UFC 254 VIDEO: Liana Jojua Not Happy With Doctor Stoppage of Fight After First Round

Liana Jojua took on Miranda Maverick in the final fight of the early prelim card for UFC 254. Fans touted the flyweight bout between the two women to be one of the most exciting fights of the card. It lived up to all the hype it had garnered. 

The flyweight division has a dominant champion in Valentina Shevchenko. Both the ‘She Wolf’ and ‘Fear The’ are currently unranked in the division, and a win tonight puts Maverick on course to get a rank soon. 

Read: UFC 254 VIDEO: Joel Alvarez defeats Alexander Yakovlev by armbar- Calls himself a ‘Submission Artist’

Liana Jojua was livid about the stoppage 

Enthusiasts expected the fight between Liana Jojua and Miranda Maverick to take place on the ground. Both women have strong grappling credentials and are extremely lethal on the ground. The duo has secured 75% and 63% of their wins via submission, respectively. 

After the end of the first round, Jojua had a severe cut on her nose. The doctors and the cut men examined the cut during the break between rounds. However, the doctor along with the cut men in the corner deemed it unsafe for her to carry on as they could not contain the blood flow. 

As the fight was called off Jojua was protesting vehemently. As the referee called a stop to the fight she exclaimed, “No, no please no.”

‘She Wolf’ deserves all the respect in the world for wanting to continue despite suffering such a nasty cut. However, fighter safety precedes the fighter’s toughness in every fight. Therefore, a stoppage was apt. 

However, the fight never went to the ground. The pair put on display their striking prowess. Early in the fight, Liana landed some good shots. However, it was Maverick that did a lot of the damage with her striking. She hit Jojua 49 significant strikes with an accuracy of 52%. 

The 23-year-old Maverick made her UFC debut tonight. She could not have asked for a better performance to kick off her UFC career. ‘Fear the’ signed for the UFC from Invicta FC. If the youngster is able to maintain the level of performance she displayed today, it will not be long before she secures a rank in the flyweight division. 

What did you make of the stoppage? Was it the right call? Or was it too early?