Miesha Tate and Jessica Eye
Former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate earned another shot at the UFC women’s bantamweight title with an impressive victory on Saturday night at UFC on FOX 16 in Chicago.
Tate overcame a slow start in the opening minutes of the co-main event fight, and she dominated fellow contender Jessica Eye in the later rounds en route to a commanding unanimous-decision win.
Tate (17-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Eye (11-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) traded punches throughout the opening three minutes and Eye repeatedly scored with stiff jabs and right hands that caused Tate’s face to swell up. Just when Tate appeared to be on the receiving end of a striking clinic, she countered a jab from Eye with a crushing right hook that sent Eye careening to the canvas and changed the course of the fight in an instant. Eye recovered on the mat, but Tate finished the round strong with elbows from the top.
With momentum on her side, Tate rocked Eye early in Round 2 and dropped her with another right hand soon after. She spent the majority of the round landing elbows to Eye’s ribs and nearly finished the fight with a guillotine choke, but Eye survived until the bell. Tate scored a takedown into back control in Round 3 and she kept Eye pinned down until referee Yves Lavigne oddly stood the fighters up. Eye tried to rally with knees and elbows before time expired, but it was too little, too late.
All three judges scored the entertaining bout 30-27 for Tate, who has won four straight fights and is now in line to once again challenge for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship. She first competed for the title in December 2013 when she was submitted for a second time by current UFC champion Ronda Rousey at UFC 168. Tate’s next opponent will be determined tomorrow night when Rousey defends her title against Bethe Correia in the UFC 190 headliner.
Earlier on the UFC on FOX 16 card, Elizabeth Phillips (5-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) avenged an amateur loss and spared herself from the UFC cut list by outpointing bantamweight rival Jessamyn Duke (3-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) in preliminary action.
Phillips controlled the early striking exchanges in Round 1 and she mounted Duke after fighting off an armbar attempt. She landed numerous strikes from the top and threatened with a rear-naked choke late in the round. It was more of the same in Round 2 and Phillips once again scored with ground and pound after mounting Duke, who was forced to give up her back. Phillips tried for another rear-naked choke and a guillotine choke, but she was unable to secure a finish. She fatigued badly in Round 3, and Duke took over with strikes on the feet and a last-second armbar, but Phillips narrowly made it to the bell.
Scores were 29-28 across the board for Phillips, who walked away with a hard-fought unanimous-decision win after beginning her UFC career with a pair of controversial split-decision defeats. “Four Horsewomen” member Duke has now dropped three straight bouts.
Marloes Coenen vs. Arlene Blencowe booked for Bellator 141
Following a successful debut in October, 15-year veteran Marloes Coenen (22-6) steps back into the Bellator cage on Aug. 28 at Bellator 141 in Temecula, Calif. The former Strikeforce champ battles Australian standout Arlene Blencowe (6-4) in a featured featherweight matchup.
Coenen challenged unsuccessfully for the Invicta FC featherweight championship in July 2013 and spent more than a year on the sidelines before joining the Bellator roster this past year. The Dutch submission specialist kicked off her Bellator career with a third-round tapout win over Italy’s Annalisa Bucci at Bellator 130.
Blencowe made her North American MMA debut in May at Bellator 137 and stopped veteran Adrienna Jenkins with first-round strikes. She has won five of her past six fights and holds a notable victory over Storm MMA champ and recent Invicta FC title challenger Faith Van Duin.
While the Coenen-Blencowe bout has garnered a considerable amount of attention from fans and media, the fight is currently slated to be a part of the untelevised preliminary portion of the Bellator 141 card. The event also features a second women’s featherweight matchup between Lissette Neri (6-2) and the aforementioned Adrienna Jenkins (18-6).
Kinberly Novaes vs. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger added to RFA 29
Brazilian strawweight prospect Kinberly Novaes (8-2) makes her RFA debut on Aug. 21 at RFA 29 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The talented striker is set to battle RFA mainstay Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger (5-1) on the night’s main card.
Novaes returned to action in May following a lengthy hiatus and captured the inaugural Noxii Combat women’s strawweight title by defeating MMA Super Heroes tournament champion Renata Baldan. She holds a notable stoppage win over UFC bantamweight Jessica Andrade, and her two defeats came against UFC strawweight contender Juliana de Lima Carneiro and former Invicta FC atomweight champion Herica Tiburcio.
Jones-Lybarger has put together an impressive string of victories inside the RFA cage since suffering her lone pro loss under the King of the Cage banner in mid-2013. She has won all three of her RFA bouts and most recently defeated Maria Rios at RFA 23 in February. Jones-Lybarger now takes a step up in competition to face Novaes next month.
The winner of the bout between Novaes and Jones-Lybarger could find herself in line for a future showdown with former Bellator champion Zoila Frausto, who recently signed on to compete in the RFA women’s strawweight division.
