Right from the first seconds of the UFC Vegas 30 women’s bantamweight bout between Julia Avila and Julija Stoliarenko, both competitors went after each other. And in the early going, as the two brawled phonebooth style, Avila landed two front kicks to the face of the Lithuanian that showcased an impressive chin on Stoliarenko.

Julia Avila submits Stoliarenko with an RNC in the third round

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1408850675316973568

In striking exchanges, in the clinch, or on the mat, both women looked to inflict damage and finish the fight. However, “Raging Panda” seemed to be more successful, and Stoliarenko’s face showed proof of it. As the fight progressed, the damage seemed to spring a leak in the Invicta FC veterans gas tank, and Avila started to rack up more points.

In the third round, despite her best efforts to get the Californian to the mat, Stoliarenko was the one who ended up on her back trying to survive the advances of her opponent. Eventually, Avila, 33, was able to work to her foes back and sink in a fight-ending rear-naked choke.

https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1408854528179556357

Avila bounced back from a September 2020 loss to Sijara Eubanks that ended a four-fight win streak. She moves to 3-1 in the promotion and into the conversation for a ranking at women’s bantamweight. Stoliarenko has now come up short in her last two Octagon appearances, after entering the UFC as an Invicta FC champion on a six-fight win streak.