Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane Justino’s dream of competing for the UFC became a reality on May 14 at “UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic” in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil. Competing in front of her hometown fans, the 30-year-old “Cyborg” destroyed former Invicta FC flyweight title challenger Leslie Smith early in the first round of a 140-pound catchweight contest.
Cristiane Justino and Leslie Smith
Justino (16-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) previously campaigned for a fight against former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey for more than three years. When Rousey lost her title in November, plans for the “superfight” were postponed indefinitely, and it was unclear if and when Justino would ever get a chance to step into the octagon. Things changed in late March with the announcement that Justino would cut down to 140 pounds for a special catchweight bout with the always game Smith (8-7-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC), who eagerly accepted the opportunity.
Once the fight began, Justino’s significant size and strength advantage over Smith was clearly evident. She backed Smith up with an early combination and dropped her with a one-two soon after that left Smith dazed on the ground. She tried to grab on to one of Justino’s arms in an attempt to limit the amount of damage that the Brazilian could inflict, but Justino battered her with vicious ground and pound until Smith rolled to her side. Referee Eduardo Herdy had seen enough and he called a stop to the brief and one-sided fight at the 1:21 mark of Round 1.
Following her dominant victory, Justino stated that she remains committed to defending her Invicta FC featherweight title. Reports surfaced this past week that Justino will face muay Thai sensation Germaine de Randamie at UFC 201, but Justino refuted those claims and repeated again that her next fight will take place inside the Invicta FC cage.
Alexis Dufresne misses weight again, upsets Marloes Coenen at Bellator 155
Former UFC competitor Alexis Dufresne (6-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) came in overweight for the fourth straight fight, but picked up the biggest victory of her MMA career on May 20 at “Bellator 155: Carvalho vs. Manhoef” in Boise, Idaho. Dufresne upset MMA pioneer Marloes Coenen (23-7 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) via first-round submission in a bout that became a 150-pound catchweight when Dufresne missed weight.
Alexis Dufresne
Dufresne immediately took Coenen down in the opening seconds of the fight and the fighters battled back and forth for top position. Coenen attempted a pair of guillotine chokes, and she used one to sweep into Dufresne’s guard, but Dufresne showcased her slick ground game by chaining together submission attempts. She eventually trapped Coenen in a tight triangle choke and wrenched back on her right arm. The triangle armbar was too much for the legendary Coenen to withstand, and she was forced to submit at the 4:33 mark of Round 1.
Immediately following the fight, Dufresne ironically complained about perceived “disrespect” from Coenen at weigh-ins, when it was Dufresne who had weighed in five pounds heavy.
While her victory was incredibly impressive, Dufresne’s consistent inability to make contracted weight limits could stall plans for an upcoming women’s featherweight title fight. The inaugural championship was initially set to be up for grabs in a bout between Coenen and Julia Budd until Budd was forced to withdraw due to an injury, which allowed Dufresne to step in. With top-ranked contenders in short supply at 145 pounds, Bellator may be forced to proceed with a Budd-Dufresne title tilt in spite of Dufresne’s recent 0-4 record against the pre-fight scale.
Lanchana Green defeats Helen Harper, advances to ‘TUF 23’ semifinals
Standout striker Lanchana Green kept her team’s perfect record intact with a hard-fought decision victory during Episode 5 of “The Ultimate Fighter 23: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia,” which aired this past week. Green edged out “Team Joanna” representative Helen Harper in a back-and-forth contest that required an extension round in order to determine a winner.
Green (0-1) opened a cut beside Harper’s (4-1) right eye with an early flurry of punches, and she repeatedly thwarted Harper’s attempts to take the fight to the mat. Green scored with a series of knees to the body and Harper resorted to pulling guard. Green stood up and she landed two hard punches before the end of the round.
The second stanza was a completely different story. Green landed more knees and punches early on, but Harper secured a much-needed takedown and she completely dominated Green on the mat. From mount, Harper rained down punches and elbows all the way until the end of the round. Green made it to the bell and the bout was declared a draw.
