Women’s strawweights light the UFC Vegas 121 fuse inside the UFC
Apex, where Demopoulos (11-8, 5-5 UFC) awaits Jauregui (11-2, 3-2
UFC) at 115 pounds. Blake Grice administers the law and order. No
glove touch to start. Sharp one-two from Demopoulos sets off an
exchange between the two women, then mixes in a few leg kicks.
Jauregui answers with an inside leg kick.
She flurries with both hands and pins Demopoulos to the fence with
punches. Vicious hooks set the Ohioan on unsteady legs. Demopoulos
retreats to the canvas, launches a hapless bid for an armbar and
gets met with a series of hammerfists that prompt Grice to stop
it
. The Official Result
Yazmin Jauregui def. Vanessa Demopoulos—KO (Punches) 1:02 R1

One of three ladies repping Mexico tonight, Jauregui (11-1, 3-1
UFC) recently got past her first career hiccup by beating up on Sam
Hughes in February. Her opponent Souza (14-4, 1-1 UFC) too
rebounded from a defeat, taking a decision over Marnic Mann this
past April. One of these one-fight win streaks will come to a
screeching halt in 15 minutes or less, and referee Jason Herzog
should be the first to know. The strawweights tap gloves together
before engaging. Jauregui jabs first, and he follows one with a leg
kick that she turns her hips into. Jauregui strings together a
combination started by a jab, and when Souza responds, Jauregui
dings her with a right hand over the top. Jauregui prods out a jab
with her foot, and she sticks a few more jabs before another front
kick to the body irritates the Brazilian. Jauregui puts a
combination of strikes to the body and head, and one low kick bangs
into Souza’s groin. Souza takes a little over 30 seconds to
recover, and they start off with flurries on both sides. The two
women stand and bang, and Jauregui pushes Souza to her back after
landing flush. Souza jumps back upright, and Jauregui works her
lead leg over with kicks before marking up the body. Jauregui
splits the guard with a right hand, putting two kicks together and
a few punches after it. Jauregui is constantly attacking, with a
jump knee into a few punches. Souza jabs her back, and she plants a
front kick directly on Jauregui’s groin to pay her back from the
foul. They both let out wails of surprise and discomfort, and
Herzog tells them they both had one so they can have no more. Souza
walks her foe down, but she gets tagged with four strikes up close
before she gets anything off. Jauregui paws out a front kick to the
thigh, and “Esquentadinha”—which means “Little Hothead” releases a
fiery right hand that sets up a flaming left. As soon as Souza
connects, Jauregui hits the ground hard. Jauregui sits up, and
Souza pounces, seeing that Jauregui still does not have her wits
about her. Souza takes the back while she is standing up and Jauregui is
seated, and she grips a rear-naked choke that is instantly under
the chin before she even gets her hooks in. The Brazilian deploys
both hooks and Jauregui frantically hand-fights to save herself
from the submission. Souza’s grip is ironclad, and Jauregui stops
fighting the hands and starts lifelessly flailing. With her eyes open, Jauregui goes out, and Herzog is quick to get
between them and turns Jauregui to her side to get blood flowing
back to her brain. Souza unleashes a bellow as she walks off,
recording the first finish inside of the Sphere and notching a huge
upset. The victorious Brazilian becomes the first fighter to submit
Jauregui, doing so with style points with the technical
submission.

The lone women’s bout of the evening takes place at 115 pounds, as
proud Mexican Jauregui (10-1, 2-1 UFC) collides with “Sampage”
Hughes (8-5, 3-4 UFC). Seven years the junior, Jauregui sports a
knockout rate of 70%, and her opponent has never been finished via
strikes as a pro. Ready to go 15 seconds or 15 minutes, referee
Herb Dean is in it for the potential long haul. The ladies touch
‘em up first, and Jauregui moves right to the middle of the Octagon
and staves off Hughes with punches and a kick. Hughes replies with
a chopping leg kick, and she bats away a kick aimed at her
midsection. The two stick out jabs at one another, and Hughes mixes
up this back-and-forth with a leg kick. Jauregui sits down on a
short right hand to start off a combination, and she intercepts a
Hughes leg kick with a straight right hand. Jauregui dings Hughes
with two quick punches, and she fights off a Hughes takedown
attempt by stonewalling her and returning to her preferred range.
Jauregui snaps out jabs, and a front kick to the gut forces Hughes
to shoot. Jauregui stops it again and keeps her guard high to blow
two punches up top that follow. Jauregui counters a right with her
own, and she absorbs a double jab that reddens her nose. Jauregui
turns her hips into a leg kick, and she gets popped shuffling her
way forward with a Hughes right hook. Hughes jabs and slides to the
side, and she walks straight into a head kick. Hughes attempts to
turn this misfortune into a takedown, and Jauregui tosses her out
of the way and lays into her with a flurry of fists. Hughes
retreats and resets, and Jauregui allows her to do this and then
tags her with two one-twos when Hughes closes the distance. Hughes
plants the ball of her foot on Jauregui’s sternum, and they clinch
up until Jauregui has had enough of the exchange and pushes her
off. Jauregui gets off a low kick, and a body kick partially gets
through. Hughes retorts with a body kick, and Jauregui stays in her
face with punches flowing. Jauregui sticks out a left and whips a
head kick up to smack “Sampage” upside the head, and Hughes takes
it flush and does not falter. Hughes kicks low and looks for a
right over the top, and Jauregui gives her back a few punches and a
kick under the armpit. The two ladies briefly hug when the bell
sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui

