Sam Hughes Weaponizes Cardio for Big Win
At UFC Vegas 104, Sam Hughes was able to grind out a decision win over Stephanie Luciano on the strength of her pressure and wrestling. It begins a winning streak for Hughes, who has now won two straight fights. Luciano, on the other hand, snapped a four-fight unbeaten streak and suffered her second professional loss.
The two women met in the centre and launched into a fast pace from the opening bell. Sam Hughes pressed forward, with the relentless, bullying style fans have come to expect. Luciano was lighter on her feet and more technical, throwing the sharper techniques. However, Hughes sat down on her punches and landed a couple with some authority. Hughes caught a kick and took Luciano down. After she was able to stand up, Hughes maintained some cage control, before scoring another fairly inconsequential takedown. Stephanie Luciano came on late in round 1 with some sharp boxing, starting to flow a bit. It was a very difficult round to score from a spectator’s perspective. By the end of it, Hughes was wearing some damage.
Round 2 began with Luciano continuing her rhythm from the latter stages of the first frame. However, Hughes continued to press forward and landed a takedown. This spelt disaster for Luciano, who spent the rest of the round on her back. Sam Hughes worked to full mount and landed some hard elbows. When Luciano rolled, Hughes nearly finished the fight by rear naked choke. The round ended with a flurry of elbows from Hughes as she held Luciano in the crucifix. It was a dominant showing, and Hughes was poised as the favourite going into the final five minutes.
In the final round, Stephanie Luciano exhibited much better takedown defence, stuffing all of Hughes’ attempts and securing some cage control. The striking on the feet was fairly even, and Luciano seemed to perhaps take the round with control, all else being roughly even.
Judges awarded Sam Hughes the split decision win with scores of 29-28, 29-27, and 28-29.
Momentum Building for Hughes
It was a solid performance from Hughes, and she will look to build on her momentum moving forward. Her style of relentless pressure and cardio is tough for anyone, and her iron chin further exacerbates the issue. We’ll see if she can maintain that energy when she returns to the octagon against her next opponent.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
