Andrea Lee handed former training partner Montana De La Rosa her first octagon loss with a sprawl-and-strike attack.
De La Rosa (10-4 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was repeatedly denied takedowns and out-punched on the feet before Lee (11-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) took home a unanimous decision by scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
The women’s flyweight bout was part of the UFC on ESPN+ 12 main card Saturday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.
With the decision, Lee picked up a bittersweet third UFC victory. She declined to call out an opponent for her next outing.
The fight’s timbre was set from the moment she wobbled De La Rosa with a jab. From there out, De La Rosa made takedowns a priority, and she was able to put Lee on the canvas. But she was unable to keep Lee on the mat, and on the feet, Lee’s straight punches pieced her up as they slugged it out.
An early takedown in the third offered De La Rosa her best shot at turning things around. When Lee again reverseed, De La Rosa threw up submission attempts from the bottom, nearly cinching a ninja choke and threatening with an armbar. Lee hung tough and landed ground and pound from top position, then went on the attack. In the final seconds, Lee attempted a reverse triangle attempt and went to back control to solidify her win.
Rosa loses her fifth professional fight and suffers her first UFC setback after three consecutive wins.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 12 results:
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- Andrea Lee def. Montana De La Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Kevin Holland def. Alessio Di Chirico via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Dan Ige def. Kevin Aguilar via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
- Ashley Yoder def. Syuri Kondo via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-24)
- Luis Pena def. Matt Wiman via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:14
- Jair Rozenstruik def. Allen Crowder via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:09
- Molly McCann def. Ariane Lipski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Deron Winn def. Eric Spicely via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 12, visit the UFC Events section of the site.