Early in the third and deciding “sudden victory” round, Green landed a three-punch flurry that prompted Harper to clinch. Green countered with elbows and she regained her footing after Harper briefly dragged her down to the mat. Green bloodied Harper’s nose with punches and knees, and she stuffed all but one of Harper’s takedown attempts in the final three minutes.
All three judges scored the final round 10-9 for Green, who moved on to the semifinal round with the unanimous-decision victory. During Episode 6 of “TUF 23” this week, “Team Claudia” extended its lead to 5-0 over “Team Joanna” when Eric Spicely defeated Elias Urbina.
Ji Yeon Kim defeats Jin Tang in Top FC 11 co-main event
Deep Jewels bantamweight champion Ji Yeon Kim (5-0-2) kept her undefeated record intact and scored one of her biggest victories to date on Sunday night at “Top Fighting Championship 11: Top FC vs. Kunlun Fight” in Seoul, South Korea. The popular South Korean standout earned a unanimous-decision victory over China’s top female fighter, Jin Tang (25-9-4), in an action-packed 130-pound catchweight bout that served as the Top FC 11 co-main event.
Round 1 began with a lengthy clinch battle against the cage that saw both women land knees to the body. Kim countered a headlock from Tang by tripping her to the mat, but Tang quickly scrambled up and she fought off Kim’s takedown attempts. Late in the round, Tang cracked Kim with a big left hook, and she unloaded with more power punches before the bell.
Tang continued to get the better of the striking exchanges early in Round 2 by lunging in with leg kicks and one-twos before getting out of range of Kim’s counters. The fighters traded hard punches until Tang pushed Kim back with a series of side kicks to the body that prompted Kim to shoot in for a takedown. Tang stayed on her feet and she continued to out-strike Kim until the final seconds of the round when Kim floored her with a massive right hand. The strike appeared to break Tang’s nose, which began to bleed heavily, but the badly dazed fighter survived a follow-up onslaught of punches from Kim and narrowly made it to the bell.
After a thrilling second round, the pace slowed somewhat in Round 3. Tang kept her distance and threw kicks to the body until Kim rocked her with a right hand and a knee. Tang recovered, but Kim scored with more punches as the round progressed and Tang’s leg kicks were not as effective as they had been earlier in the fight. Kim took her down once more late in the round and landed ground and pound, including two punches that connected after time had expired.
Scores were 30-27, 30-29 and 29-28 for Kim, whose unanimous-decision victory extended her winning streak to five. She presently holds bantamweight titles for both Deep Jewels and Gladiator, but her focus now is on becoming one of Top FC’s premier competitors.
Earlier on the Top FC 11 card, Chinese prospect Weili Zhang (5-1) secured her fifth straight finish by submitting late replacement Alice Ardelean (1-5) in a 120-pound catchweight bout.
Zhang controlled the fight from start to finish by keeping Ardelean on the defensive. In Round 1, Zhang battered Ardelean with punches from mount and trapped her in a mounted triangle armbar shortly before time expired. She took Ardelean back down in the second round and landed numerous punches from north-south position until Ardelean gave up her back. Zhang locked on a rear-naked choke and Ardelean tapped out at the 4:41 mark of Round 2.
Rin Nakai set to face Emiko Raika at Pancrase 279 in July
Following a brief stint in the UFC, bantamweight Queen of Pancrase Rin Nakai (16-2-1) seeks a fresh start when she returns to action on July 24 at Pancrase 279 in Tokyo. Nakai drops back down to flyweight and battles multi-time boxing champion Emiko Raika (2-3).
Rin Nakai
After initially turning down offers to compete in Strikeforce and the UFC, Nakai’s husband and manager ultimately signed her to a two-fight UFC deal in 2014 in hopes that a pair of big victories would lead to a much more lucrative contract offer. Unfortunately for Nakai, both of her UFC bouts ended in decision defeats. She was first outpointed by current UFC champion Miesha Tate, and then narrowly edged out by Leslie Smith in a back-and-forth bout at UFC Fight Night 85.
