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Women's MMA Report: Tate vs. Nunes co-headlines UFC 200, Namajunas avenges loss

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UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate steps back into the octagon to make the first defense of her title on July 9 at “UFC 200: Cormier vs. Jones 2” in Las Vegas. Tate faces off against hard-hitting Brazilian contender Amanda Nunes, who has won five of her past six fights.

UFC officials announced the title fight between Tate (18-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Nunes (12-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) earlier this month, but its position on the UFC 200 card has been a topic for debate during the past week as a result of Zuffa’s decision to pull former UFC 200 headliner Conor McGregor from the card.

While some speculated that Tate may be called upon to headline the landmark event, UFC officials opted to position a UFC light heavyweight championship rematch between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones as the new UFC 200 main event. Tate and Nunes share “co-main event” status with an interim featherweight title rematch between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar. Those three bouts will anchor the pay-per-view main card following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Tate’s path to UFC title gold was a difficult one, and many discounted her entirely after she began her UFC career with back-to-back defeats including a second loss to bitter rival Ronda Rousey. However, the talented grappler put together a solid four-fight winning streak that led to a second – and perhaps final – shot at the UFC women’s bantamweight championship in March. Tate made the most of her opportunity by choking out Holly Holm at UFC 196 to become the new champion, and she faces a formidable opponent in her first title defense.

Nunes has won three straight fights since she suffered her lone UFC loss at UFC 178, and she is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Valentina Shevchenko in March. Nine of the American Top Team fighter’s wins have come via knockout, and she has recently showcased improvements in her ground game. In August, she scored her biggest win to date by submitting Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann in less than three minutes at UFC Fight Night 73.

In addition to the Tate-Nunes title fight, UFC 200 also features a potential number-one contender’s bout in the women’s bantamweight division. Former title challenger Cat Zingano (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) returns to action for the first time since February 2015 and battles “TUF 18” winner Julianna Pena (7-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who remains unbeaten inside the octagon.

Zingano kicked off her UFC career with a thrilling third-round TKO victory over Tate in April 2013, but she was subsequently sidelined due to an injury and watched as Tate took over her spot as the number one contender. Zingano returned at UFC 178 and finished Nunes in the third round, but her long-awaited shot at the UFC women’s bantamweight title ended in a crushing 14-second submission loss to Rousey at UFC 184.

Pena put together an impressive run on “The Ultimate Fighter 18” and she became the show’s first-ever female winner by stopping Jessica Rakoczy at the TUF 18 Finale. She has since earned two more wins including a unanimous-decision victory over Jessica Eye at UFC 192 in October.Rose Namajunas edges out Tecia Torres in UFC on FOX 19 rematch

Rose Namajunas edges out Tecia Torres in UFC on FOX 19 rematch

Nearly three years after they first did battle at Invicta FC 6, strawweight rising stars Rose Namajunas (5-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Tecia Torres (7-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) clashed for a second time on April 16 at “UFC on FOX 19: Teixeira vs. Evans” in Tampa, Fla. Namajunas eked out a razor-thin unanimous decision victory in the back-and-forth rematch to even the score at 1-1. The bout aired as part the FOX-televised card following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Torres dominated most of the opening round on the feet and she scored with a series of punches after catching a kick from Namajunas. In the clinch, Namajunas looked to land knees, but Torres rocked her with punches over the top that forced Namajunas to take the fight to the mat. Torres defended well from the bottom, but Namajunas landed punches before the bell.

Namajunas fared much better in the striking exchanges in Round 2, and she mixed things up with lead left hooks, overhand rights and body kicks. Torres replied with kick-punch combos, and she fought off a takedown attempt, but Namajunas landed more hard left hands.

Torres targeted Namajunas’ lead leg with kicks in the final round, which slowed down her offense, but Namajunas was able to score a crucial takedown that allowed her to take top position late in the round. She landed short punches from Torres’ guard until Torres kicked her off shortly before time expired.