Gloves are touched to get things started again, and they pick up
where they left off with high-speed exchanges. Jauregui works
Hughes with a series of punches, and Hughes moves into range and
knees her foe in the chest and lands a few punches of her own.
Hughes comes up short on the subsequent takedown, and she skips
back to dodges a slow wheel kick that loops her way. Jauregui walks
her foe down with several fists and a body kick, and Hughes returns
fire as the two brawl it out. Noses start turning red on both sides
from the absorbed damage, and Hughes’ has hers split open on the
bridge as a trickle of blood leaks out the side. Jauregui targets
it with jabs and follow-up right hands, forming short, impromptu
combinations when she finds openings. Hughes swings back with less
volume, although some of her strikes are heavier like a step-in
knee and a head kick that comes up short. Jauregui continues
flowing, preferring to touch than put any additional mustard on any
particular shot, and she catches Hughes standing still with a high
kick. Hughes replies with a right hand counter, and when she draws
out a big right hand from the woman from Mexico, she shoots for a
takedown. Jauregui stuffs it and gets backed up against the
fencing, and they both nail one another with simultaneous elbows on
the break. Jauregui chains a left hand into a head kick, and the
impact through the guard slightly rattles her opponent. Jauregui
actively kicks low and high, and her punch combinations follow her
feet in high number. Hughes skirts out of the way dodge some kicks,
and she keeps her guard high to defend against the most powerful
punches and feet up top. Jauregui prods out with jabs, and she
connects cleanly with a left hook when Hughes tries to crowd her.
Jauregui flicks out a front kick and jumps forward to stomp at the
knee, and she thwarts a Hughes takedown and evades the big overhand
on the break from “Sampage” as well. Hughes tries a low kick and a
spin, and Jauregui sees the latter coming and sits down on a heavy
leg kick right before the horn. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui

There is a clap of hands to open up the final frame, and Jauregui
immediately sticks her foot in Hughes’ face to say hello. Jauregui
keeps her jab busy as Hughes tries to close the distance, and she
mixes in a left to the body and a leg kick in an effective
combination. Jauregui sticks out a front kick, and Hughes
retaliates with a low kick and her own teep kick. Jauregui snaps
out a right and a left while Hughes meanders towards her, and she
strings several punches together in rapid succession and spins for
a wheel kick. Hughes is too close to get struck, and she looks to
initiate a brawl. When Hughes kicks, Jauregui kicks her other leg
out and makes her fall to her seat. Hughes jumps back up, and
Jauregui greets her with two front kicks up the middle and a leg
kick. Hughes can barely get one kick of her own off before Jauregui
is right there in front of her with short punch salvos. Jauregui
delivers a kick to the ribs that lands with a “pow” sound, and
Hughes no-sells it and tries to throw back with bad intentions.
Jauregui beats her to the punch, slides to the side and out-volumes
her with combinations. As Jauregui shifts to the side to evade
strikes, she reaches out with a cheeky elbow to bop the American on
the chops. Jauregui pushes out with a pair of front kicks, keeping
Hughes at bay while she does work. Hughes comes up short with a
jumping switch kick, and she hopes to take advantage of a Jauregui
kick by taking the fight down, but she fails. Jauregui recoils her
leg and snaps it out to the lead leg, and she puts three punches
behind it. Jauregui splits the guard with jabs and punches, and
Hughes’ chin is made of tougher stuff. Hughes loads up on power
shots, and Jauregui can block the heaviest blows and put three back
on her in the blink of an eye. Jauregui kicks the side, and Hughes
spins with an elbow that is partially disrupted. Jauregui answers
that spin with a spin kick, and it glances off the side as this
high-paced striking affair comes to a conclusion at the sound of
the horn. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui (30-27 Jauregui) Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui (30-27 Jauregui) Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui (30-27
Jauregui)

