UFC-Rotterdam results: Marion Reneau batters Talita Oliveira for late 3rd-round TKO

Marion Reneau found herself in some tough situations but eventually blasted away with punches from top position to earn a TKO win over late replacement Talita Oliveira.

The women’s bantamweight contest took place on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 115 event, which streamed live on UFC Fight Pass from Ahoy Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Reneau opened the bout quickly, sprinting across the cage and looking to strike. Oliveira looked to counter early, eventually driving through a low kick and taking the action to the floor. Reneau stayed active underneath, firing upkicks when her opponent postured and tripping her for an impressive sweep before Oliveira countered with a leglock to return the favor. Reneau then worked in an earnest triangle attempt, but Oliveira proved up to the challenge.

High-level grappling followed with a series of entertaining transitions and advances until the bell.

Reneau again looked to push the pace to start the second, teeing off with big punches on the feet, including a big right that scored in the opening frame. Oliveira was able to work inside for a takedown attempt, but Reneau was up to the challenge and refused to follow to the floor when her opponent settled to the canvas.

With Oliveira visibly slowing, Reneau’s confidence grew on the feet. An Oliveira takedown attempt saw her pushed away with ease, though a second shortly after did get the fight to the floor. Reneau refused to stay there, easily breaking free and getting back to the feet, where she controlled the action until the bell.

Despite her visible exhaustion, Oliveira scored a takedown early in the third and cut her foe with a short elbow. Working from the bottom, Reneau countered by locking in a triangle choke, forcing some scrambling escapes from her opponent. Reneau tried to attack the arm in the sequence, as well, but Oliveira deftly escaped each advance. Reneau eventually used a guillotine setup to instead reverse positions and take the back. Reneau couldn’t get the choke but did crank on the neck, eventually letting it go in favor of punching away. Oliveira covered well bit had no true answer, and Reneau finally started landing flush in the final seconds, earning a stoppage with just six ticks left on the clock.

Reneau (8-3-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) improves to 3-0-1 in her last four appearances. Oliveira (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) falls short in her UFC debut but certainly impressed on one week’s notice.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 115 results include:

• Marion Reneau def. Talita Oliveira via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:54
• Leon Edwards def. Bryan Barberena via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Darren Till def. Bojan Velickovic via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Mairbek Taisumov def. Felipe Silva via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:24
• Michel Prazeres def. Mads Burnell via submission (north-south choke) – Round 3, 1:26
• Rustam Khabilov def. Desmond Green via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Aleksandar Rakic def. Francimar Barroso via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Mike Santiago via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:22
• Abdul-Kerim Edilov def. Bojan Mihajlovic via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:32
• Thibault Gouti def. Andrew Holbrook via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:28

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 115, check out the UFC Events section of the site.