Torres’ strong starts to Rounds 1 and 3 were not quite enough to seal a victory on the official scorecards. All three judges saw the fight 29-28 in favor of Namajunas, who extended her winning streak to three and avenged her July 2013 loss to Torres in the process.

Elsewhere at UFC on FOX 19, bantamweight prospect Raquel Pennington (7-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) spoiled the return of former UFC title challenger Bethe Correia (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC). Pennington took a split-decision victory over Correia in a closely-contested matchup.

Pennington established her jab early in Round 1, and she effectively countered Correia’s kicks by landing right hands that backed the Brazilian up. In Round 2, Correia pressed the action with punches that led to a brawl in close. Pennington fired back with knees and standing elbows that she used to fend off Correia’s takedown attempts. Correia landed big right hooks in the final round and she stuffed a takedown, but it was too little, too late.

One judge scored the fight 29-28 for Correia, but the remaining two had it 29-28 for Pennington, who has won back-to-back fights since suffering a contentious split-decision loss to former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm at UFC 184.

Maryna Moroz defeats Cristina Stanciu at UFC Fight Night 86

Ukrainian prospect Maryna Moroz (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) rebounded from the first loss of her pro career with a hard-fought decision victory on April 10 at “UFC Fight Night 86: Rothwell vs. dos Santos” in Zagreb, Croatia. The talented strawweight outpointed UFC newcomer Cristina Stanciu (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a bout that was much closer than the scores suggested. The event took place on the FOX Sports 1-televised card following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Stanciu was very aggressive in Round 1 and she backed Moroz up with a jumping front kick and a barrage of punches. She followed with a flying guillotine choke attempt and transitioned to an omoplata and a heel hook on the ground. Moroz escaped, but she ate a series of upkicks before finally settling into Stanciu’s guard. The fight returned to the feet and Moroz scored a takedown into side control that led to a neck crank attempt before the bell.

Moroz landed stiff jabs in the second round that prompted Stanciu to try for a flying armbar. She wound up on the bottom after a scramble on the mat and Moroz scored with ground and pound after escaping from a kneebar. In Round 3, Stanciu reversed a takedown and she worked from Moroz’s guard. Moroz attacked with an armbar and Stanciu countered with an inverted triangle choke. Moroz freed herself and secured another armbar late in the round.

In spite of the close nature of the fight, Moroz did just enough to edge out all three rounds. Scores were 30-27 across the board for the 24-year-old, who got back on the winning track.

Jessica Penne returns to face Jessica Andrade at UFC 199 in June

Former Invicta FC champion Jessica Penne (12-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is set to make her long-awaited return to the cage on June 4 at “UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Weidman 2” in Inglewood, Calif. Penne faces off against Jessica Andrade (13-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC), who makes her UFC strawweight debut.

Penne made history in October 2012 when she became the inaugural Invicta FC atomweight champion, but her reign on top came to an end six months later when she was upset by Michelle Waterson at Invicta FC 5. She fought once more under the Invicta FC banner before signing with the UFC in order to compete on “The Ultimate Fighter 20.” Penne advanced to the semifinals of the competition before losing to friend and eventual winner Carla Esparza, but a victory at the TUF 20 Finale earned Penne a shot at the UFC women’s strawweight title. However, she was soundly beaten by champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC Fight Night 69 and has not fought since the June title fight.

Andrade turned pro in September 2011 at age 19 and she won nine of her first 11 fights during a span of just 19 months. A key victory over Milana Dudieva in Russia earned Andrade a spot on the UFC women’s bantamweight roster. She suffered a setback in her octagon debut, but rebounded with three straight victories and appeared to be on the cusp of title contention until she was submitted by Marion Reneau at UFC Fight Night 61. Andrade went 1-1 in her next two UFC fights and now seeks a fresh start by moving down to strawweight. The drop in weight is a significant one, but Andrade competed extensively at 55 kilograms (121 pounds) throughout the early stages of her career in both kickboxing and MMA.

