Paige VanZant
One of the UFC’s fastest rising female stars, Paige VanZant, picked up her fourth straight victory this past Saturday at UFC 191 in Las Vegas. The popular 21-year-old easily dispatched of “TUF 20” contestant Alex Chambers in strawweight action on the main card.
VanZant (6-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) kept Chambers (5-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) on the defensive throughout the one-sided fight by pinning her against the cage and landing numerous knees to the body and head. Chambers attempted a guillotine choke late in the opening round, but VanZant continued her dominance in Round 2. She first threatened with a rear-naked choke in a scramble on the ground, then dropped Chambers with strikes shortly before the bell.
Chambers, who indicated after the fight that she had sustained a knee injury in the second stanza, was very tentative at the beginning of Round 3. VanZant swarmed on her with punches and scored with a right hook and a knee. Chambers dropped levels and VanZant took advantage by locking on another rear-naked choke. She transitioned to an armbar and Chambers was forced to submit at the 1:01 mark of the third round.
VanZant maintains that she is still two years away from a title shot, but her soaring popularity and string of UFC victories may lead UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby to place VanZant in championship contention sooner than she has planned. VanZant has finished three of her past four opponents since suffering her lone career setback against Tecia Torres in early 2013.
Earlier on the UFC 191 card, Raquel Pennington (6-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) avenged a past loss by submitting Jessica Andrade (13-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in a bantamweight rematch.
Andrade eked out a split-decision win in the pair’s first meeting at UFC 171 in March 2014, and she was very aggressive with her punches early in Round 1 of the rematch. Pennington escaped to her feet after having her back taken, and the fighters traded knees in the clinch, but Andrade finished the round strong with two more key takedowns.
Pennington countered kicks from Andrade in Round 2 by taking her down, but Andrade immediately attacked with her signature guillotine choke. The process repeated itself once more, and Pennington escaped from the choke for a second time. Just as Andrade tried to get back to her feet, Pennington trapped her in a tight rear-naked choke. Andrade attempted to hold out until the bell, but she was forced to tap out at the 4:58 mark of Round 2.
The crucial victory allowed Pennington to avenge one of her two split-decision setbacks in the UFC. She also dropped a close decision to upcoming title challenger Holly Holm at UFC 184.
Mizuki Inoue, Ji Yeon Kim victorious in Deep Jewels 9 title fights
Deep Jewels strawweight champion Mizuki Inoue (9-4) rebounded from a pair of defeats inside the Invicta FC cage by successfully defending her title on Aug. 29 in the Deep Jewels 9 headliner in Tokyo. Inoue earned her third victory over rival Emi Fujino (16-9) in an entertaining fight.
Inoue, who defeated Fujino under kickboxing rules in 2010 and again in a November 2013 MMA rematch at Deep Jewels 2, initiated a series of clinch battles early in the trilogy bout. She countered Fujino’s punching combinations by pinning her against the cage and used effective jabs to keep Fujino at a distance.
Fujino rushed forward with punches in the second stanza and Inoue fired back with more jabs and an elbow. Fujino took her down, but Inoue fought off a guillotine choke and she closed out the round with hammerfists from the top. In Round 3, Inoue picked Fujino apart with flurries to the body and head. The doctor was called in to check on Fujino’s swollen face, but action resumed and Inoue dominated the striking exchanges until the final bell.
All three judges scored the fight for Inoue, who retained her title with the much-needed win.
In the Deep Jewels 9 co-main event, undefeated Gladiator champion Ji Yeon Kim (4-0-2) captured her second MMA title belt by defeating veteran Takayo Hashi (15-6-1) in a rematch for the Deep Jewels bantamweight championship. The fighters had previously battled to a two-round unanimous draw at a Road FC event in March 2014.
Kim opened the action with stiff jabs and straight left hands, and she repeatedly thwarted Hashi’s efforts to take the fight to the ground. Hashi finally dragged Kim down to the mat in Round 2, but she could not keep her there for long and Kim stuffed more takedowns after the fight returned to the feet.
The final round began with an exchange of left hooks and Kim dropped Hashi with one of her best punches of the fight. She took Hashi’s back on the ground and later scored with ground and pound from the top until the final bell sounded.
The judges were united and all three scored the title fight for Kim. The South Korean rising star has won four straight fights since beginning her pro career with two draws against Japanese standouts Shizuka Sugiyama and Hashi.
Rounding out the MMA portion of the Deep Jewels 9 card, former interim strawweight champion Emi Tomimatsu (9-10) finished short-notice replacement opponent Natsuki Shimomakise (0-1) with an armbar in an atomweight bout. The technical submission stoppage came at the 2:43 mark of Round 1.
