Clark outworks Rawlings to win UFC debut

Jessica-Rose Clark had to flaunt every wrinkle in her arsenal to win her UFC debut.

The newcomer took a gritty three-round catchweight bout over Bec Rawlings by split decision in UFC Fight Night 121's co-headliner in Sydney on Saturday, not two weeks after she agreed to step in for an injured Joanne Calderwood.

To the surprise of no one, Rawlings looked to put her fellow Aussie on the back foot early, trading leather long enough to set up an early takedown. Clark soon gained the dominant position on the mat, and when she wasn't angling for an arm-triangle choke, she was making Rawlings pay for trying to close the distance with leg kicks and combinations.

Rawlings aimed to make it a dogfight once again in the final stanza, but while she tagged Clark with her mitts on more than one occasion, Clark's edge in the grappling and crisper striking ultimately earned her the victory with a pair of 29-28 scores.

The 28-year-old Rawlings suffers her third straight loss in what would have marked her UFC flyweight debut had Clark made weight a day prior. Her promotional record now sits at 2-4.