Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Marion Reneau vs Jessica Andrade

Here's the video of Marion Reneau vs Jessica Andrade from last night's UFC show in Brazil. It aired on Fox Sports 1 in the US and The Fight Network in Canada. I watched it on UFC Fight Pass via Roku on my HDTV. Marion won her UFC debut fairly easily in early January. Her teammate Cody Gibson was already booked for Brazil and that's why she was on this show. Her opponent in her first fight was so bad, it was hard to tell if Marion is any good. I don't think we know any more after this fight. The UFC will really have to raise her level of competition. I think Jessica has potential. But as we saw in this fight, she needs to calm down in the cage and be more deliberate. In her last fight, she beat a highly touted but overhyped Larissa Pacheco. So I think this was a step up in competition for her too. Marion bloodied Jessica's nose early in round one and it looks like it may have freaked her out. Jessica dropped Marion and then went after her on the ground. But Marion wasn't hurt and immediately went after a triangle choke from bottom position. Jessica got out of it quickly and this is where things went off the rails. I like aggressive fighters but there are times when a fighter should just step back and reset. That's what Jessica should have done. Let Marion get up and they're on even terms. Instead she went after Marion on the ground for a second time. And for the second time, Marion applied a triangle choke. Jessica couldn't get out of it this time and the fight was over. Marion got a submission of the night bonus and now everyone is going gaga over her. But if Jessica doesn't make that fatal error, this is a much different fight. And I mention the bloody nose freaking her out because if she's thinking straight, she doesn't make that mistake. Before the fight, Jessica was talking about Bethe Correia as a potential opponent. That won't happen now but she's only 23 and still has potential. She just needs to calm down and know when to be aggressive. On the other hand, at 37 years old, the UFC has to find out how good Marion is quickly. So I expect them to raise her competition level soon. And that may depend on some upcoming fights. She got a good win but I'm not sold on her yet. Enjoy the video!