Welsh strawweight Cory McKenna lost to Julia Polastri by split decision at UFC Fight Night 244.
Two judges found in favour of Brazilian Polastri, scoring the fight 30-27 and 29-28, with one scoring the fight 29-28 to her opponent from Cwmbran.
McKenna, 25, was unable to disrupt her opponent in the clinch in the opening rounds.
However, she scored the only takedown of the fight in the third round.
But it was too little too late, with Polastri landing significantly more strikes on her opponent throughout the contest.
McKenna is now 8-4 as a professional, while Polastri moves to 13-4, maintaining her record of never being stopped inside the octagon.
Writing on X, McKenna said: “Fought my heart out, congrats to Julia Polastri, was an honour to throw down with you.”
In her post-fight news conference Polastri lauded McKenna’s toughness: “She surprised me because I didn’t know she was so tough, she’s very tough, it was cool so we could bring a good fight.
“I was really confident because I took control of the fight.
“The split decision surprised me, the win came though and that’s what matters.”