The lone women’s match of the evening takes place in the
talent-rich strawweight division, between two ladies on the outside
of the top 15 looking in. In hopes of becoming yet another Mexican
breakthrough star, Jauregui (10-0, 2-0 UFC) plans on keeping her
undefeated record intact at the expense of Parana Vale Tudo product
Gomes (7-2, 1-1 UFC). The two strikers bump their fists together
before getting after it, with referee Jason Herzog on the
officiating detail. Gomes steps in fearlessly to hammer the
unbeaten woman with a pair of right hands, and Jauregui is in big
trouble immediately. Jauregui falls to her back, and she scoots her
way to a knee up against the fence, all while taking continued
punishment from the Brazilian. Gomes is not about to let her downed opponent off the hook, and she
slams her fists into Jauregui’s dome as the Mexican topples to her
side. Gomes continues her bombardment of punches to knock
Jauregui’s head around, and Herzog rushes between them to call a
halt to the fight. Jauregui slumps to her back and
tries to stand back up, where she protests the stoppage to Herzog,
but she almost falls over while doing so. This is a massive
statement for Gomes, who takes away the undefeated record from the
Entram Gym trainee while likely recording the fastest finish in
strawweight history.

No longer tying a UFC record due to a weigh-in day fight scrap, the
UFC jams a whopping 14 matches into a roughly six-hour offering on
ESPN from start to finish. The pace is sure to be fast and furious,
at least on the prelims, so it’s time to get things started. The
lightest weight class in the promotion opens the fight card, where
undefeated Jauregui (9-0, 1-0 UFC) takes on the struggling Nunes
(6-3, 1 NC; 0-2 UFC). The cage doors close and referee Keith
Peterson draws the charge for this nonsense-free strawweight
affair, and with a touch of gloves from the ladies, it’s on with
the show. Nunes immediately moves to the center of the cage, and
gets pushed back with an overhand right that zips right at her mug.
Nunes replies with a few jittery body kicks, but none find their
target as Jauregui bullies her back with swatting right hands. Less
than 40 seconds into the fight, the Florida crows had already
unleashed the “woo birds,” and this spurs them into action. Nunes
sits down on a right hand, and the undefeated Jauregui falls to the
mat, her nose bloodied. She gets her wits about her and jumps back
up, and she clinches up and pursues a takedown. Nunes shucks her
off and backs off to get some distance, and a kick from her makes
her topple to the ground. While Jauregui races at her, Nunes
springs back up, and the two continue to engage in a fast-paced
striking affair where they chase one another with reaching strikes.
Jauregui catches her foe on the inside with a left hand to counter,
and Nunes blinks it out and circles on the outside. Nunes gets in a
knee while Jauregui bears down on her, and she clubs the Mexican
fighter with a left hand on the break. Jauregui crashes the pocket
to strike her way into a takedown, and a single-leg entry puts
Nunes on her seat for a second. Nunes leaps back up and swings her
left leg up, and it bops Jauregui upside the head. Jauregui shakes
her head and backs away to take a moment to recover, and her
approach changes significantly to darting single jabs. Nunes
attempts to reply with a left hook over the top, but Jauregui skips
forward and out of range before Nunes can reach her. The Brazilian
sits down on a heavy leg kick that nearly buckles the knee, and she
aims one on the inside of Jauregui’s lead leg when Jauregui resets
with a kick. Jauregui runs forward to attack, throwing a line of
punches, and Nunes slides out of the way and pops her in the chops
with a left hand. Jauregui gets her foe’s attention with a short
combination, and Nunes backs off and looks for a knee up the
middle. Jauregui chases her around the cage with strikes until the
horn sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Nunes Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Nunes Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Nunes

