Irish standout Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly ran Team Pettis’s record to a perfect 6-0 during tonight’s sixth episode of The Ultimate Fighter 20: “A Champion Will Be Crowned.” Daly stopped Team Melendez’s Angela Magana with ground and pound midway through the third and final round.
Magana got off to a strong start early in round one of tonight’s elimination bout and she appeared to be poised to pick up Team Melendez’s first win. Daly dominated the second half of the fight, however, and methodically wore Magana down with strikes and submission attempts en route to victory.
Daly (14-5-0 pro, ranked #5) and Magana (11-6-0 pro, ranked #12) clinched in the opening seconds and Magana secured a takedown into side control. She took Daly’s back and worked for a rear-naked choke for much of the round. Daly defended well and eventually stood up while leaning forward in an effort to shake Magana off. Referee Chris Tognoni separated the fighters for absolutely no reason and Magana was forced to start over on the feet. Daly attempted a standing kimura and landed hard right hands, then reversed a takedown just before the bell.
In the second stanza, Daly was aggressive with punching combinations and she thwarted Magana’s attempts to take the fight back down to the mat. The fighters traded short punches in the clinch and it was Daly who ultimately scored a takedown. She took Magana’s back and transitioned to top position in half-guard soon after. Magana briefly regained her footing before Daly took her back down. Daly landed punches to Magana’s body and threatened with a neck crank before time expired.
The fight was declared a Draw after ten minutes and went to a third and deciding round. A fatigued Magana slowed down, while Daly appeared to be getting stronger as the fight progressed. She walked through a head kick and took Magana down into back control. Daly flattened Magana out and landed punches and hammerfists until Magana rolled over. From mount, Daly trapped Magana’s left arm and punished her with unanswered punches until the fight was stopped at the 2:26 mark.
Daly’s impressive win kept her team’s unblemished record intact. She advances on to the quarterfinals. Team Pettis retained control of the fight picks and matched Alex “Astro Girl” Chambers (ranked #10) up against Team Melendez’s “Thug” Rose Namajunas (ranked #7) for next week’s episode.
The Ultimate Fighter 20: “A Champion Will Be Crowned” airs every Wednesday night on FOX Sports 1 and Sportsnet 360. The winner of the gruelling competition will become the inaugural UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.
(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)
I thought Daly – Magana was the best fight of the season so far. And there’ve been some pretty good fights throughout. The fights should get even better in the quarters and semi’s. Really looking forward to how things play out. I have a strange feeling the Jessica Penne does really well, if not makes it to the Final. Just the way she carries herself in interviews and on TV. Very very confident. Could well be Penne – Calderwood for the title.
The was the bracket is structured…I think she has to fight Ais next…I an not sure if she can handle Ais at her best but she most certainly has a chance. I know that her post season interviews have divulged info on the weight difference….atom to straw…and Ais has fought at flyweight as well. So we will see. I haven’t checked the tournament bracket updates so I could be conpletely wrong about the match.