In a featured grappling bout, newcomer Natsumi Mukai upset Deep Jewels mainstay Megumi Sugimoto with a first-round kimura. The technical submission finish came at the 3:29 mark of the opening stanza.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Valerie Letourneau
Joanna Jedrzejczyk defends title against Valerie Letourneau at UFC 193
Undefeated UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) received a new date and opponent for her next title defense this past week. Jedrzejczyk, who was originally expected to face rival Claudia Gadelha in a rematch at UFC 195, instead battles bantamweight-turned-strawweight contender Valerie Letourneau (8-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at “UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm,” which takes place Nov. 15 (Nov. 14 with the time difference in the U.S.) in Melbourne, Australia.
UFC officials made the change due to concerns over Gadelha’s recovery time from a finger injury suffered in her dominant win over Jessica Aguilar at UFC 190. Gadelha is expected to be cleared to return by February, but she will have to wait until next year for her chance to avenge her contentious split-decision loss to Jedrzejczyk this past December.
Jedrzejczyk has quickly become one of the UFC’s most dominant champions. She captured the 115-pound title with a second-round knockout victory over Carla Esparza at UFC 185 and made a successful title defense in June when she stopped Jessica Penne in the UFC Fight Night 69 main event. In both fights, Jedrzejczyk dismantled the former Invicta FC champions on the feet.
Letourneau’s path to a title shot has been an unconventional one. After being eliminated in the opening round of “TUF 18” in 2013, Letourneau was brought back into the UFC on short notice after winning an easy fight outside of the promotion. She edged out Elizabeth Phillips at UFC 174 and then opted to make the move down from bantamweight to the strawweight division. Letourneau won her 115-pound debut by defeating “TUF 18” finalist Jessica Rakoczy at UFC 186 and most recently upset the previously unbeaten Maryna Moroz this past month.
The Jedrzejczyk-Letourneau strawweight title tilt serves as the co-main event for UFC 193, which is headlined by a UFC women’s bantamweight championship bout between Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm.
Tecia Torres meets Michelle Waterson at UFC 194 in December
Michelle Waterson
Four weeks after Jedrzejczyk and Letourneau clash for the strawweight title, another pivotal 115-pound women’s bout takes place when highly-touted Tecia Torres (6-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) battles former Invicta FC atomweight champion Michelle Waterson (13-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at “UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor,” which is set for Dec. 12 in Las Vegas.
Torres has rebounded well from her disappointing showing on “TUF 20” with back-to-back wins inside the octagon. She handily defeated veteran Angela Magana at the TUF 20 Finale and most recently outpointed fellow “TUF 20” alum Angela Hill at UFC 188 in June. Waterson relinquished her 105-pound Invicta FC title in December when she was submitted by Herica Tiburcio, but UFC officials chose to sign Waterson anyway and she made the most of the opportunity by finishing Magana with a third-round rear-naked choke at the TUF 21 Finale in July.
The winner of the bout between Torres and Waterson will likely find herself on a short list of strawweight title contenders alongside Claudia Gadelha, who returns to action next year.
Zoila Frausto returns to face Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger in RFA title fight
Zoila Frausto
Former Bellator women’s strawweight champion Zoila Frausto (12-4) makes her long-awaited return to MMA competition on Oct. 9 when she makes her promotional debut at RFA 31 in Las Vegas. Frausto moves back down to her former home at 115 pounds to face Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger (5-1) for the vacant RFA women’s strawweight title.
Frausto has not competed in MMA since December 2013 when she was defeated by veteran Brazilian contender Vanessa Porto at Invicta FC 7. The loss was Frausto’s third in a row after she had put together a seven-fight winning streak that led to her crowning as Bellator’s first and only women’s strawweight champion. Outside of MMA, Frausto has won back-to-back Muay Thai bouts, and she captured a world title in the process.
Jones-Lybarger does not yet hold the same notoriety as her opponent next month, but RFA fans have become familiar with the Phoenix native thanks to three straight victories inside the RFA cage. After picking up a pair of decision wins for the promotion this past year, Jones-Lybarger put herself in RFA title contention by defeating Maria Rios in February. She had planned to face Kinberly Novaes in a title eliminator this past month, but the fight was scrapped on relatively short notice when Novaes discovered that she was pregnant.
The vacant title fight between Frausto and Jones-Lybarger serves as the RFA 31 co-main event.
Quick results
Flyweight – Isabelle Pare (5-0-1) def. Amanda Lino (1-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 1:02 mark of Round 1 at Extreme Fighting Championship 43 on Aug. 27 in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South African. Pare has finished three straight opponents in the first round. The French flyweight prospect is 4-0 in 2015.
