Undefeated flyweight contender Juliana Velasquez gets her first shot at Bellator championship gold on Thursday night when she takes on reigning champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.

Velasquez (10-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) will face Macfarlane (11-0 MMA, 10-0 BMMA) in the main event of Bellator 254, which takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network after prelims on MMA Junkie.

Velasquez’s run in Bellator began with a second-round submission of Na Liang at Bellator 189 in December 2017, then she faced Rebecca Ruth at Bellator 197 the following April as she looked to register back-to-back wins with her new promotion.

Her second fight went longer than her first, as Ruth pushed the Brazilian into the third round of their matchup in St. Charles, Missouri, but Velasquez found a finish, thanks to a body kick just 19 seconds into the final frame.

With that win under her belt, Velasquez went on to win three more times to book her title shot against Macfarlane. Ahead of that championship clash, relive her victory over Ruth via the video above.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/bellator-fight-video-juliana-velasquez-rebecca-ruth

Hong Kong debuted in highlight-reel fashion at UFC 255.

In the evening’s curtain jerker, Palatnikov became the first fighter in UFC history to represent Hong Kong – and also the first to record an octagon victory. As the second biggest underdog on the card, Palatnikov picked up the TKO victory over Cosce at the 2:27 mark of Round 3.

With the victory, Palatnikov proved the oddsmakers wrong. On average, across major online sportsbooks, Palatnikov closed a +422 (per BestFightOdds).

After a tough opening round, in which he ate dozens of hard punches, Palatnikov survived and dished out his fair share of punishment in a potential “Round of the Year” candidate.

Cosce, who seemingly winded himself with the high-output Round 1, ate a big right hand midway through Round 3. From there, Palatnikov finished Cosce with a series of lefts and rights on the canvas.

“This is just a (bit) of my potential,” Palatnikov said post-fight. “This has been a project my whole life. I’ve envisioned this. I know that I can challenge anyone in the UFC. I know that, if given the opportunity, working with my coaches, John Wood at Syndicate MMA, one of the best gyms in MMA. He’s my mentor. I’m happy to perform and keep going.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/fight-of-the-month-november-2020-sasha-palatnikov-louis-cosce-ufc-255

At LFA 96, bantamweight up-and-comer Mo Miller proved once again he can be a serious problem for his competition.

Taking on Bellator alumnus Regivaldo Carvalho, Miller (5-0) utilized a suplex multiple times – twice in Round 1. The third significant time came midway through Round 2 – and it proved to be the charm.

Miller, 28, elevated his opponent and dropped Carvalho (5-3) right on his head. Carvalho was out upon impact. Follow-up punches occurred, though the damage was already done. Carvalho’s head bounced back and forth before the referee stepped in and waved off the fight.

Going up?!?! #LFA96 pic.twitter.com/RAWBHagJon

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) December 5, 2020

And again! #LFA96 pic.twitter.com/S2xsjo4pFt

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) December 5, 2020

3 slams and you’re out! Mo Miller! #LFA96 pic.twitter.com/j1PoyyZL9a

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) December 5, 2020

A member of Strong Style MMA in Independence, Ohio, Miller is a teammate of UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, former UFC women’s flyweight title challenger Jessica Eye, and UFC light heavyweight Aleksa Camur.

With the victory, Miller, a former Division II All-American, remains undefeated in his career. After going 6-0 as an amateur, Miller turned professional in August 2019. In five professional fights, Miller has picked up four finishes.

LFA 96 took place Friday at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan. The card streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/video-brutal-knockout-slam-stipe-miocic-mo-miller-lfa-96

Maycon Mendonca and Batsumberel Dagvadorj gave it their all in Friday night’s LFA 96 main event.

With the vacant LFA welterweight title on the line, Mendonca (10-4) and Dagvadorj (7-0) engaged in a five-round, all-out war. In the  end, Mendonca earned a unanimous decision over Dagvadorj, with 50-45, 49-46, 49-46 scores that don’t do justice to the tenacity with which Dagvadorj fought.

The tempo was set early in the fight. Mendonca had his moments and Dagvadorj returned fire with a flooring blow. Through the second, third, fourth, and fifth rounds, both men slowed at times, but always found a way to accelerate once again.

