Making a stop off in the women’s bantamweight division, attention
shifts to an interesting stylistic clash pitting a striker against
a lady who likes to submit opponents by any means necessary. Santos
(9-2, 4-1 UFC) at 25 years of age will clock in significantly
younger than 34-year-old Canuck Croden (7-2, 1-0 UFC), and perhaps
because of this, the odds are slightly in the Brazilian’s favor.
Taking charge of this 135-pound affair will be referee Kerry
Hatley, who stands back to let the two bump fists. The ladies stay at kickboxing range to start the fight, taking
turns to land strikes on one another. Santos loops her left hook at
her opponent several times, marking up Croden’s nose in the first
minute of the match. Croden sticks her back with straight lefts and
is prepared to stuff a takedown shot, doing so when Santos shoots.
Santos bull-rushes her and tackles her to the ground with a partial
head-and-arm throw, and she lands in scarf hold position with her
left arm wrapped around the Canadian’s neck. With her free right
hand, Santos smacks Croden in the forehead repeatedly. Croden tries
to muscle her way out of the position, and Hatley warns Santos for
grabbing the glove to keep her foe grounded. Slowly and incredibly smoothly, Croden slips her neck out of
danger, sliding around to Santos’ back. Santos walks off the fence
to get back to her feet, and she gets out of the tie-up and walks
into a body kick. The Brazilian books it towards her adversary,
latching onto a clinch with hopes of chaining it into a body lock.
Santos stays pressed onto Croden, nullifying her and peppering her
with the occasional elbow. Croden turns her about and knees her
back much harder, spamming them to the midsection until she
considers her own single-leg effort at the 10-second clapper. She
does not get it as the horn sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Santos Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Santos Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Santos

They clap hands to start off the second stanza, and Croden pops
forward to get off a quick calf kick. Croden jabs and sways to
avoid a counter, but Santos steps forward and tags her with a right
hand. When Santos is about to spin for something, Croden pushes out
a front kick that disrupts it entirely. Santos settles herself and
dodges a high kick, but there is something that Croden likes about
that particular strike because she fires it off a few more times to
bang into Santos’ raised guard. Santos is sick of dealing with
those kicks, so she walks her down and bullies her into a clinch.
Croden frames off with elbows to the forehead, and she thwarts the
first takedown effort from the Brazilian in the process. Santos
manages to hurl Croden arse-over-tea-kettle to plant the Canadian
flat on her back, and she climbs into top position. Croden locks down her foe by hooking her arm around Santos’
preventing her from advancing or getting off any noteworthy
offense. Santos methodically climbs through into half guard, but
the butterfly hooks from Croden bring her back into the guard.
Santos prefers to smother rather than strike, while Croden is
looking for any small opportunity to do something, anything, from
her back. Croden’s elbows may be the most effective strikes since
the fight went horizontal, and Santos presses tightly
chest-to-chest until Croden looks for a body triangle and push off
to stand. Santos drops back and snatches up a heel hook, but she
does not have her legs wrapped above the knee, so there is no tight
submission in play. The grueling round ends in this position. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Santos Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Santos Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Santos

One final high-five from the bantamweights kicks off the last
round, with Croden slowly advancing towards her opponent without
getting reckless. Croden flashes her jab and pitches a low kick
that cannot get grabbed, and suddenly switches stances to let fly a
lead-leg high kick. Santos parries it and clinches, and her first
effort for an outside trip fails. Croden muscles her way off the
fence, and she walks the Brazilian down and lays into her with a
line of punches and a few low kicks. The first counter trip from
Santos comes up short, but her second, another scarf
hold-slash-head-and-arm throw puts Croden feebly on her back.
Santos clings to the scarf hold position, ignoring Croden’s legs
bucking behind her while she imposes her weight to crush on
Croden’s face and neck. Santos paws a few meaningless punches off the forehead that are
more like tapping her on the head than actually intent on causing
damage, and Croden’s bucks and kicks with all her might. Santos
continues leaning on Croden’s face, doing practically zero damage
but racking up control time. It is a miserable round to watch, and
likely even worse for the hapless Croden. Before time runs out,
Santos sits up and lifts an arm to scream to the crowd about her
impending victory. When the 15-minute contest does mercifully
conclude, Santos shouts and celebrates as if she just won the Super
Bowl. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Santos (30-27 Santos) Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Santos (30-27 Santos) Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Santos (30-27 Santos)

