UFC Kansas City Results: Joselyne Edwards Takes Controversial Decision over Lucie Pudilova

Kicking off #UFCKansasCity with a split decision W!@joselyneMMA29 makes it 3 straight wins with a close one over Lucie Pudilova pic.twitter.com/IX6Eabr0Of

— UFC (@ufc) April 15, 2023

In the opening bout, Joselyne Edwards won a mystifying split decision over Lucie Pudilova despite spending much of the first two rounds as a grappling dummy at UFC on ESPN 44.

Pudilova struck for a takedown in Round 1, then spent most of the balance of the period landing periodic ground-and-pound while controlling the Panamanian on the mat. The second frame was Pudilova’s best, as she grounded Edwards immediately, moved to side control and spent the rest of the stanza in the driver’s seat, threatening with chokes and briefly taking Edwards’ back. A much more competitive final stage saw Edwards stay upright and get the better of a sporadic striking battle.

Both fighters appeared surprised—and the crowd voiced its displeasure—at the 29-28, 29-28, 28-29 scorecards in favor of Edwards. “La Pantera,” who missed weight on Friday, moved to 4-2 in the UFC; Pudilova’s Octagon tally fell to 3-6 overall, 1-1 since her return to the promotion last year.

#UFCKansasCity Official Scorecard: Joselyn Edwards (@JoselyneMma29) vs Lucie Pudilova

See every scorecard from Fight Night here ➡️: https://t.co/nxcHo6EnUA pic.twitter.com/zDivLH1bDD

— UFC News (@UFCNews) April 15, 2023