Standout wrestler Michelle “T-Cat” Ould put on what was arguably the best performance of her career tonight at Bellator Fighting Championships 74 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Ould took a clear-cut Unanimous Decision victory over Munah “The Perfect Storm” Holland in a featured flyweight bout.
In other action tonight, Sofia Bagherdai showed why she is still one of the top prospects at 125 pounds with a dominant win at XFC 20: “High Octane” in Knoxville, Tennessee. Bagherdai overwhelmed Sarah “KO Kid” Maloy with some vicious ground and pound en route to a first-round TKO stoppage.
Ould (7-3-0, 2 NC) took Holland (5-2-0) down early in the opening round and moved straight to mount, where she teed off with hammerfists until Holland scrambled back to guard. Ould remained very active throughout the round and punished Holland with more punches from top position as Holland tried to set up a triangle choke from the bottom. It was more of the same in round two, as Ould countered a right hook and a body kick from Holland by throwing her to the canvas again. Ould picked up where she left off in the opening frame and landed strikes from Holland’s guard. Holland postured for a pair of triangle chokes, but Ould fought free and scored with some solid elbows in the final minute.
Holland had her greatest success early in the final round. She used her superior striking to keep Ould at bay with a series of right hooks, but Ould would not be deterred for long. She used an impressive double-leg takedown to get Holland back down to the ground and landed numerous punches until the final bell sounded to end the fight.
All three judges scored the fight for Ould, who has won three straight and has tasted defeat only once in her past nine bouts. That lone loss came in a May 2010 bout with Bellator champ Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel, and both Ould and Gurgel have expressed interest in a rematch in the near future.
Winner: Michelle Ould by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 7-3-0, 2 NC.
Bagherdai (5-2-0) was forced to play defence early on tonight when Maloy (3-3-0) rushed forward with a flurry of punches. Maloy landed some solid shots, but Bagherdai remained calm and circled out with some nice counterpunches and kicks. Maloy clinched and Bagherdai reversed a takedown straight into side control. She used short elbow strikes to set up a move to mount and rained down big right hands as Maloy covered up to defend. Maloy managed to kick Bagherdai off and scrambled back to guard, but it wasn’t long before Bagherdai returned to mount and resumed her assault.
After a final barrage of punches and elbows from Bagherdai, referee Nate Jolly was forced to intervene to stop the fight. The win was Bagherdai’s first since an October 2008 victory over Angela Hayes. The 24-year-old Bagherdai took a lengthy hiatus from competition following the bout with Hayes and made her return to action earlier this year.
Winner: Sofia Bagherdai by TKO (Punches & Elbows) at 4:01 of round one. She improves to 5-2-0.
(Photo Credit: Bellator Fighting Championships)