After UFC Fight Night 249, it's 'Fatima Kline shark' ... Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
LAS VEGAS – Fatima Kline beat Viktoriia Dudakova with a second-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 249 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Kline, who got her first UFC win after she lost a short-notice promotional debut.
Fatima Kline def. Viktoriia Dudakova
Result: Fatima Kline def. Viktoriia Dudakova via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 4:27
Updated records: Kline (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), Dudakova (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC)
Key stats: Kline nearly pitched a striking shutout with a 42-4 total assault and more than six minutes of control time.
Kline on the fight’s key moment
“The fight didn’t go exactly the way I expected. She grappled me a lot more. But I think she must have not have seen enough film on me to know that when you take me down, I’m going to dominate you and I’m going to smash you. That’s exactly what happened. I’m. I’m super excited that that’s exactly the way the fight went and I was able to find a finish.”
She gets it done in the 2nd round!
Fatima Kline gets her first UFC win at #UFCVegas101 pic.twitter.com/crh5KdYwnG
— UFC (@ufc) January 11, 2025
Kline on staying calm in shark mode
Fatima Kline def. Viktoriia Dudakova, UFC Fight Night 249 (via UFC)
“I’ve said it since my first fight and I’ll say it forever: I’m a shark, and when you take me down, you’re in my waters. It was funny that she grappled me. I didn’t expect it, but I put myself in bad situations all the time in training, to get myself used to it, get myself confident in those positions that I know I’ll work out of it. I have my coaches there the whole time, loud and clear, knowing exactly what to do at every second of each position that maybe wasn’t the best for me. But I knew I was going to find my way out of it, and with the guidance from my coaches, that’s exactly what happened.”
Kline on what she wants next
“I expect to be able to fight two more (in 2025). I’d like to fight somewhere in the summer and then somewhere in the end of the year again, get another two finishes in the strawweight division and hopefully a top-15 spot by the end of the year.”
To hear more from Kline, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 249.