Dagvardorj came forward with reckless abandon and sought takedowns while he flung punches. Mendonca, on the other hand, found his technical striking and plum clinch knees his most successful weapon. Mongolia’s Dagvardoj, battered and bruised, displayed a strong chin and ability to reset himself when needed.

For those who haven’t already tallied their 2020 superlative votes, the bout might be a late candidate for “Fight of the Year” consideration.

In the co-main event, Dana White’s Contender Series alumnus Anthony Romero (9-0) kept his undefeated record alive when he defeated a gritty Zach Juusola (11-7) via unanimous decision.

Earlier on the card, Stipe Miocic teammate Mo Miller (5-0) added another highlight-reel finish to his resume. The suplexes worked for Miller all night. To finish the fight, he slammed and knocked out Regivaldo Carvalho (5-3) in Round 2.

LFA 96 took place Friday at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan. The card streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Full LFA 96 results:

• Maycon Mendonca def. Batsumberel Dagvadorj via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) – for vacant LFA welterweight title
• Anthony Romero def. Zach Juusola via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Mo Miller def. Regivaldo Carvalho via knockout (slam and punches) – Round 2, 2:57
• Mark Martin def. Matthew Colquhoun via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28)
• Lisa Mauldin def. Mitzi Merry via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• William Starks def. Slava Borshchlev via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Joseph Holmes def. Ryan Leininger via knockout (knee) – Round 1, 1:38

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/lfa-96-results-maycon-mandonca-batsumberel-dabvadorj-thriller-claims-belt

(James Goyder is the owner/editor of AsianMMA.com)

Garry Tonon went the distance for the first time in his MMA career at ONE: Big Bang. The BJJ black belt dominated the first two rounds, but ran out of steam in the final five minutes as Koyomi Matsushima came on strongly at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

A featherweight title shot was potentially on the line for the winner.  Matsushima has already challenged unsuccessfully for that title once, while Tonon is slowly but surely making his way to the top of the rankings.

The American jumped guard early in the opening round and looked for a standing guillotine, but Matsushima slipped out. Tonon briefly found himself on the bottom after an unsuccessful takedown attempt, but a split second later he had his opponent’s back and was working for a rear-naked choke. 

With the better part of four minutes remaining in the round, it was a bad spot for Matsushima, as Tonon locked in a body triangle. But the Japanese fighter somehow survived, repeatedly fighting off the arms of his opponent, who was looking to slip a forearm under the chin and lock in the choke.

The second stanza brought more of the same for Matsushima. Tonon timed an inside leg kick, shot for a takedown, and took the striking specialist’s back with over three minutes remaining in the round.

This time not only did Matsushima survive, but with seconds remaining in the round, he reversed position and landed a knee to the head of Tonon. The round finished with both men standing and the Japanese fighter landing a right hand that might have been fractionally late.

While Matsushima’s submission defense was clearly on point, he had spent the better part of eight minutes fending off submission attempts. It gave him a mountain to climb on the scorecards with five minutes remaining in the fight.

Tonon looked tired and for once he was unable to get the fight to the ground. But he remained an elusive target and at the end of the round Matsushima had nothing to show for the striking exchanges other than a few solid kicks to the body and legs.

Having finished all five of his previous opponents, Tonon might have been disappointed to go the distance. But the outcome was never in doubt and he improved to 6-0, moving within touching distance of a featherweight title shot while Matsushima dropped to 12-5.

There was also a big win for Bokang Masunyane (7-0), who stopped Rene Catalan (6-4-0-1) with a highlight-reel head kick in the opening round of their strawweight fight.  Meanwhile, Ritu Phogat improved to 4-0 after stopping Jomary Torres 4-5-0-1 in the opening round of their atomweight affair.

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ONE: Big Bang results

• Kickboxing: Marat Grigorian defeats Ivan Kondratev via knockout at 1:52 of round 2
• Garry Tonon defeats Koyomi Matsushima via unanimous decision
• Kickboxing: Murat Aygun defeats Anderson Silva via unanimous decision
• Kickboxing: Andy Souwer defeats Zhang Chunyu via unanimous decision
• Kickboxing: Bokang Masunyane defeats Rene Catalan via knockout at 0:37 of round one
• Jihin Radzuan defeats Bi Nguyen via unanimous decision
• Ritu Phogat defeats Jomary Torres via TKO at 3:55 of round one

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/garry-tonon-remains-undefeated-after-hard-fought-win-over-koyomi-matsushima-at-one-big-bang