UFC on FOX 24 results: Ketlen Vieira takes what Ashlee Evans-Smith offers, earns unanimous win

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ashlee Evans-Smith showed little hesitation getting in front of Ketlen Vieria. And Vieria rewarded every move with a swarm of punches.

Although Evans-Smith’s (5-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) guard caught a lot of the bombs that came her way, several big shots caught her flush, giving Vieria (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) a unanimous decision.

The strawweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s UFC on FOX 24 event at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims and a main card on FOX.

The final scorecards were 29-28 twice and 30-27 for Vieira, who picked up her second octagon win after a successful debut this past October. A two-fight streak for Evans-Smith came to an end.

From the outset, Evans-Smith calmly moved into striking range and indicated she wanted to measure her power against Vieira’s. Her answer came pretty quickly when the Brazilian fired back with a combination in a sequence that would repeat over and over throughout 15 minutes.

Vieira might not have been the most accurate striker, and Evans-Smith managed to sneak in a few big right hands. But what she lacked in accuracy, she made up for in volume. At the end of round two, a pair of heavy right hands invited swelling in Evans-Smith’s right eye. A takedown attempt for the American failed.

Advised by her corner to pick it up after two close rounds, Evans-Smith did her own damage with her right hand in the final frame. But she eventually ran into the same wall as before, resorting instead to a leg kick that had worked for her throughout the action.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 24 results include:

•  Ketlen Vieira def. Ashlee Evans-Smith via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

For complete coverage UFC on FOX 24, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s Matt Erickson and Simon Samano contributed to this report on site in Kansas City.)