Those who dare to stand and trade with Cristiane
Justino do so at their own peril.
“Cyborg” retained the undisputed Bellator
MMA women’s featherweight championship in resounding fashion,
as she knocked out Sinead
Kavanagh in the first round of their
Bellator 271 headliner on Friday at the Seminole Hard Rock
Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Kavanagh (7-5, 4-5
Bellator) bit the dust 92 seconds into Round 1, her name having
been added to the Brazilian juggernaut’s long list of victims.
Justino (25-2, 4-0 Bellator) blitzed out of the gate, settled into
the clinch and then drifted back to open space. The two women
traded shots along the fence, and though Kavanagh circled out and
connected, her chin could not withstand the return fire. Justino
folded her with a clean right hook, trailed her to the canvas and
drew the curtain with hammerfists.
Meanwhile,
Sanford MMA export Linton
Vassell won for the third time in as many outings, as he took a
split decision from Tyrell
Fortune in the three-round heavyweight co-main event. All three
cageside judges scored it 29-28: Troy Wincapaw for Fortune, Eric
Colon and Chris Lee for Vassell.
Fortune (11-2, 11-2 Bellator) fought well in bursts but allowed
momentum to slip from his grasp repeatedly in what became a
frustrating exercise. Vassell (21-8, 10-5 Bellator) surprised the
Arizona Combat Sports rep with a takedown in the first round,
consolidating his efforts by advancing to the back, applying his
ground-and-pound and hunting for the choke. Fortune made
considerable strides in the middle stanza, where he cracked the
Brit with jab-cross combinations, knee strikes from the clinch and
sporadic kicks. However, Vassell managed to spring a reversal in
the closing seconds, moved to the back once more and nearly
finished it with the rear-naked choke. Fortune blasted the former
Ultimate Challenge MMA champion with knees from the Thai clinch
early in Round 3, only to squander his gains with a low blow that
resulted in an extended pause in the action. Once the fight
resumed, Vassell conceded a takedown but swept into top position,
climbed to full mount and ultimately shifted to the back, where he
piled up points and chewed precious time off the clock.
The setback halted Fortune’s run of consecutive victories at
three.
Elsewhere,
Jackson-Wink MMA standout Aaron Pico
overwhelmed former
Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Justin
Gonzales with speed, athleticism, technique and sheer force of
will, as he captured a unanimous decision in their three-round
featherweight attraction. Pico (9-3, 9-3 Bellator) carried all
three scorecards: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.
Gonzales (12-1, 1-1 Bellator) connected on occasion but spent the
vast majority of his time playing defense. Pico unleashed
lightning-quick body-head punching combinations and a few sneaky
head kicks but did his best work with takedowns, scrambles and
positional advances. The variety kept Gonzales guessing, and he
often guessed wrong. Pico struck for multiple takedowns in all
three rounds, sliced through the
Dana White’s Contender Series alum’s guard and made everyone
aware of the fact that he was the superior martial artist.
The 25-year-old Pico will ride a five-fight winning streak into his
next assignment.
Finally, Arlene
Blencowe leaned on power punching combinations and sublime
takedown defense, as she cruised to a unanimous decision over
former King of
the Cage and
Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Pam
Sorenson in a three-round women’s featherweight showcase. All
three judges sided with the Jackson-Wink MMA-trained Blencowe
(15-8, 8-4 Bellator): 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.
Sorenson (9-4, 1-1 Bellator) tried to counteract the Australian’s
gains in the standup through a steady diet of leg kicks and tie-ups
paired with close-range knee and elbow strikes. Her efforts proved
largely unsuccessful. Blencowe punished her with clubbing right
hands and the occasional left hook, opening a cut on the
Minnesotan’s right cheek and raising a significant hematoma above
her left eye.
Blencowe, 38, has rattled off five wins in six appearances.
In other action, Steve Mowry
(10-0, 6-0 Bellator) submitted Rakim
Cleveland (22-14-1, 0-1 Bellator) with a kimura 3:28 into the first round of their
featured heavyweight prelim; Bruna Ellen
(5-3, 4-3 Bellator) wound up on the right side of a split
decision—29-28, 28-29, 29-28)—against Desiree
Yanez (5-4, 0-2 Bellator) in a three-round women’s flyweight
scrap; Roman
Faraldo (6-0, 3-0 Bellator) wiped out Robert
Turnquest (9-8, 0-1 Bellator) with a flying knee and authored a “Knockout of the
Year” contender 1:17 into the first round of their welterweight
encounter; Cody Law (5-0,
5-0 Bellator) took care of Colton Hamm
(4-4, 0-1 Bellator) with a volley of elbows 4:21 into the first round
of their featherweight affair; Valerie
Loureda (4-1, 4-1 Bellator) eked out a split verdict—29-28,
28-29, 30-27—against Taylor
Turner (5-8, 1-2 Bellator) in a three-round catchweight clash
at 128 pounds; Waldo
Cortes-Acosta (4-0, 1-0 Bellator) laid claim to a unanimous
decision over Muhammed
DeReese (9-5, 0-1 Bellator) in a three-round heavyweight tilt,
drawing 30-27 scores across the board; and Ethan
Hughes (3-0, 1-0 Bellator) put away Mahmoud
Sebie Fawzy (3-1, 0-1 Bellator) with punches 4:05 into the third round of their
welterweight pairing.