German standout Alexandra Buch outlasted two opponents to become the inaugural NCFC Women’s Featherweight Champion on Saturday evening at No Compromises Fighting Championship 2 in Hamburg, Germany. Buch defeated Jessy Schwarz and Anne Merkt in succession to capture the title.
The championship tournament was almost cancelled during the event after Buch’s original semi-final opponent, Jannie Schmits, suffered a panic attack and withdrew from the fight. Schwarz, who had already fought Merkt earlier in the evening, stepped in as a last-minute replacement to face Buch.
In the tournament final, Buch (8-2-0) countered an early combination from Merkt (1-1) with a crisp right hook that sent Merkt backwards to the canvas. Buch dropped down into Merkt’s guard and remained there throughout the round. She landed short punches from the top and did well to prevent Merkt from setting up any submissions from her back.
Late in the round, however, Merkt postured for a triangle choke and switched to an armbar that had Buch in some trouble. Buch stayed calm and fought out of the hold. Both fighters attempted leglocks and Buch secured an inverted heel hook that forced Merkt to tap out at the 4:49 mark of round one.
The slick submission win earned Buch the NCFC women’s featherweight title. She has won six of her past seven fights and is currently one of Germany’s top female fighters.
Earlier on the card, after waiting more than an hour to see whether she would still be able to compete, Buch ultimately faced off against Schwarz (1-4-0) in the second tournament semi-final bout. Buch threatened with a guillotine choke and a triangle choke in the first round, but Schwarz battled back to her feet and landed a hard leg kick that sent her opponent off-balance. Buch recovered and landed a nice combination. She took Schwarz down, but Schwarz swept into Buch’s guard before the bell.
Schwarz was aggressive early in round two and fired off a big combination. She attempted a flying scissor heel hook, but it backfired and Buch landed on top in mount. Buch postured up with punches and looked to set up an armbar. She continued to punish Schwarz with more strikes until Schwarz gave up her back with 20 seconds to go. Buch could not secure a rear-naked choke, but she punched until the final bell and cruised to a clear-cut Unanimous Decision victory.
The first semi-final bout matched Merkt up against Schwarz and round one was a standup battle. Both fighters scored with hard right hands in the opening seconds and they continued to trade punches and kicks throughout the five-minute round. Merkt appeared to hold an edge in the exchanges and she scored with a big combination in the final 30 seconds.
Merkt scored a takedown into mount at the beginning of round two, but Schwarz quickly reversed and worked from Merkt’s guard. Merkt locked on a triangle choke and used it to roll into mount. Schwarz was in all sorts of trouble, but she refused to submit and used her legs to scissor her opponent’s head. This led to a stalemate and the referee brought the fighters back to their feet. Both landed punches in the final minute and Merkt advanced to the tournament final with a Unanimous Decision win.
(Photo Credit: GroundandPound.de)