UFC Vegas 90 video: Nora Cornolle crushes Melissa Mullins with knockout body strikes
Nora Cornolle opened UFC Vegas 90 with a bang.
In Saturday’s first preliminary bout, Cornolle shook off a slow first round to punish Melissa Mullins with a series of knees and kicks to the body en route to a finish via strikes in Round 2.
Watch Cornolle’s crushing sequence of blows below.
Nora Cornolle finishes Melissa Mullins with a brutal knee and kicks #UFCVegas90
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) April 6, 2024
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/beCMR6O8D3
After having some success with her wrestling in Round 1, Mullins found herself in trouble in the second round when Cornolle caught her with a knee to the ribs as they grappled against the cage. The body shot clearly hurt Mullins and Cornolle followed up with a head kick, then another knee and a kick to the body. A reeling Mullins retreated as Cornolle followed with more strikes until referee Chris Tognoni stepped in for the stoppage.
The official time of the finish was 3:06 into Round 2.
Cornolle scores her eighth straight victory since losing her pro debut in July 2021. The Frenchwoman has had her hand raised in both of her UFC appearances.
Mullins suffers the first loss of her seven-fight career. She made a successful UFC debut this past October, defeating Irina Alekseeva via unanimous decision.
Saturday’s opener was contested under odd circumstances as both women missed weight what was originally scheduled to be a 135-pound contest. Mullins weighed in at 138 pounds on Friday, while Cornolle came in at 138.5 pounds.
In her post-fight interview, Cornolle said that Mullins proposed that they meet at a catchweight prior to Friday’s weigh-ins and that she agreed to the suggestion.