Keeping her unblemished record intact, 2004 Olympic silver medallist Sara McMann earned a third-round submission victory over a very game Raquel “Rocky” Pa’aluhi at ProElite 1 tonight in Honolulu, Hawaii. The pair engaged in a spirited Fight of the Night battle that drew cheers from the crowd.

McMann was surprisingly aggressive with strikes at times during the fight, but resorted to her strength in wrestling to take the fight to the ground on multiple occasions. Pa’aluhi, a fan favourite and native of Hawaii, defended well on the ground, but eventually succumbed to a keylock in round three.

McMann (4-0-0) rushed right in with a flurry of punches and a big knee to open the fight and she took Pa’aluhi down to the mat seconds later. Pa’aluhi kicked her off and stood, but was violently slammed down by a body-lock takedown from McMann, who looked to move to mount. Pa’aluhi scrambled out, but McMann took her down for a third time and punched from the top. Pa’aluhi’s face began to swell from the punches and McMann moved to side control and then to mount.

Pa’aluhi (3-2-0) swept and took over top position, to the delight of the crowd, but McMann reversed again and the fighters stood up. McMann landed a knee to the body and took Pa’aluhi down twice, but Pa’aluhi kicked her off. McMann punished her on the feet with punches to the head and body as the action-packed first round came to a close.

The second round began with punches from McMann, who took Pa’aluhi down and moved to mount. McMann punched until Pa’aluhi regained guard and the fighters returned to their feet. McMann landed more punches, but Pa’aluhi caught a kick and tried for a takedown. McMann wound up on top and she scored with solid punches near the cage. Pa’aluhi framed up a triangle choke, but McMann eventually fought out of it before the bell.

Pa’aluhi countered punches from McMann with a knee in the third and final round, but McMann took her back down to the mat and once again punched from the top. Referee Yuji Shimada stood the fighters up and McMann threw a high kick. The fighters traded power punches and Pa’aluhi landed, but McMann quickly took her back down and moved to side control. From there, she secured a far-side keylock and Pa’aluhi was forced to submit.

The victory was a good one for McMann, who stated that the fight was her toughest to date, but Pa’aluhi impressed many with her ability to scramble on the ground and she was competitive in the fight right up until its conclusion.

Winner: Sara McMann by Submission (Keylock) at 2:53 of round three. She improves to 4-0-0.