Quick results
Bantamweight – Elina Kallionidou (4-0) def. Foteini Kromida (4-1) via unanimous decision at Cage Survivor 4 on July 4 in Athens. The five-round victory earned 16-year-old Kallionidou the Cage Survivor women’s bantamweight tournament title.
Bantamweight – In tournament semifinal bouts earlier on the Cage Survivor 4 card, Kallionidou def. Roxane Teixeira (4-3) via unanimous decision, and Kromida def. Marianthi Samouxou (0-2) via TKO (punches) at the 2:23 mark of Round 1.
Featherweight – Katharina Lehner (3-0) def. Camilla Hinze (1-1) via unanimous decision at We Love MMA 15 on July 4 in Berlin. Lehner has won back-to-back fights this year and competes again in October.
Catchweight (132) – Stephanie Page (1-1) def. Yamila Sanchez (0-1) via unanimous decision at “100% Fight 25: Ten Years” on July 4 in Paris. Page rebounded from a loss in her pro debut with the two-round decision victory.
Also on the 100% Fight 25 card, Clemence Schreiber (1-4) def. Maria Casanova (0-1) via unanimous decision in a 132-pound catchweight bout; Djihene Abdellilah (1-0) def. Celine Provost (0-1) via submission (keylock) at the 2:23 mark of Round 1 in lightweight action; and Laila Sekaf (0-1-1) and Amelie Lebrun (0-3-1) fought to a two-round draw in a 110-pound catchweight contest.
Strawweight – Amanda Ribas (5-0) def. Tania Pereda (2-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 1:16 mark of Round 1 at Jungle Fight 79 on July 4 in Rio de Janeiro. The 21-year-old Ribas continued her streak of impressive victories with the quick win in the Jungle Fight 79 headliner. She has finished four of her five pro opponents to date in the first round.
Strawweight – Viviane Pereira (9-0) def. Vuokko Katainen (3-3-1) via unanimous decision at “XFC International 10: Night of Champions” on July 4 in Sao Paulo. The victory earned 21-year-old Pereira the XFC International women’s strawweight tournament title.
Strawweight – Yajaira Romo de Carano (2-0) def. Pamela Gonzalez (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 1:33 mark of Round 1 at “Combate Extremo: Loco vs. Galvan 2” on July 4 in Monterrey, Mexico. Romo de Carano stayed unbeaten with her second win of the year.
Flyweight – Emiko Raika (2-2) def. Slavka Vitaly (2-3) via split decision at Pancrase 268 on July 5 in Tokyo. Boxing champion Raika picked up her second straight MMA win in the fight.
Bantamweight – Elaine Albuquerque (10-5) def. Juliana Menezes de Moura (1-2) via unanimous decision at Garanhuns Fighting Championship 36 on July 10 in Garanhuns, Pernambuco, Brazil. Albuquerque halted a two-fight losing skid with the victory.
Catchweight (130) – Jacqualine Trosee (1-0) def. Zita Varju (2-3) via TKO (punches) at the 2:48 mark of Round 2 at Extreme Fighting Championship Africa 41 on July 11 in Brakpan, Gauteng, South Africa. Trosee made a successful pro debut with the stoppage victory.
Flyweight – Karoline Martins Moreira (1-0) def. Shellen Renata Gravino (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 4:58 mark of Round 3 at Rato Fight Night 2 on July 11 in Rio de Janeiro. This battle between teen fighters ended just before the final bell when 18-year-old Moreira overwhelmed Gravino with punches. At just 13 years of age, Gravino, who turns 14 next month, is one of the youngest professional MMA fighters in the world.
Flyweight – Rebecca Ruth (4-1) def. Taylor Turner (1-1) via TKO (punches) at the 4:25 mark of Round 2 at “Shamrock Promotions: Meltdown” on July 11 in Kansas City, Mo. Ruth has earned first-round TKO triumphs in all four of her pro bouts under the Shamrock Promotions banner. Her lone career setback came via split decision against Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger at RFA 19.
Heavyweight – Heather Martin (1-1) def. Jenna Bernick (0-5) via unanimous decision at “Gladiator Challenge: Contenders” on July 11 in El Cajon, Calif. Martin notched her first pro win after suffering a TKO loss in her October debut.
Bantamweight – Lissette Neri (6-2) def. Evalina Smith (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 38-second mark of Round 1 at “Xplode Fight Series: Heat” on July 11 in Valley Center, Calif. As with most XFS bouts, this severe mismatch ended in predictably quick fashion. Neri is set to face a much more experienced opponent, Adrienna Jenkins, at Bellator 141.
Catchweight (120) – Also on the XFS card, Pearl Gonzalez (4-1) def. Katie Anita Runyan (0-3) via submission (armbar) at the 39-second mark of Round 1. Once again, XFS’s absurd matchmaking was on full display as former XFC champion Gonzalez effortlessly forced the winless Runyan to submit in a matter of seconds.
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.
