Daria Zheleznyakova and Melissa Mullins originally met in ARES FC a few years ago, with Mullins scoring a first-round finish. But things have since changed.
Now both women are in the UFC, and in their second meeting, it’s Zheleznyakova getting revenge with a decision win during the preliminary card of UFC Baku.
Zheleznyakova was putting a beating on Mullins early, rocking her in the opening seconds of the fight. She continued to pepper Mullins with straights and combinations, and it looked like things would be quick. But Mullins battled back for an action-packed, back-and-forth opening frame. Mullins even scored a takedown late in the round, threatening an armbar before the end of the round.
The action appeared to slow down in the second round, though Zheleznyakova had the upper hand. Suddenly, with just over a minute left in the round, Zheleznyakova landed a shot on the solar plexus that rocked Mullins. Zheleznyakova went in for the kill, but Mullins scored a takedown to survive the round. Zheleznyakova, however, limited what she could do on the ground.
Mullins seemed to do more work in the third round, but it was still very back-and-forth. Controversy came, however, when Zheleznyakova used a fence grab to prevent a takedown with about a minute left — with only a warning from the referee.
The controversy mattered not, however, as Zheleznyakova won a unanimous decision with two 30-27s and a 29-28.
Daria Zheleznyakova Gets Revenge On Melissa Mullins
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Since the loss, Zheleznyakova was 2-1, with a 1-1 UFC record. She made her UFC debut last year with a decision win over Montserrat Rendon and a loss against Ailín Pérez.
Mullins joined the UFC after the win over Zheleznyakova. She entered tonight 2-1 in the Octagon, coming into this fight off a finish of Klaudia Syguła in November.
