Women's MMA Report: Lauren Murphy triumphs in Pittsburgh, Ruth wins Bellator debut

Following a pair of controversial defeats, former Invicta FC bantamweight champion Lauren Murphy picked up her first official UFC victory on Feb. 21 at UFC Fight Night 83 in Pittsburgh.

Murphy stopped short-notice replacement opponent Kelly Faszholz late in the third round of an entertaining back-and-forth bout.

Murphy (9-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) stood and traded power punches with her opponent in the opening round, but it was Faszholz (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) who got the better of the early striking exchanges. She backed Murphy up with a flurry and countered Murphy’s kicks with a nice one-two. Murphy bloodied Faszholz’s nose with punches before the end of the competitive round.

In Round 2, Murphy targeted Faszholz’s legs with kicks, which she used to slow down the UFC newcomer’s momentum. Murphy countered Faszholz’s aggressive punches by landing stiff jabs and right hooks, but Faszholz secured a takedown shortly before the bell.

Murphy picked up the pace in the final round and she scored a key takedown that allowed her to strike from Faszholz’s guard for a prolonged period of time. After landing numerous punches and elbows, Murphy mounted Faszholz and she continued to drop unanswered strikes until the fight was finally waved off at the 4:55 mark of Round 3.

The TKO victory was a crucial one for Murphy, who suffered contentious decision losses to former UFC title challengers Sara McMann and Liz Carmouche in her first two fights inside the octagon. Seven of her nine career wins have come via a form of knockout.

In other action on the UFC Fight Night 83 card, Ashlee Evans-Smith (4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) eked out a disputed split-decision win over Marion Reneau (6-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in a bantamweight bout that was marred by baffling scoring from two judges in the opening round.

Evans-Smith started strong by landing effective combinations of punches and body kicks in the opening two minutes, but Reneau badly rocked her with a barrage of power punches against the cage. Evans-Smith weathered the storm, but Reneau took her down and locked on a mounted guillotine choke before time expired. The round clearly belonged to Reneau, but two of the official cageside judges unbelievably scored it in favor of Evans-Smith.

Reneau picked her opponent apart with jabs and leg kicks in the second round as Evans-Smith began to slow down. However, momentum shifted again in Round 3 and Evans-Smith once again pressed the action by landing punch-kick combos. She pinned Reneau against the fence and scored with knees and elbows before the final bell.

Judge Phil Ross bizarrely scored Round 1 in Evans-Smith’s favor and Round 3 for Reneau, leading some to question whether he had legitimately mixed up the fighters while scoring the fight. In spite of this, he tallied a final score of 29-28 for Reneau by awarding her Round 2.

Ross’ scorecard was overruled by judges Andrew Adkins and John Lapcevic, who favored Evans-Smith with scores of 30-27 and 29-28, respectively. Lapcevic was the lone judge to correctly score Round 1 for Reneau, but he awarded the second round to Evans-Smith.

In the end, Evans-Smith walked away with a split-decision victory, but Reneau has indicated that she plans to appeal the verdict due to the strange and controversial scoring.

Rebecca Ruth dominates Lena Ovchynnikova at Bellator 150

Rebecca Ruth

Hard-hitting flyweight Rebecca Ruth scored the biggest victory of her pro career in her Bellator debut on Friday night at Bellator 150 in Mulvane, Kan. Ruth (6-1) earned a clear-cut unanimous decision win over Ukrainian standout Lena Ovchynnikova (10-4) in a featured matchup on the Spike-televised main card.

Leading up to the fight, most of the promotion focused on Ovchynnikova, who showcased her striking skills by landing some nice left hands and knees in the opening minute. She threw Ruth down to the mat, but Ruth swept into side control and she scored with elbows and knees to Ovchynnikova’s body. Ovchynnikova eventually stood up and Ruth landed punches in a clinch.

Ovchynnikova landed a series of hammerfists after catching a kick from Ruth in Round 2, but Ruth regained her footing and she reversed a throw into back control. Ovchynnikova stood and landed straight left hands, but Ruth dropped her with a right hook. The fighters traded more punches on the feet as the round progressed and Ruth stunned her opponent with hard shots. She countered a wild spinning back fist by attacking with an armbar shortly before the bell.

Ruth took Ovchynnikova down into side control in Round 3 and she transitioned to Ovchynnikova’s back soon after. When Ovchynnikova briefly returned to her feet, Ruth slammed her back down and kept her pinned on the mat. In the final minute, she allowed Ovchynnikova to stand up, and both women landed big punches before time expired.

Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Missouri’s Ruth, whose unanimous-decision victory extended her winning streak to four straight fights. All five of her previous wins came via technical knockout.

Angela Lee improves to 5-0 at ONE Championship 38

Angela Lee

Competing for the fifth time in a nine-month span, 19-year-old rising star Angela Lee kept her undefeated record intact with another slick submission win on Feb. 20 at “ONE Championship 38: Tribe of Warriors” in Jakarta, Indonesia. Lee (5-0) finished Rebecca Heintzman (3-2) with a neck crank early in the second round of a featured 120-pound catchweight bout.

