September didn’t have many women’s fights in the more prominent organizations. But, there was a lot of movement within divisions and a lot of solid action for the amount of offerings available. We got some title fights outside of the UFC, and another undeniably exciting event from top to bottom in Invicta.
First off was the UFC Hamburg card, also known as UFN 95: Arlovski vs Barnett. A matchup between former Invicta champion Michelle Waterson and Irish grappling wizard Aisling Daly was scratched after Daly was pulled due to injury and not long after, Waterson was also injured before the UFC could find a replacement. The lone women’s bout remaining on the card was originally scheduled to be feared Dutch striker Germaine de Randamie vs Ashlee Evans-Smith .That fell apart when de Randamie injured her foot. She was replaced by Venezuelan fighter Veronica Macedo, who appeared outgunned and undersized, succumbing to strikes in the third round in what was a TKO victory for Evans-Smith. Evans-Smith is now 2-1 in the UFC and 6-1 overall as a result.
UFC Hamburg was followed by UFC 203, featuring Cleveland native Jessica Eye taking on former title challenger Bethe Correia. The fight saw the Brazilian win by split decision in a bout that had both fighters show periods of inactivity and seemed to frustrate the crowd. Bethe improved to 4-2 in the UFC while Eye suffered her fourth straight loss.
Later that month we got the special occasion of watching Cris Cyborg perform once again as she headlined Ultimate Fight Night 95 against UFC newcomer, kickboxer Lina Lansberg. There was much anticipation for this fight as it was another catchweight bout for the Brazilian phenom. Despite Lansberg’s striking background Cyborg ended up with yet another dominant victory. That’s two straight for Cyborg, as the calls for her to stop fighting at 140 continue to grow louder despite her frightening performances.
Bellator 161 had a women’s bout between Idaho’s own Veta Arteaga taking on Anastasia Yankova. Bellator clearly expects to do big things with Yankova, but nobody appeared to have told Arteaga that, as she took every opportunity to attempt to mug Yankova. Arteaga made the fight as ugly as possible, using her wrestling to establish control and do as much damage as she could. Arteaga took a ton of damage as the fight went on and Yankova acquitted herself very well, eventually earning a split decision victory in a fight that wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing for most fans, but full of ups and downs. It’s available on Bellator’s site, and it’s really worth your time.
That same card featured Oklahoma talent Emily Ducote, who has had surprisingly solid showings for the promotion. She defeated BJJ black belt Kenya Miranda da Silva by a beautiful armbar finish. That video is also available and worth watching for the ending. Ducote is now 2-0 in Bellator and 4-1 overall and showing a lot of promise.
Invicta 19 took place from Kansas City, MO and had another set of excellent fights with breakout performances by Amber Leibrock, Julia Jones, and Kaline Medeiros. Leibrock got another devastating TKO finish, while Julia Jones used her scrappy grappling skills and speed to latch on a rear naked choke for the victory. This card also marked Tiffany Van Soest’s return to MMA, which was spoiled by a tremendous, eye-opening victory for her opponent Kal Holliday. Holliday used her wrestling background and athleticism to bust out her patented Holliday Airlines suplex. It was a coming out party of her own for what was supposed to be a major moment for the former Lion Fight champion.
Mexican standout Irene Aldana continues to surpass expectations taking on former title challenger Faith Van Duin, weathering an early storm and coming back for the TKO finish. Aldana’s accuracy, technique and tenacity continue to favor her, as she faced adversity again but come back harder. The last time she was truly tested was her loss against champion Tonya Evinger, but she’s continuing to close those gaps that cost her in that fight and could very well end up fighting for the bantamweight title again in the near future.
An atomweight bout between Jinh Yu Frey and champion Ayaka Hamasaki was unfortunately cut short as Hamasaki uncorked a massive right hand that cut Frey’s temple. The ref ended up stopping the bout in the second round. This wasn’t without controversy, as the cut didn’t cause any bleeding to obstruct Frey’s vision and the moment was a pretty major turning point in the fight as Frey seemed to be unquestionably winning. Both competitors were dissatisfied but had an admirable show of mutual respect after the fight.
The event was capped off by a great fight for the flyweight title between champion Jennifer Maia and Roxanne Modafferi. Despite having one of the best comeback stories in the sport, Roxy fell short with a split decision loss. Maia was a step ahead for the majority of the fight and demonstrated again why she deserves the belt. She managed to be better at every aspect of the game for most of the fight, even though Modafferi had some big moments and flashes of offensive success that Maia appeared to truly not have expected. Maia is now riding a five-fight win streak with a total record of 14-4 and 1 draw. She’s also been taking Muay Thai fights between MMA bouts to stay busy. Modafferi still ends up at 4-2 in Invicta after a six-fight losing streak between 2010 and 2013. A rematch between the two could be possible in the near future, if Modafferi keeps winning.
Finally, Titan FC had their inaugural women’s bantamweight championship fight between veterans Carina Damm and Kalindra Faria. The bout ended in a unanimous decision win for Faria. Faria has now won three straight since suffering back to back losses to Jessica Aguilar at WSOF 15 and Karolina Kowakiewicz at KSW 30.