Women's Bantamweight Bout: Leslie Smith def. Amanda Lemos via 2nd-round TKO
"The Peacemaker" certainly has an aggressive way of resolving conflicts.
Smith bullied the debuting Lemos for the majority of their fight before finishing her with some nasty elbows against the cage 2:53 into the second round of the opening preliminary bout of UFC Fight Night 113 in Glasgow on Sunday.
It was the second straight victory for Smith and her third in four appearances. Post-fight, she stated that she believes she's two wins away from a title shot and she called for a bout with No. 13-ranked Bethe Correia.
As usual, pressure was the name of the game for Smith. She waded through Lemos' kicks and counter-strikes to keep the fight close to the cage where the explosive Brazilian's arsenal was limited.
Though Lemos' technique may have won her Round 1, she slowed considerably in Round 2 while Smith turned up the volume. The 34-year-old battered Lemos with strikes against the fence and referee Rich Mitchell gave Lemos every chance to recover before stepping in for the save.
Lemos suffers her first loss in eight professional bouts. She took this fight on just 26 days' notice as a replacement for Lina Lansberg, who withdrew for undisclosed reasons.
Bantamweight Bout: Brett Johns def. Albert Morales via unanimous decision
There's no such thing as an easy UFC fight, but Johns cruised in this one.
The 25-year-old Welshman's grappling was too much for Morales, who was stepping in as a replacement for Mitch Gagnon on less than three weeks' notice, and he took a one-sided unanimous decision to improve to 14-0 in his pro career.
In all three rounds, it was clear that Morales had no answer for Johns' takedowns and he spent almost the entire fight on his back with Johns in closed guard. His defense prevented Johns from improving position, but it didn't stop the grinding ground-and-pound of "The Pikey."
The closest Johns came to finishing the fight was when he attempted an arm-triangle choke late in the third round. Morales avoided tapping out and the two traded shots on the ground, leaving them exhausted when the final bell rang:
Morales falls to 7-2-1 as a professional, and 1-2-1 inside the Octagon.