More known for her devastating hands that includes 18 career KO/TKO stoppages, Cris Cyborg had not a submission victory on her record but that all changed on Friday (AEST) she overwhelmed Australia’s Arlene Blencowe in the main event.
Blencowe came into the contest with back-to-back wins and was hoping to secure one of the biggest upsets in women’s MMA but ultimately was no match on the feet, over-powered by the heavy strikes from ‘Cyborg’ before tapping to a rear-naked choke submission midway through the second round.
It was a first title defense for ‘Cyborg’ within the promotion, having claimed the belt back in January against Julia Budd. She moves her record to 23-2 (Bellator 2-0). Blencowe falls to 13-8 (Bellator 7-4).
The bout took place at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, USA on Friday (AEDT).
Full Results:
- Cris Cyborg def. Arlene Blencowe (Australia) via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 2, 2:36 – Bellator women’s featherweight title
- Leandro Higo def. Ricky Bandejas via Submission (Rear-Ncraked Choke), Rd 2, 2:32
- Steve Mowry def. Shawn Teed via TKO (Knee & Punches), Rd 1, 4:22
- Mandel Nallo vs. Saad Awad – No Contest (Accidental Knee to Groin), Rd 1, 1:44
- Andrew Kapel def. Joseph Creer via TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage), Rd 2, 5:00
- Kemran Lachinov def. Kyle Crutchmer via Decision (Unanimous)
- Christian Edwards def. Hamza Salim via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 2, 1:28
- Da’Mon Blackshear def. Mike Kimbel via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 2, 4:14
- Aviv Gozali def. Logan Neal def. Submission (Kimura), Rd 1, 3:22
- Albert Gonzales def. Kastriog Xhema via TKO (Retirement), Rd 2, 5:00
