The 23-year-old fighter showcased a punishing striking arsenal coupled with a surprising grappling game to outwork Gillian Robertson over three rounds to win a unanimous decision on the UFC 260 main card.
The scores read 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 with Maverick moving to 9-2 in her career.
“Like always, I feel like I criticize myself more than anyone can,” Maverick said when talking about her performance afterwards. “I hope I showed I can stay with the top of the division in both grappling and striking.”
Maverick was on the attack from the opening salvo as she led with solid kicks to the legs and then going back up top to the head. While Robertson was touted as the better ground fighter, it was Maverick who blasted forward with a takedown to show off her own grappling chops.
After a slow start, Robertson made the necessary adjustments to avoid Maverick’s strikes on the feet before securing her own takedown in the second round. Robertson did a good job staying in control on top while trapping Maverick on the ground every time she attempted an escape.
With less than a minute to go in the round, Maverick finally managed to get back to her feet and she made the most of the remaining time with a punishing series of strikes while stalking Robertson across the cage.
After splitting the first two rounds, Maverick wanted to do everything possible to secure the win and she was quick to attack with a series of punishing punches that had Robertson backing up against the cage. Maverick then brought the action back down to the canvas where she began firing away with some hard ground and pound.
While Robertson did make a late armbar attempt, Maverick slipped free before connecting with another takedown that helped her secure the win on the scorecards.
With this latest victory over an established veteran, it’s clear that Maverick has the talent to climb into the rankings in the UFC flyweight division and now it will be interesting to see who she gets as a next opponent after earning her fifth consecutive win in a row overall.
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