Montserrat
Ruiz now qualifies as a known commodity.
The once-beaten
Kings MMA prospect submitted Janaisa
Morandin with a scarf hold armlock in the first round of their
Invicta Fighting Championships 41 headliner on Thursday at the
Police Athletic League in Kansas City, Kansas. Morandin (10-4, 1-4
Invicta), who missed weight for the match, conceded defeat 3:28
into Round 1.
Ruiz (9-1, 1-1 Invicta) swarmed with punches, lured the Brazilian
into the clinch and delivered a head-and-arm throw along the fence.
From there, she moved to a topside crucifix, controlled Morandin’s
head and isolated the arm with her legs. Ruiz then elevated her
hips, cranked on the shoulder and forced the tapout.
In the flyweight co-main event, Erin
Blanchfield rode takedowns, stifling top control and heavy
ground-and-pound to a clear-cut unanimous decision over Brogan
Walker-Sanchez. Blanchfield (6-1, 4-1 Invicta) swept the
scorecards with 30-26 marks across the board, extending her current
winning streak to three fights.
Walker-Sanchez (6-2, 2-2 Invicta) was outgunned in every phase.
Blanchfield sat her down with a right hand in the first round but
did her best work on the ground. She executed takedowns in all
three rounds, advanced to dominant positions and cut loose with
punches and elbows. Blanchfield turned up the heat in the waning
moments of Round 3, where she climbed to full mount and unleashed a
burst of punches and elbows, nearly forcing a last-second
stoppage.
The 31-year-old Walker-Sanchez has lost back-to-back bouts after a
6-0 start to her career.
Meanwhile, Kaitlin
Young won for the fourth time in five outings and rebounded
from an Aug. 9 defeat to Pam
Sorenson, as she took a unanimous decision from Latoya
Walker in a three-round featherweight showcase. All three
cageside judges scored it for Young (11-10-1, 3-5-1 Invicta):
30-26, 30-26 and 30-27.
Walker (5-2, 1-2 Invicta) struggled to get in gear in what was her
first appearance in more than four years. Young tore into her with
repeated kicks to the body and lead leg in the first round, mixed
in a takedown in the second and wrecked her in the clinch with
short punches and elbows in the third. Walker, 40, jabbed
effectively in spurts but found herself in survival mode during the
latter stages of the fight.
In other action, Caitlin
Sammons (3-0, 3-0 Invicta) escaped with a split decision—28-29,
29-28, 30-27—over Claire
Guthrie in a three-round clash at 125 pounds; and Alexa Culp
(1-0, 1-0 Invicta) submitted Natalya
Speece (0-1, 0-1 Invicta) with a rear-naked choke 3:59 into the
second round of their flyweight pairing.