The hands are clapped to begin, and Nunes steps back to swipe out
with a left hand. Jauregui backs off and jumps in with a pair of
punches, and she finishes the combination with a kick on the
outside of her opponent’s knee. Nunes intercepts Jauregui with a
right hand coming in, but Jauregui is not slowing down, as she
blitzes with a long chain of punches that stagger Nunes. A quick
right hand from Jauregui buckles Nunes’ knees, and Jauregui tries
to hammer the nail while she has Nunes stunned. Nunes pushes off
and stands up, looking to escape, but Jauregui is right there on
her and ties her up. On the break, Jauregui connects with a knee
and a few punches, and Nunes does not have her legs beneath her
still. Jauregui surges ahead to clock Nunes with a clean right
hand, and Nunes hits the ground once more. Jauregui begins to pound
on her downed opponent, ripping into her face with elbows, and she
is cognizant of a potential armbar setup from Nunes in defense.
Jauregui postures up to hammer Nunes with long punches, and she
stands up to pass the guard and steps to the side to slam down
hammerfists. Jauregui continues battering the Brazilian with heavy
punches, and Nunes searches for another armbar only to get it
broken up by the hellacious pounding from the unbeaten Jauregui.
Peterson takes a close look on the action, and the damage from
Jauregui has busted up Nunes’ left eye. Jauregui stacks her doomed opponent up and rails down with straight
punches, and Nunes is not blocking them and just taking them one
after the other as her face swells up significantly. Seeing that
Nunes is no longer intelligently defending herself, Peterson calls
a halt to the fight , and Jauregui is now a perfect
10-0 as a professional. Nunes briefly signals to Peterson to
protest the loss, and when she sits up, her eyebrows swell up like
hairy balloons. Once Nunes gathers her thoughts and starts to feel
the oncoming pain after the adrenaline subsides, she is no longer
as upset about the stoppage. If this is a sign of what the rest of
the card will be like, Orlando-based fans will have quite a treat
tonight.

It’s a matchup of strawweight prospects making their promoitional
debuts, and Jason Herzog will officiate the bout. They meet in the
center and Jauregui gets the better of an exchange. They trade
again, with both athletes landing solid shots. Jauregui with an
outside leg kick and she avoids a combination from Lucindo. Lucindo
blocks a head kick. Jauregui lands a leg kick and Lucindo presses
forward with punches. Jauregui lands a multi-punch combination to
the head, but Lucindo fires back and lands punches of her own.
Jauregui backs up and resets after eating a few heavy shots.
Lucindo with a solid leg kick. The crowd is firmly behind Mexico’s
Jauregui. Lucindo wings big hooks as Jauregui comes forward.
Lucindo lands a right. Another rapid fire exchange and then
Jauregui lands a solid leg kick. Jauregui with a glancing high
kick, and she follows up with a spinning back fist after Lucindo
lets go of her leg. They tie up and Lucindo turns her opponent into
the cage. They trade knees and Lucindo lands a spinning kick before
the horn. Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui

Jauregui lands a leg kick. Another exchange, and Jauregui lands a
combination. Lucindo eats it without issue. Jauregui counters a
kick with a left hook, and then she lands an inside leg kick.
Jauregui hurts Lucindo with a left hook, and the Brazilian forces a
clinch. Jauregui reverses position and turns Lucindo into the
fence. They break and Jauregui misses a high kick. Jauregui is
landing quick combinations and avoiding the looping power punches
of her opponent. Another explosive exchanges and Jauregui moves
away. Jauregui dodges a punch and lands an inside leg kick. A body
kick lands for Lucindo. Lucindo with a leg kick but misses a
combination. Jauregui moves in and lands a right as she slides
away. Jauregui catches Lucindo with a left hook as her opponent
tries to walk her down. Jauregui counters nicely again and angles
out. Late in the round, both fighters throw caution to the wind to
bite down on their mouthguards and trade heavy shots until the horn
sounds. Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Jauregui

The combatants hug in a sign of mutual respect at the start of the
round. Lucindo misses a flurry of power shots. Jauregui with a
crisp two punch combo before moving out of range. Lucindo lands a
couple shots in a flurry. A spinning back kick lands to the
midsection for Lucindo. Lucindo gets the better of an exchange with
a left hook. Jauregui with a front kick down the middle, but
Lucindo pressures forward with power punches. A nice left hook
finishes off a combination for Jauregui. Another exchanges sees
both strawweights land. A low kick connects for Lucindo and they
trade in close again. A counter right finds the mark for Lucindo
and Jauregui ends a combination with a left. Jauregui lands a
couple punches in an exhange. Lucindo fires back wth a big right
hand. Lucindo blocks a spinning back kick. Jauregui with a
two-punch combination and she dodges Lucindo’s counter offering.
The combatants can’t find the mark in the waning seconds, and they
hug again when the horn sounds. Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Lucindo (29-28
Jauregui) Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Lucindo (29-28 Jauregui) Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Lucindo (29-28 Jauregui)

Yazmin Jauregui

Fight History

Fighter Skills Radar

Key Insights

Striking Profile

Key Insights

Grappling Profile

Key Insights

Conclusions Summary