WSOF Women’s Strawweight Champion Jessica “Jag” Aguilar put forth one of the best performances of her career tonight at World Series of Fighting 10: “Branch vs Taylor” in Las Vegas, Nevada. Aguilar earned a commanding Unanimous Decision victory over veteran Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino.

As expected, Fujino proved to be one of Aguilar’s toughest opponents to date, but Aguilar’s superior striking and submission attempts propelled her to a well-deserved win. Elsewhere on the WSOF 10 card, CFA champion Ashlee Evans-Smith stopped Marciea “Black Widow” Allen in round three.

Round one of tonight’s 115-pound title fight began with an exchange of hard punches and Aguilar (18-4-0) held Fujino (13-8-0) against the cage. Fujino broke free and landed a nice combination, but Aguilar fired back with a flurry that bloodied Fujino’s nose. Aguilar began to score repeatedly with overhand rights to the already damaged nose of Fujino as the round progressed. She ducked under Fujino’s counters and landed more quick punches.

Aguilar kept the pressure on in round two and she landed more combinations in close as Fujino’s nose continued to bleed everywhere. Fujino slipped and Aguilar threw more punches in succession. She mixed up her strikes with a three-punch combo and a knee. Late in the round, Fujino landed a one-two that bloodied Aguilar’s nose, but Aguilar answered back with another flurry before the bell.

Both women landed right hands early in round three and Aguilar took Fujino’s back on the feet. She slammed her down and worked for her signature arm-triangle choke from side control. Aguilar tightened the choke, but Fujino, who has never been finished in MMA, refused to submit. Aguilar let the choke go and mounted Fujino, then dropped punches from the top. She postured up and rained down punches and elbows against the cage until the end of the lopsided round.

Time was called early in round four after Fujino was poked in the right eye, but action resumed after a brief delay and the fighters traded right hands. Aguilar scored with a right hook and a knee in close. She mixed things up with a spinning back kick and another knee to the body. Fujino answered back with a quick one-two and Aguilar held her against the fence and landed short knees to the thighs. Fujino briefly circled away, but Aguilar closed the distance again and the round ended in a clinch against the cage.

Aguilar’s right hand continued to find a home on Fujino’s chin in the final round, but Fujino stood her ground and returned fire with a five-punch flurry. She remained active with her punches, but Aguilar clinched and backed Fujino up against the cage. Fujino broke free and Aguilar landed a spinning back kick to the liver. She ducked under a punch from Fujino and took her down into half-guard. Aguilar landed elbows from the top until Fujino kicked her off just before time expired.

After five entertaining rounds, the judges were united in their verdict. All three scored the fight 50-44 for Aguilar, who made a successful first defence of her WSOF title. She has not lost in close to four years.

Winner: Jessica Aguilar by Unanimous Decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44) after five rounds. She improves to 18-4-0 and remains the WSOF Women’s Strawweight Champion.

The catchweight fight between Evans-Smith (3-0-0) and Allen (3-2-0) began with an exchange of kicks and Allen targeted Evans-Smith’s lead leg. Evans-Smith pressed forward with a combination, but Allen ducked under and countered with a left hook. She shrugged off a takedown attempt and Evans-Smith landed leg kicks. Allen scored with another kick to Evans-Smith’s lead leg and Evans-Smith clinched against the cage. She held Allen against the fence for the remainder of the round.

Allen opened round two with more leg kicks and right hands. Evans-Smith switched stances and the fighters traded kicks. Allen scored with counter right hooks that sent Evans-Smith off-balance, but Evans-Smith regained her footing and landed a quick three-punch combo. She followed with a hard leg kick that was immediately answered by a right hand from Allen. In the final seconds of the round, both women landed punching combinations.

Evans-Smith secured a takedown early in round three and worked from the top in Allen’s half-guard. She moved to a top-side crucifix and rained down punches and elbows. Allen had nowhere to go and she could not escape. Evans-Smith continued to unload with unanswered elbows to a defenceless Allen’s face until referee Mark Smith intervened to stop the fight.

Despite a slow start in the opening ten minutes tonight, Evans-Smith’s first fight at 135 pounds was a successful one and she showcased her wrestling skills and smothering top game in the final round en route to victory. The Californian remains undefeated in her pro career.

Winner: Ashlee Evans-Smith by TKO (Elbows) at 3:01 of round three. She improves to 3-0-0.

(Photo Credit: Bellator)