SAN DIEGO – Another Angela Hill bout, another close call. But things went her way this time at home.
Hill, who lives in San Diego, took part in a hard-fought battle against Loopy Godinez on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 41, where she emerged victorious by unanimous decision with scores of 29-28 from all three judges. The 120-pound contract weight bout closed out the UFC on ESPN 41 preliminary card.
The tone for how the ensuing 15 minutes would unfold was set within the opening minute after Godinez (8-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) landed a hard right hand that staggered Hill (14-12 MMA, 9-12 UFC) and had her in trouble. Godinez rushed in for the finish, but Hill held her own to keep the fight going. Not only that, Hill fought back hard and took the momentum by landing an array of strikes of her own that caused redness on Godinez’s face.
“I felt like I need to get hurt the first round every fight,” Hill said afterward during her post-fight octagon interview with Daniel Cormier. “It took my mind out of it, and I got into the flow. Thanks to Loopy for f*cking my brain up for a second.”
Both women came out standing and trading in Round 2, but it was Hill who was finding more success landing punches. In what must’ve been a discouraging moment for Godinez, she landed a deep single leg only to have Hill throw her off and escape seconds after they hit the mat. On the ensuring standing exchange, Hill caused blood to leak from Godinez’s nose with her punches. Hill closed out the round with a takedown of her own and a choke attempt.
Round 3 was more of the same, with both women unafraid to stand and throw punches at each other. A wild exchange in the final minute included a head kick from Hill, who, in the end, did enough for the win.
The victory snapped a three-fight skid for Hill. Godinez, meanwhile, had a two-fight winning streak halted.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 41 results include:
- Angela Hill def. Loopy Godinez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Martin Buday def. Lukasz Brzeski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Nina Nunes def. Cynthia Calvillo via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
- Gabriel Benitez def. Charlie Ontiveros via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:35
- Tyson Nam def. Ode Osbourne via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:59
- Josh Quinlan def. Jason Witt via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:09
- Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Youssef Zalal ends in majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 41.
