HOUSTON – Ronnie Lawrence dominated the opening 10 minutes of his bantamweight contest with Mana Martinez but had to survive a furious comeback attempt to take home a decision win.
After a wild final frame, Lawrence was awarded a unanimous call, with scores of 29-27, 29-27 and 29-28. The matchup concluded the UFC 271 early prelims on ESPN+ at Toyota Center ahead of the night’s pay-per-view main card.
Lawrence was cruising early, using pinpoint striking to score three knockdowns in the opening two rounds to go along with four takedowns, as well. The performance in the second frame was enough for him to earn 10-8 scores from two of the three cageside judges. But with Martinez down on the cards heading into the third, “Manaboi” was aggressive, doing exactly what you’d want for a fighter with nothing to lose. The gamble paid off, with spinning strikes landing clean to go along with shots down the middle, earning Martinez a pair of knockdowns in the final five minutes.