Gabi Garcia, Kanako Murata victorious at Rizin FF 1

Multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Gabi Garcia (2-0) kept her perfect MMA record intact with a dominant second-round submission victory on April 17 at Rizin Fighting Federation 1 in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. Garcia easily defeated Anna Malyukova (1-1) in a one-sided open-weight matchup.

Garcia spent the majority of Round 1 dropping hard punches from mount position and occasionally looking to set up keylocks. In the second round, she mounted Malyukova again and picked her shots with punches until she was able to secure a fight-ending armbar at the 2:04 mark of Round 2. Garcia is happy competing for Rizin and she has stated that she has a number of opponents lined up to challenge her in the coming year.

Also at Rizin FF 1, standout wrestler Kanako Murata (1-0) made a successful pro MMA debut by defeating Natalia Denisova (2-2) in a strawweight bout. Murata took Denisova down into side control in all three rounds and she countered Denisova’s armbar attempts by working for keylocks and kimuras from the top. Denisova escaped each time, but Murata landed numerous punches and hammerfists and she remained in complete control of the bout en route to a unanimous-decision victory after three rounds.

In shoot boxing action at Rizin FF 1, four-time Girls S-Cup winner Rena Kubota (32-5-1 SB/KB) took a clear-cut unanimous decision win over Chute Boxe representative Cyndi Alves. A belly-to-back suplex earned Kubota two “shoot points” in the second round, and Alves was unable to secure a much-needed finish in Round 3. Scores were 30-26, 30-27 and 30-28 for Kubota, who is one of Japan’s most well-known female combat sports competitors.

Two title bouts headline nine-fight Invicta FC 17 card

Invicta Fighting Championships stages its third event of the year on May 7 in Costa Mesa, Calif., and the UFC Fight Pass-streamed card features two championship fights. Invicta FC 17 is headlined by a bantamweight title bout between dominant champion Tonya Evinger (18-5) and challenger Colleen Schneider (10-6), who has climbed the rankings by winning four straight fights.

Evinger has enjoyed a career resurgence under the Invicta FC banner, where she is 5-0 with four stoppage wins. She captured the Invicta FC bantamweight championship in July with a fourth-round TKO victory over Irene Aldana, and she most recently handed Pannie Kianzad her first defeat at Invicta FC 14 in a non-title bout when Kianzad missed weight.

Schneider suffered a quick submission loss to Aldana in her Invicta FC debut, but she has since put together an impressive winning streak that is highlighted by a hard-fought split-decision win over Raquel Pa’aluhi at Invicta FC 15. She now plans to upset Evinger in next month’s title fight.

In the Invicta FC 17 co-feature, popular strawweight champion Livia Renata Souza (9-0) puts her title on the line against former “TUF 20” competitor Angela Hill (4-2), who has knocked out back-to-back opponents inside the Invicta FC cage.

Souza claimed the Invicta FC strawweight title in her promotional debut one year ago when she submitted Katja Kankaanpaa at Invicta FC 12. After a planned title defense against Alexa Grasso was scrapped on multiple occasions, Souza returned to the cage in January and destroyed DeAnna Bennett in just 90 seconds. She has made it clear that her goal is to move on to the UFC, but she will first make at least one more title defense in May.

Hill was discounted by many following a brief and disappointing stint against much more experienced opponents in the UFC, but she has made the most of her opportunity with Invicta FC by winning both of her bouts to date in violent fashion. After stopping Alida Gray with a knee to the body at Invicta FC 15, Hill stepped in on short notice to face former title challenger Stephanie Eggink at Invicta FC 16, and she knocked Eggink out in the second round.

Also at strawweight, Deep Jewels champion Mizuki Inoue (11-4) takes on promotional newcomer Aline Serio (9-5) in a potential title eliminator at Invicta FC 17. Inoue has won three straight fights since dropping a decision to Grasso at Invicta FC 11. Serio has posted wins in five of her past six fights, but she has not competed since earning a decision victory in April 2014.