Featherweight – Marloes Coenen (23-6) def. Arlene Blencowe (6-5) via submission (armbar) at the 3:23 mark of Round 2 at Bellator 141 on Aug. 28 in Temecula, Calif. Coenen controlled the action on the mat throughout the fight until she was able to secure a belly-down armbar for the tapout win. She has won two straight since signing with Bellator, but opponents remain scarce for Coenen as Bellator attempts to develop its 145-pound division.
Also on the Bellator 141 card, Adrienna Jenkins (19-6) def. Lissette Neri (6-3) via TKO (punches) at the 2:38 mark of Round 1 in a featherweight bout, and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (2-0) def. Maria Rios (2-3) via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) at flyweight.
Bantamweight – Priscila de Souza (9-6) def. Kessiny Mara (1-9) via submission (armbar) in Round 1 at Palmeira Fight 2 on Aug. 29 in Palmeira, Parana, Brazil. De Souza halted a two-fight losing skid with the first-round victory over Mara, who moved up in weight for the fight.
Catchweight (120) – Elsewhere on the Palmeira Fight 2 card, Ana Beatriz Mattos (1-0) def. Helaine Ribeiro (2-8) via unanimous decision. 19-year-old Mattos made a successful pro debut in the fight following a brief amateur career that included two stoppage wins.
Strawweight – Jamie Colleen (2-0) def. Danielle Taylor (5-1) via KO (punch) at the 1:47 mark of Round 4 at “King of the Cage: Bitter Rivals” on Aug. 29 in Ontario, Calif. Colleen, who returned to the cage for the first time since her February 2013 pro debut, captured the KOTC women’s strawweight title with the vicious knockout victory.
Flyweight – Cristina Stanciu (4-0) def. Iren Racz (4-3) via submission (triangle choke) at the 2:25 mark of Round 1 at Romanian Xtreme Fighting 19 on Aug. 31 in Galati, Romania. Stanciu has earned first-round finishes in three of her four wins to date and she made quick work of Racz, who was competing for the second time in nine days.
Lightweight – Gabrielle Holloway (5-3) def. Andria Wawro (3-3) via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) at “Camp Lejeune: For The Leathernecks 4” on Sept. 2 in Jacksonville, N.C. This bout was a rematch from the pair’s first meeting in August 2012, which Holloway won via technical decision when the bout was stopped in the third round. She once again prevailed in the rematch and captured the Camp Lejeune women’s lightweight title in the process.
Flyweight – Jingnan Xiong (6-1) def. Daria Chibisova (0-3) via unanimous decision at “Kunlun Fight 30: Muay Thai Night” on Sept. 4 in Zhoukou, Henan, China. Xiong bounced back from her first pro loss against Colleen Schneider in June with the convincing victory.
Catchweight (120) – Ana Leao (1-0) def. Leticia Lima (1-3) via TKO (punches) in Round 1 at Invictus Show Fight 1 on Sept. 4 in Benevides, Para, Brazil. Leao kicked off her pro career with a quick victory following a brief stint as an amateur.
Catchweight (139) – Eeva Siiskonen (3-3-1) and Melinda Fabian (1-1-1) fought to a unanimous draw after three rounds at Carelia Fight 11 on Sept. 5 in Imatra, South Karelia, Finland.
Strawweight – Silvania Monteiro (4-1) def. Ana Beatriz Melo (0-2) via unanimous decision at Arena Sul Fight 1 this past Saturday in Governador Celso Ramos, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Monteiro went the distance for the first time in her pro career and picked up her third straight win.
Catchweight (132) – Alejandra Lara (5-1) def. Janeth Alvarado (0-1-1) via TKO (retirement) at the 5:00 mark of Round 1 at Cage Fight Nights 6 on this past Saturday in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. Lara rebounded from her first pro loss by capturing the CFN women’s 60kg title.
Bantamweight – Marciea Allen (5-2) def. Jan Finney (8-12) via unanimous decision at “Alpha Sports One: IT Fight Series 35” on this past Saturday in Springfield, Ohio. Allen has racked up back-to-back wins over veterans Carina Damm and Finney this year.
Atomweight – Julia Jones (4-0) def. Paulina Granados (2-2) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at Rocks Xtreme MMA 17 on this past saturday in Corpus Christi, Texas. Jones is one of the fastest rising atomweight prospects in the sport today and she kept her undefeated pro record intact with her biggest victory to date over Granados, who made her long-awaited return to the cage following a two-year hiatus.
MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every few weeks. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.
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