Former flyweight contender Kalindra Faria made a successful XFC debut tonight at XFC International 2 in Osasco, São Paulo, Brazil. Faria extended her current winning streak to nine by defeating Aline Sério in a strawweight rematch from the pair’s Pink Fight title bout just over two years ago.
Faria and Sério battled back and forth throughout tonight’s three-round rematch, but it was Faria’s takedowns and clinch control that gave her an early edge on the scorecards. Sério performed well in round three and she threatened with a late guillotine, but Faria took home a well-deserved win.
Faria (13-3-1) clinched in the early goings and pinned Sério (7-5-0) against the cage, but Sério reversed and the fighters battled for position until the referee called for a break. Sério landed two hooks and Faria answered with a spinning backfist. She slammed Sério down and punched from the top in half-guard. Sério returned to her feet and fought off a guillotine choke. She landed a hard combination, but Faria replied with a knee and the fighters traded hard punches in the final 30 seconds.
Early in round two, Faria connected with a spinning back elbow and she pressed the action with more punches. Sério circled on the outside and countered with jabs and occasional right hooks. Faria clinched and landed knees to the body, then took Sério down into side control. Sério scrambled and Faria took her back in search of a rear-naked choke. She switched to a face lock across Sério’s jaw shortly before time expired.
Both women landed some nice punches in the opening minute of round three. Faria continued to throw spinning backfists, but she was unable to land cleanly. Sério countered a takedown with a guillotine choke and stayed on her feet. She landed her best combination of the fight and broke free from another Faria clinch attempt. After an exchange of punches, Faria got Sério down and escaped from another guillotine. She closed out the fight by landing elbows to Sério’s thigh and face.
In spite of Sério’s strong showing in round three, it was not enough to take the round or the fight on the judges’ scorecards. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 in Faria’s favour, and the 27-year-old has now won nine straight fights. She has not tasted defeat since succumbing to an armbar from recent Invicta FC title challenger Vanessa Porto in March 2011.
In addition to her March 2012 Pink Fight 121-pound title win over Sério, Faria also holds notable recent victories over Maria Elisabete “Beth” Tavares and Carina “Barbie” Damm.
Winner: Kalindra Faria by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 13-3-1.
(Photo Credit: Cristian Martins)