UFC women’s flyweight Cortney Casey demonstrated her submission skills at UFC Fight Night in Jacksonville on Saturday night as she forced opponent Mara Romero Borella to scream out a submission in their preliminary card fight.
The event was the UFC’s third consecutive show in the space of just eight days at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville and, just like the previous two events, played out behind closed doors, with no fans in attendance.
It meant viewers watching the fights on TV could hear every punch and kick, as well as the corner advice from both fighters’ teams, during each fight.
And Borella’s audible agony was clear to hear as she screamed out in pain as Casey locked up a tight armbar submission and applied the pressure, forcing Borella to tap out while screaming.
The finishes keep coming! @CastIron_Casey with that tight arm bar on our #UFCFL prelims!? Watch LIVE now on @UFCFightPasspic.twitter.com/z58epUpsTC
???? ???? ?@CastIron_Casey locks in the RD1 sub! ➡️ Tune in now on @ESPN! pic.twitter.com/pv0vvDhjzL
The submission finish gave Casey a statement win in the 125-pound flyweight division after previously competing 10 pounds lighter as a strawweight, as she made an instant impact in her new weight class and proved that she is a new contender to be reckoned with in the division.
Speaking after her win, Casey said, “I’m just happy. Happy to have my job, happy to have my team behind me, all of my family, all my supporters who have been through the ups and downs of the fight world and my career in the UFC, so I’m just happy to be where I’m at.
“Whether it was during a pandemic or just a normal fight week, I’m just happy to get the finish.
“I saw that she was leaving her arms a little bit heavy in the front, so I knew I’d be able to attack the arm.
“She was trying to go for a few head-and-arm triangles and things like that, which I like out of girls because it makes it easier for me to look for submissions as well.
“If someone is doing jiu-jitsu, it’s easy to do jiu-jitsu, if they’re just sitting and holding you, it’s kind of hard, so I was happy to know that she was going to use her jiu-jitsu and I could counter it.”
