Rising bantamweight star Miesha “Takedown” Tate returned to Freestyle Cage Fighting at FCF 38 last night and successfully defended her FCF Women’s Bantamweight Championship with a first-round armbar submission of tough challenger “Vicious” Valerie Coolbaugh. The two had previously met once before in an amateur bout.

Elsewhere on the card, FCF Welterweight Champion Joey “The Takedown Wizard” Gorczynski retained his title, while former FCF Light Heavyweight Champion Ryan McClain was not so fortunate.

Tate (8-2-0), who had previously submitted Coolbaugh with a late-fight armbar in their amateur bout years prior, engaged in a striking battle for much of the first round of the title clash at FCF 38. Showing continued improvement in her standup, Tate more than held her own on the feet before the fight hit the mat in the later stages of the round. Tate quickly transitioned into an armbar that forced Coolbaugh to submit at 4:45 of round one. Tate is expected to return to Strikeforce competition in March.

Gorczynski (16-7-0) made short work of 170-pound title challenger Chad Leondhardt in the main event of the evening. The reigning champion trapped Leondhardt in a guillotine choke just shy of the midway point of the first round that forced the previously undefeated Leondhardt to submit. The official time was 2:27 of round one. Gorczynski has won three straight fights since his submission loss to PRIDE and UFC veteran Marcus “Maximus” Aurelio in June.

In the co-main event, late replacement Doug Sparks (1-1-0) pulled off a major upset in dethroning Ryan McClain to become the new FCF Light Heavyweight Champion. Sparks, who entered the fight on short notice, engaged in a competitive battle with McClain before submitting the former champion with a triangle choke at 1:09 of the second round. The win may set up a showdown with former champ David Heath, who was also victorious earlier in the evening.

Freestyle Cage Fighting returns in two weeks with FCF 39 on January 30th. The event features the opening round of the FCF Women’s Bantamweight Grand Prix.

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)