For the past two years, the UFC has shipped up to Canada twice.
This is the latter trip, a Fight Night in Vancouver, and it is a
bit of a mixed bag. The final seven (with an asterisk) fights on
the lineup will feature a Canadian against a foreign adversary, as
is the custom for the promotion as of late to set up a plethora of
local competitors against those from another country. Recently, the
home country fighters have fared well, but the numbers may not be
on their side tonight. Of the 26 athletes plying their trades
tonight, 16 of them lost their last bout while four are on losing
streaks. Twelve combatants hold UFC records of .500 or lower,
although there are a pair of newcomers to the promotion on the
billing including one in the curtain jerker here. At 135 pounds,
“Scare” Croden (6-2, 0-0 UFC)—as far as name-based nicknames go,
this is a good one—makes her first walk to the cage on home soil
against Brazil’s Lisboa (7-3, 2-1 UFC). The two ladies will be
joined in the cage by referee John Cooper, who steps back as the
two clap hands together. It’s showtime. After a brief feeling-out process, the Canadian starts work on the
leg of the “Thai Panther.” She lands kicks on the inside and out,
and Lisboa fires back with a short, crisp combination of punches.
Croden flicks out a jab and tosses a low kick behind it, and once
more, Lisboa is ready for the counters. Croden chambers and
releases a thudding body kick, and Lisboa catches it and smacks her
in the face before releasing it. Croden rushes forward into a pair
of knees, clinching up but ultimately getting bullied to the wall
by the Brazilian. The two stall out, and the crowd already is
showering the two with boos less than two minutes in. It could be
because the Canadian’s back is to the wall, and not based on a
relative lack of activity. Lisboa forces the break with an elbow,
and she slips back and connects with a stern calf kick. Croden
ducks down and lets go with a body kick, and the punches from the
Brazilian whiz past her. Croden slowly maneuvers her way forward, and Lisboa consistently
connects with three or four punches every time she gets off. They
clinch, and the fans start booing until the Canadian turns her foe
around. They score short clinch strikes, and Lisboa lashes out with
an elbow to break and slash open a cut under the local lady’s left
eye. A Croden push kick intercepts a spinning Lisboa, and when
Lisboa settles down, Croden jabs her in the face and rings her
bell. Lisboa has to charge in to clinch and get her bearings, and
Croden shoves her off and races in behind a pair of punches. Croden
slips and moves a trio of punches to work her jab in, and her low
kick does some work when Lisboa sits down on a hard right hand.
When Croden tosses a naked body kick, Lisboa belts her in the nose
with a right hand that opens up the Canadian’s nose. Lisboa stings
her with a one-two, and Croden throws back recklessly. Lisboa
stands her up, and although she eats a straight right on the way
out, she lands the heavier of the two as the round concludes. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Lisboa Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Lisboa Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Lisboa

The ladies touch ‘em up to start off the second stanza, and Lisboa
takes to the center of the cage while Croden gets behind her jab.
Lisboa throws caution to the wind and strings together a few
punches that open up Croden’s nose again, and the leaking
Canadian’s philtrum and mouth matches her red fight attire. Lisboa
initiates the clinch and works the body with knees, and she trips
her opponent and lands on top for a second. Croden quickly
wall-walks her way upright and breaks free, and the blood is
flowing out of her nostrils. Croden reaches forward and gets
caught, and she calms herself and looses a head kick that smacks
the Brazilian upside the head. Lisboa punches her way into a
tie-up, and the crowd noise comes and goes in waves in support or
disappointment depending on how the Canadian is faring—there are a
lot of fans in the building for the first fight of the night. Croden uses her opponent’s momentum against her, tripping Lisboa to
her seat, although she cannot keep her there for long. Croden gets
in close, and she manages to trip out Lisboa a second time. This
time, she lands on top and starts bashing the Brazilian with a
stream of right hands. Lisboa fights to her feet while under fire,
and Croden is not about to let her off the hook and keeps working
her over. When Lisboa splits, “Scare” puts a scare into her by
charging with her arms extended. Croden strings punches into a low
kick, and suddenly Lisboa does not seem to know what to do. The
newcomer collides into her foe with her fists, knocking Lisboa to
her seat. Lisboa lands on her back and sets up an armbar, so Croden
calmly responds with knees to the shoulder until the horn
blares. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Croden Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Croden Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Croden

Croden is fired up to start off the last round, and the fans feed
her with energy as every time she lands, they cheer. Croden sticks
and moves, potshotting Lisboa and getting out of harm’s way in
time. Croden lunges in with three or four punches, and Lisboa’s
counters hit nothing but air. Croden pounds her foe’s front leg,
and Lisboa responds with a full-throated double-leg takedown
attempt. The Brazilian completes it, but after about three seconds,
Croden is back upright and turning Lisboa to her back on the chain
links. A level change from Lisboa is answered by Croden lowering
herself down and muscling “Thai Panther” to the floor through sheer
force of will. Lisboa hunts for a sweep, so Croden replies with a
cruel can opener on the back of the neck. Lisboa throws her legs up
and rolls for an armbar, but she turns too far and gives Croden the
opportunity to counter her with an irritating triangle choke
position. Croden decides to stand up, lording over Lisboa and pushing her
legs out of the way to reclaim top position. When Lisboa turns to
her knees in hopes of standing, Croden bashes her repeatedly in the
side of the dome. Lisboa desperately looks for an armbar or
something off her back, but the large Canadian pushes through it
all without effort and climbs into half guard. The punches and
elbows from Croden briefly open the guard up, but she decides not
to take it and instead uses her weight and pressure to keep Lisboa
on her back. Croden clubs Lisboa with ground strikes, and Lisboa
somehow manages to stand up despite taking all that damage. Croden
walks her down, busting her in the chops and not letting her have a
moment to breathe. Lisboa wilts, falling to her back while under
attack, and Cooper knows that she is about out of this fight.
“Scare” Croden puts the hurt on Lisboa with high-amplitude
hammerfists, and as she keeps pounding on the Brazilian like a
drum, Cooper has no choice but to step in. Just like that,
Canadians are ahead tonight, with Croden prevailing in her
promotional debut by handing the 34-year-old her first knockout
loss.

Melissa Croden

Fight History

Fighter Skills Radar

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Striking Profile

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Grappling Profile

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Conclusions Summary