Tag Archives: women’s featherweight

Amanda Serrano to Fight Nina Meinke in Puerto Rico This March

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Amanda Serrano is ready to battle in her homeland…

The 35-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, the boxing unified women’s featherweight champion, will headline a fight in Puerto Rico early next year — with Jake Paul in the co-main event, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) has announced.

Amanda SerranoSerrano will defend her belts against Germany’s Nina Meinke on March 2 in San Juan. Paul will compete against an opponent yet to be named in the co-headliner. And 17-year-old Javon “Wanna” Walton, an up-and-coming Hollywood star who has a role in the hit show Euphoria, will make his professional boxing debut on the card.

Serrano vs. Meinke is contracted for 12 three-minute rounds. It will be Serrano’s second straight bout competing over three-minute rounds, which is the men’s standard in boxing and is not regularly used for women. Serrano relinquished her WBC women’s featherweight title earlier this month because the sanctioning body would not let her defend the belt in bouts with three-minute rounds.

Serrano (46-2-1, 30 KOs) has won four straight since falling in a close loss to Katie Taylor at Madison Square Garden in April 2022. “The Real Deal” successfully defended her titles against Danila Ramos on October 27. Serrano will be fighting in Puerto Rico for the first time since becoming undisputed champ.

Meinke (18-3, 4 KOs) has won six straight and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Laura Ledezma in October. She has never competed outside of Europe.

Paul (8-1, 5 KOs), a 26-year-old YouTuber-turned-prizefighter, just fought December 15, beating Andre August with a huge uppercut knockout in the first round. The fight in Puerto Rico will represent another lower-profile bout as he gains experience and seasoning en route to what he and his team hopes is a future shot at a boxing world championship.

Also on the card, WBO junior flyweight champion Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez will make his third title defense and 21-year-old Serrano protégé Krystal Rosado will compete in her third pro fight. Both also hail from Puerto Rico.

Cris Cyborg Registers First-Round TKO of Cat Zingano to Defend Bellator Women’s Featherweight Title

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Cris Cyborg has defended her Bellator title with ease…

The 38-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist showed off why she’s one of the greatest fighters in women’s MMA history by mauling Cat Zingano with a first-round TKO during Saturday night’s Bellator 300 to defend her title in dominant fashion.

Cris Cyborg,Cyborg (27-2, 1 NC) had not fought in nearly a year and a half. But she showed no rust in her skills, winning her seventh fight in a row. It was her fifth title defense, the most of any current Bellator champ..

Cyborg, based in Southern California, had an answer for everything Zingano tried, making the 41-year-old pay for every takedown attempt and clinch.

Cris CyborgThe finish came 4:01 into the fight after Cyborg clipped Zingano while defending a takedown shot then pounced with punches until the referee waved off the bout. It was Cyborg’s 21st career knockout and 12th in the first round.

“I was a little more strong than her,” Cyborg said. “I know she felt that power.”

Zingano (14-5) was making her second bid for a world championship. In 2015, during her run as a UFC bantamweight, Zingano challenged then-champ Ronda Rousey and was submitted in 14 seconds.

After Saturday’s fight, Cyborg called for her next title defense to come against Leah McCourt, who defeated Sara McMann by first-round TKO during the prelims.

Larissa Pacheco Scores First-Round Knockout to Advance to PFL Women’s Featherweight Championship

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Larissa Pacheco is thisclose to becoming the first two-division PFL champion after less than 15 seconds of fight time.

The 28-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist didn’t break a sweat against Olena Kolesnyk (9-6), knocking her out in just 14 seconds in a women’s featherweight playoff semifinal Friday in New York.

Larissa Pacheco After blasting Kolesnyk with a straight right hand during the first exchange of the fight, Pacheco collapsed her against the cage with another hard right, then finished her with a third big right hand as the referee swiftly jumped in.

It was Pacheco’s ninth straight victory since losing the 2019 lightweight final to two-season champ Kayla Harrison. Seven of those wins have come via first-round knockout, including all three of her meetings with Kolesnyk. Another of those wins was Pacheco’s upset of Harrison in last November’s 155-pound final.

“I was super confident because I work a lot, I put a lot of effort into this,” Pacheco, who was a 21-1 betting favorite, said afterward through an interpreter. “I’m not the type of queen that just sits around and waits for people to come out and bus my table. I go out there and I go to work.”

It was the second straight fight that Pacheco has ended by knockout in the first minute — which she cited as an impediment to showing off her development. “I feel like if the fights lasted a little longer, I would be able to show more evolution,” she said. “I can’t really help it that once my hands land, they just fall.”

The top-seeded Pacheco will go for a second straight season championship on November 24 against No. 2 seed Marina Mokhnatkina (11-3), who also scored a quick finish to earn her spot in the final. Mokhnatkina, a six-time world sambo world champion from Russia, took Amber Leibrock (7-6) to the canvas seconds into their fight and immediately worked her way to an armbar, eliciting the tapout at 1:45 of Round 1. Mokhnatkina is 5-1 in the PFL, with her only loss coming at lightweight last year against Harrison.

Marlon Moraes to Fight Brendan Loughnane to Help Kick Off PFL’s 2023 Regular Season

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Marlon Moraes will be reporting for kick off duty with the Professional Fighters League.

The 34-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC title challenger (23-11-1) will fight Brendan Loughnane (26-4) in April to open the PFL‘s 2023 regular season.

Marlon MoraesThe season will launch with a three-week series of events at Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas.

The season encompasses six weight classes: heavyweight, light heavyweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight and women’s featherweight.

The first round of season matchups will take place across three events scheduled on April 1, 7 and 14.

All three main and co-main slots feature the PFL’s returning 2022 champion.

The featherweight bout between Loughnane and Moraes will headline the first event. In the co-main event, Rob Wilkinson (17-2) will meet another former UFC title challenger in Thiago Santos (22-11).

On April 7, heavyweight Ante Delija (23-5) will meet Yorgan De Castro (9-3). Larissa Pacheco (19-4), who upset two-time women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison in the 2022 finals, will take on former Bellator MMA champion Julia Budd (16-5) in the new women’s featherweight division.

Capping off the first round on April 14, lightweight Olivier Aubin-Mercier (17-5) will take on free agent acquisition Shane Burgos (15-3). Welterweight Sadibou Sy (13-6-2) will face Jarrah Al-Silawi (18-4).

The PFL is the only major MMA promotion to follow a regular-season format, which includes single-elimination playoffs and finals. Additionally, the PFL hosts its Challengers Series for up-and-coming prospects and a recently announced pay-per-view division, which includes professional boxer Jake Paul.