Lee pressed the action right away in Round 1 and she landed knees to the body that set up two takedowns. She mounted Heintzman and landed punches and knees to her head. Heintzman was forced to turtle up and Lee attacked with a Peruvian necktie and an armbar before the bell.

Early in Round 2, Heintzman slipped while throwing a Superman punch and Lee dragged her back down to the mat. She landed more knees and hopped on Heintzman’s back. Within seconds, Lee locked on a tight neck crank and Heintzman tapped out at the 1:08 mark.

Lee has quickly become one of the biggest stars on the ONE roster thanks to her savvy submission game and her extremely active fighting schedule. Now representing Evolve MMA in Singapore, the Hawaii-raised teen is one of the sport’s brightest female prospects.

Mei Yamaguchi faces Tessa Simpson at PXC 52 in Guam

Deep Jewels atomweight champion Mei Yamaguchi seeks her first MMA victory outside of Japan when she returns to the PXC cage on March 18 at Pacific Xtreme Combat 52 in Mangilao, Guam. Yamaguchi (15-8-1), who suffered controversial split-decision losses in each of her first two PXC bouts, faces Guam-raised Tessa Simpson (3-1), who now fights out of Texas.

Yamaguchi has been one of Japan’s premier female fighters for more than six years, dating back to her shocking upset win over Yuka Tsuji in 2010. The victory earned Yamaguchi the Valkyrie featherweight championship at 115 pounds, and she most recently captured another title by adding the Deep Jewels atomweight championship to her mantle in May. With few challengers remaining for her in Japan, Yamaguchi now looks for redemption after suffering PXC losses to Patricia Vidonic and Gina Iniong in bouts that most observers felt that Yamaguchi had won.

Simpson kicked off her pro career in 2009 and picked up back-to-back first-round finishes before suffering her lone defeat against the much larger Anita Rodriguez in a 120-pound catchweight bout. She took a four-year hiatus from fighting and returned to action at Legacy Fighting Championship 23 in September 2013. In what was easily her most impressive performance to date, Simpson earned a one-sided unanimous-decision victory over highly-touted prospect Paulina Granados, and she now seeks an even bigger win next month.

Juliana Werner vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez among four bouts set for XFC International 14

Veteran flyweight contender Juliana Werner returns to action on March 19 at XFC International 14 in Sao Paulo. Werner (8-5) meets Argentinian prospect Silvana Gomez Juarez (5-1) in one of four female fights planned for the card.

Werner made her XFC debut in late 2014 following her loss to current UFC champion Holly Holm in a Legacy FC title fight. She easily submitted Iryna Shaparenko at XFC International 7, but suffered a second-round submission loss to Julia Berezikova at XFC International 9 in March.

Juarez began her pro career with four straight stoppage wins including two submission finishes inside the XFC International cage. In December 2014, she defeated Vanessa Melo to earn a shot at the XFC women’s flyweight championship, but Juarez’s title bid ended in a defeat when she was unable to answer the bell for Round 5 against Poliana Botelho at XFC International 11.

In strawweight tournament bouts at XFC International 14, Jady Larissa Menezes (3-1) faces Liana Ferreira Pirosin (3-1), and Caroline Correia (2-1) battles Amanda Torres (4-3). At flyweight, Naiara Pereira de Oliveira (3-0) clashes with veteran Priscila de Souza (12-6).

Quick results

Bantamweight – Mara Romero Borella (6-4) def. Suvi Salmimies (3-3-1) via split decision at Cage 34 on Feb. 13 in Helsinki, Finland.

Strawweight – Geisa Veloso (1-0) def. Kakau Costa (2-4) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 4:03 mark of Round 2 at Shooto Brazil 61 on Feb. 13 in Rio de Janeiro.

Flyweight – Alejandra Lara (6-1) def. Lina Franco Rodriguez (1-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 2:32 mark of Round 2 at “Empire Sports Marketing: Colombia vs. The World” on Feb. 13 in Bogota, Colombia.

Flyweight – Also on the ESM card, Sayury Canon (1-0) def. Ivonne Ocampo (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 3:52 mark of Round 1.

Strawweight – Audrey Perkins (1-0) def. Natalie Roy (2-2) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at Jackson’s MMA Series 17 on Feb. 13 in Santa Fe, N.M.

Bantamweight – Veta Arteaga (1-0) def. Ashley Deen (0-2) via split decision at Front Street Fights 8 on Feb. 13 in Boise, Idaho.

Featherweight – Jessica Baybado (2-0) def. Caroline Marques (0-1) via KO (punch) in Round 3 at “Alaska Fighting Championship 121: Sanderson vs. Waalkes” on Feb. 17 in Anchorage, Alaska.

Strawweight title – Saray Orozco (1-1) def. Yajaira Romo de Carano (3-1) via unanimous decision at “GEX MMA: Gladiadores Extremos” on Feb. 18 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every few weeks. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.