsenal. Nunes’ standing with the UFC is likely in jeopardy. She has now lost three fights in a row. Before being knocked out by Cachoeira, Nunes lost decisions to Jacqueline Cavalcanti and Chelsea Chandler.
With both Nunes and Cachoeira losing back-to-back fights to fighters who are currently ranked, their match-up was likely a determining factor for placement for the winner and loser.
With the definitive nature of this loss, Nunes will either be released soon, or she’ll have one more opportunity to win–or at the very least–put on an epic show in what could be a make-or-break fight the next time out.
Here is a look at all of the results from Las Vegas.
- Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze – Middleweight
- Elizeu Zaleski vs. Chidi Njokuani – Welterweight
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Kurt Holobaugh – Lightweight
- Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Cody Gibson – Bantamweight
- Diyar Nurgozhay vs. Brendson Ribeiro – Light Heavyweight
- Kevin Vallejos defeats Choi Seung-Woo by TKO (Right hand and GNP), Round 1, 3:09
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta defeats Ryan Spann by KO at 4:48 of Round 2
- SuYoung You defeats AJ Cunningham by unanimous decision (30-27×3)
- Carlos Vera defeats Josias Musasa by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:16 of Round 1
- Sam Hughes (29-28, 29-27) defeats Stephanie Luciano (29-28) by split decision
- Andre Lima defeats Daniel Barez by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:05 of Round 3
- Priscila Cachoeira defeats Josiane Nunes by KO (right hand) at 2:46 of Round 1
- Carli Judice defeats Yuneisy Duben by TKO (head kick) at 1:40 of Round 1
Be on the lookout for the post-fight breakdown as well as bonus winners and any noteworthy fallout from the event.