Carli Judice made history at UFC 318.
The Lousiana native thrilled her home state fans Saturday at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans with a punishing third-round knockout of Nicolle Caliari. Judice finished the fight by driving a knee into Caliari’s ribs, a blow that sent the Brazilian fighter down to the mat.
Watch the KO blow below.
CARLI JUDICE WITH THE HOMETOWN KO
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According to cageside commentator Jon Anik, Judice the first woman in UFC history to earn finishes by kick and by a knee. She defeated Yuneisy Duben via first-round head kick knockout in her sophomore octagon outing this past March.
Judice was in control for much of the contest, with her potent striking keeping Caliari from finding any sort of rhythm. The damage appeared to take its toll on Caliari after two rounds as she looked discouraged heading into the third.
Sure enough, Judice pressed her advantage, backing Caliari up to the cage before putting her away with the fight-ending knee.
Judice improves to 2-1 in the UFC and 4-2 as a pro, while Caliari falls to 0-2 in the promotion.
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