In other featured action at Invicta FC 17, Latoya Walker (5-0) puts her undefeated record on the line against former Invicta FC featherweight title challenger Charmaine Tweet (8-5). Highly-touted atomweight prospects Tessa Simpson (4-1) and Julia Jones (4-0) face off in an intriguing bout that may determine a future title contender at 105 pounds. Hard-hitting featherweight Amanda Bell (3-3) returns to action and battles Megan Anderson (5-2).

Rounding out the card thus far, Christine Stanley (4-1) takes on Shannon Sinn (2-2) in one flyweight bout, and Rachael Ostovich (2-2) meets Ariel Beck (4-2) in another. At bantamweight, Laura Howarth (2-1) squares off against pro debutant Alexa Conners (8-1 amateur).

Quick results

Catchweight (120) – Weronika Zygmunt (2-2) def. Virak Furo (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 3:06 mark of Round 1 at Ladies Fight Night 2 on April 1 in Lodz, Poland.

Also at Ladies Fight Night 2, Veronica Macedo (3-0) def. Lilla Vincze (2-6) via TKO (punches) at the 2:15 mark of Round 1 at bantamweight, Valerija Sotcenko (1-0) def. Magdalena Oleska (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 24-second mark of Round 1 in a strawweight fight, and Hanna Gujwan (1-0) def. Diana Tapalaj (0-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 2:43 mark of Round 2 in another strawweight bout.

Flyweight – Maguy Berchel (5-1-1) def. Ainara Mota (1-3) via unanimous decision at Knock Out Championship 9 on April 2 in Cognac, Charente, France.

Also at Knock Out Championship 9, Lucie Bertaud (1-0) def. Morgane Manfredi (0-1) via unanimous decision at bantamweight. In flyweight tournament semifinal bouts, Mota def. Mandy Deschamps (0-1) via submission (guillotine choke) at the 3:30 mark of Round 3, and Berchel def. Tatou Ghania (3-2) via unanimous decision.

Strawweight – Arielle Souza (5-4) def. Luciana Dias (1-2-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 4:53 mark of Round 3 at “Thunder Fight 6: Negao vs. Silverio” on April 2 in Santo Amaro, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Bantamweight – Luciana dos Passos Pereira (6-5-1) def. Jaqueline Ferreira (2-2) via unanimous decision at Shooto Brazil 62 on April 2 in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Atomweight – Also on the Shooto Brazil 62 card, Anne Ferreira (2-0) def. Carol Nakamura (1-3) via unanimous decision.

Bantamweight title – Shanna Young (4-0) def. Pam Sorenson (2-1) via split decision at “King of the Cage: Generation X” on April 8 in Carlton, Minn.

Flyweight – Jenny Liou Shriver (5-3) def. Jaymee Jones (5-3) via submission (armbar) at the 59-second mark of Round 1 at “Xtreme Fighting League: Xtreme Fight Night 28” on April 8 in Tulsa, Okla.

Flyweight – Jin Tang (25-8-4) def. Fabrina Vanessa (3-2) via submission (armbar) at the 2:04 mark of Round 1 at Kunlun Fight 42 on April 9 in Xining, Qinghai, China.

Strawweight – Griet Eeckhout (1-0-1) def. Daniela Kortmann (1-2) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 4:44 mark of Round 2 at “Iron Fighters Organization Europe: MMA Meets Wild West” on April 9 in Templin, Brandenburg, Germany.

Strawweight – Virna Jandiroba (7-0) def. Anne Karoline Nascimento (5-6) via submission (armbar) at the 3:29 mark of Round 2 at “MNA Supplements: MNA MMA Circuit 2” on April 9 in Seabra, Bahia, Brazil.

Atomweight title – Andy Nguyen (2-2) def. Elane Santiago (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 3:58 mark of Round 3 at “King of the Cage: New Era” on April 9 in Sloan, Iowa.

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