Revenge was sweet for Jessica
Correa Delboni.
A multi-pronged standup attack and stellar takedown defense carried
the Parana Vale Tudo standout to a unanimous decision over Alesha
Zappitella, as she captured the
Invicta Fighting Championships atomweight crown in the
Invicta 45 headliner on Wednesday at the Police Athletic League
in Kansas City, Kansas. Scores from the assembled judiciary were
50-45, 50-45 and 49-46.
Zappitella (9-3, 6-2 Invicta) was woefully ineffective with her
approach and wound up trapped on the feet with a superior striker.
After two somewhat competitive rounds, Delboni seized the reins in
the third. There, she bottled up Zappitella along the fence and
unleashed knee and elbow strikes from close range, moved back into
open space and sprawled on an attempted takedown before battering
the champion with rapid-fire hammerfists to the side of the head.
Not much changed across the final 10 minutes. Delboni (12-3, 4-2
Invicta) continued to pile up points with kicks to the leg and
punches upstairs, extended her lead and avenged her controversial
May 21 defeat to the Scorpion Fighting System product.
Meanwhile,
Syndicate MMA’s Ramona
Pascual put away Shamir
Peshewa with knees to the body and punches in the first round
of their catchweight co-main event at 150 pounds. Pascual (6-2, 1-0
Invicta) brought it to a close 60 seconds into Round 1.
Pascual closed the distance with punches and buried a knee into her
counterpart’s ribs. Peshewa (2-1, 0-1 Invicta) doubled over in visible
distress and retreated to the fence, only to be met with more knees
and punches. Referee Zach Teiberis stepped in to stop it once it
became clear the Knoxville Martial Arts Academy rep could not
recover.
The 33-year-old Pascual has rattled off four consecutive victories,
three of them finishes.
Elsewhere,
Legacy Fighting Alliance veteran Hailey
Cowan shined in her organizational debut, as she submitted
Monica
Franco with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their
bantamweight showcase. Franco (2-1, 1-1 Invicta) checked out 3:17
into Round 2.
Cowan (7-2, 1-0 Invicta) neutralized the Hawaiian with clinch work
and takedowns. She tripped Franco to the floor in the middle
stanza, climbed to full mount and ultimately progressed to the
back. From there, she cinched the choke and let her squeeze do the
rest.
In other action, Helen
Peralta (5-2, 5-1 Invicta) laid claim to a unanimous decision
over Elise Pone
(1-1, 1-1 Invicta) in a three-round flyweight affair, drawing
30-25, 30-25 and 30-26 scores from the cageside judges; Katie Saull
(4-5, 1-2 Invicta) submitted Tamika
Jones (1-1, 0-1 Invicta) with an armbar 4:30 into the first round of their
atomweight clash; and Sarah
Kleczka (3-3, 2-2 Invicta) eked out a split decision—29-28,
28-29, 29-28—over Maria
Jose Garcia Favela (2-2, 0-2 Invicta) in a three-round
bantamweight battle.