The two setbacks inside the octagon prompted Nakai to consider a move back down to the flyweight division, where she competed early in her pro career before moving up to bantamweight and even featherweight. At 5-foot-1, Nakai is much better suited for flyweight, where she holds a significant strength advantage over many of her opponents in spite of her small stature. She hopes to begin a career resurgence when she returns to Pancrase in July.
Raika, while still a relative unknown among North American fight fans, is one of Japan’s most successful female boxers. She captured multiple boxing championships before making the move to MMA in September 2014. After dropping fights to kickboxing superstar Su Jeong Lim and popular Deep Jewels contender Shizuka Sugiyama, Raika rebounded with back-to-back wins this past year. Her momentum was halted by a decision defeat in December, but she will vault up the flyweight rankings if she is able to spoil Nakai’s Pancrase return.
Quick results
Flyweight title – Lena Ovchynnikova (11-4) def. Mara Romero Borella (6-5) via split decision at “World Mixed Martial Arts Federation: World MMA Cup 2016” on May 13 in Lviv, Ukraine.
Bantamweight – Suvi Salmimies (4-3-1) def. Ghania Tatou (1-3) via unanimous decision at Cage 35 on May 13 in Helsinki, Finland.
Strawweight – Lisbeth Lopez Silva (2-3) def. Yajaira Romo de Carano (3-2) via unanimous decision at “Combate Extremo: Flores vs. Rubio” on May 13 in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
Strawweight – Emi Fujino (18-9) def. Yoon Ha Hong (0-1) via technical submission (rear-naked choke) at the 47-second mark of Round 1 at Road Fighting Championship 31 on May 14 in Seoul, South Korea.
Bantamweight – Maria Casanova (2-1-1) def. Lysane Delourme (0-1) via submission (guillotine choke) at the 55-second mark of Round 1 at “100% Fight 28: Fights for the Belts” on May 14 in Paris, France.
Strawweight – Celine Haga (9-13) def. Irene Cabello Rivera (6-3) via submission (arm-triangle choke) at the 3:52 mark of Round 1 at International Fighting Championship 5 on May 14 in Barcelona, Spain.
Catchweight (132 pounds) – Febe Gomez Juarez (2-0) def. Maria Vega (0-3) via split decision at “International Kickboxing League: Warriors KAS 4” on May 14 in San Miguel de Tucuman, Tucuman, Argentina.
Strawweight – Melissa Martinez (1-0) def. Iliana Lopez (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 57-second mark of Round 1 at Xtreme Kombat 32 on May 14 in Benito Juarez, Mexico City, Mexico.
Featherweight – Amy Coleman (2-0) def. Annie DeCrescente (0-1) via unanimous decision at Valor Fights 33 on May 14 in East Ridge, Tenn.
Atomweight – Alyse Anderson (2-0) def. Rachel Sazoff (1-6) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at “Total Warrior Combat 29: Jaynes vs. Lamson” on May 14 in Lansing, Mich.
Strawweight title – Emily Ducote (2-1) def. Jianna Denizard (0-1) via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-45, 49-47) at “Xtreme Fighting League: Xtreme Fight Night 29” on May 14 in Norman, Okla.
Atomweight – Cassie Robb (1-3) def. Amanda Lovato (0-3) via submission (armbar) at the 2:00 mark of Round 1 at “King of the Cage: Resilient” on May 14 in Towaoc, Colo.
Catchweight (120 pounds) – Jaimelene Nievera (4-1) def. Stephanie Frausto (5-6) via TKO (punches and elbows) at the 2:43 mark of Round 3 at “Bellator 154: Davis vs. King Mo” on May 14 in San Jose, Calif.
Catchweight (165 pounds) – Svetlana Khautova (1-0) def. Daria Radionova (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 4:13 mark of Round 2 at “Eurasia Fight Nights: Fight Nights Global 47” on May 15 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Bantamweight title – Gina Mazany (4-0) def. Katie Halley (2-2) via TKO (punches) at the 2:45 mark of Round 1 at “Alaska Fighting Championship 124: Mazany vs. Halley” on May 18 in Anchorage, Alaska.
MMAjunkie publishes the Women’s MMA Report every few weeks. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runsMMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.
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