UFC 172 results and photos: Bethe Correia stays unbeaten, tops Jessamyn Duke

BALTIMORE – Bethe Correia came in looking like she’d need a ladder to hit Jessamyn Duke, but here was one fight where looks were deceiving.

Correia battered the much taller Duke for the better part of three rounds, and even survived a couple dicey situations on the ground en route to a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 29-28, 30-27).

The women’s bantamweight preliminary-card bout took place at today’s UFC 172 event at Maryland’s Baltimore Arena. It aired on FOX Sports 1 prior to the pay-per-view main card.

Correia was the more aggressive and active fighter from the start, and she never let up even as Duke seemed to fade. The Brazilian had surprisingly little trouble getting inside Duke’s reach, and once there she unleashed damaging punch combos that kept Duke on the defensive.

Duke’s brightest moments in the fight came when she managed to throw Correia to the mat, but once there she struggled to maintain position, frequently letting Correia seize the top position or get back to her feet all too easily. By the time the third round began to wind down, with Duke backpedaling and Correia still pressing the issue, it seemed almost as if the Brazilian simply wanted the victory more. That, along with those punch combos, might be why she got it.

“The fight was exactly what I expected,” Correia said. “We threw a lot of punches and stayed on our feet. I’m very happy because I was able to be aggressive and connect my jabs and kicks. I noticed that she didn’t want to go to the ground with me, either. The times she did get me on the ground were only because I was too close to her and not because she was able to take me down when she wanted.”

Correia (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) remains unbeaten as a professional. Duke (3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) suffers the first official loss of her career.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 172 results include:

• Bethe Correia def. Jessamyn Duke via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
• Danny Castillo def. Charlie Brenneman via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:21
• Chris Beal def. Patrick Williams via knockout (flying knee) – Round 2, 1:51

For more on UFC 172, stay stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Steven Marrocco and John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Baltimore.)