UFC Vegas 56: Karolina Kowalkiewicz submits Felice Herrig for win

UFC Vegas 56: Karolina Kowalkiewicz defeated Felice Herrig.

Karolina Kowalkiewicz defeated Felice Herrig via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2 – 4:01 at UFC Vegas 56 on Saturday, June 4, 2022, live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV.

“I feel great, I feel fucking amazing… I’m back, I’m back… I changed everything, I changed my whole life,” said Kowalkiewicz.

“It has been an honor to be in the UFC for eight years and fighting for 20 years… I wanted to prove to myself that I could overcome two ACL surgeries and fight at the highest level… It’s time to close this chapter of my life,” said Herrig who left her gloves in the Octagon after the fight and announced her retirement.

Kowalkiewicz and Herrig both came out of their corners for the first round throwing aggressively. Both fighters landed strikes in an exciting back and forth fight. In the second round, Kowalkiewicz continued to win the striking exchanges, opening up a cut underneath the eye of Herrig. The finish came with just under a minute remaining in the second round. Kowalkiewicz took the back of Herrig and locked in a rear-naked choke. With the submission locked in deep under her chin, Herrig was forced to submit.

Kowalkiewicz entered Saturday’s fight on a five-fight losing streak that saw her drop out of the strawweight rankings. The former title challenger had not won a fight since she defeated Herrig at UFC 223 on April 7, 2018. With her victory, Kowalkiewicz should get a fight against a top 15-ranked fighter in her next fight.

Herrig entered Las Vegas on a four-fight losing streak. Due to knee injuries, Herrig had not won a fight since UFC 218 when she defeated Cortney Casey by split decision.

UFC Vegas 56: Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik took place on Saturday, June 4, 2022, live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your news and highlights.