Tuff-N-Uff Women’s Flyweight Champion Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey earned another impressive win in the Tuff-N-Uff: “Feastibrawl” co-main event tonight in Las Vegas, Nevada. Casey submitted Rachael “The Panther” Cummins with a flying armbar in a non-title rematch from early in September.
Also tonight, former Tuff-N-Uff 115-pound champ Jillian “Justice” Lybarger rebounded from a submission setback in August by defeating Stephanie “The Shark” Gonzalez in a flyweight matchup. Lybarger overwhelmed the smaller Gonzalez with big power punches en route to a quick TKO victory.
Casey (6-2-0) and Cummins (2-4-0) were originally scheduled to face off for Casey’s 125-pound title, but the bout was changed to a non-title fight when Cummins weighed in above the flyweight limit at 128.5 pounds. As a result, the fight was contested using 2:00 rounds rather than the 3:00 rounds that are standard in Tuff-N-Uff amateur title fights.
The fighters battled back and forth in the clinch in the opening round, with both landing numerous knees to the body. Cummins broke away and threw a head kick, but Casey quickly countered with a barrage of punches that appeared to stun her opponent. She dumped Cummins to the mat in the final seconds and closed out the opening two minutes on top.
Cummins scored a takedown very early in round two after catching a kick, but Casey was very active off of her back as she first worked for an omoplata and later swept into top position. After raining down big punches to escape a kneebar attempt, Casey punished Cummins with knees to the body and landed more punches that looked to have Cummins in some trouble as she got back to her feet. Time expired and the fight entered a third and final round.
Casey was aggressive with power punches right away to begin round three and she put Cummins on the defensive. Casey then jumped into a lightning-fast flying armbar and used it to drag Cummins to the mat. Cummins did her best to defend, but Casey broke her grip and Cummins was forced to tap out.
With eyes on a move to the pro ranks, Casey is currently one of the brightest prospects in the women’s flyweight division. She has won five straight fights, with four of those bouts ending inside the distance.
Winner: Cortney Casey by Submission (Flying Armbar) at 0:46 of round three. She improves to 6-2-0.
Earlier in the night, Lybarger (5-5-0) put on one of the most dominant performances of her career in stopping rival Gonzalez (5-2-0) in the first round. This long-awaited matchup was twice set to take place earlier this year for Lybarger’s 115-pound title, but she was unable to make weight on both occasions. Gonzalez agreed to move up to 125 to settle the score, but it was Lybarger who got the measure of revenge as she avenged twin sister Jocelyn’s loss to Gonzalez from earlier this year.
From the outset, Gonzalez appeared to be at a clear size disadvantage against the larger and more powerful Lybarger, but it was Lybarger’s much-improved striking that proved to be the real difference maker. Lybarger landed overhand rights at will and seemed to hurt Gonzalez on two occasions.
Gonzalez landed a nice right hook of her own, but it appeared to have little effect and she was dropped by another overhand right from Lybarger seconds later. Lybarger dove in with more punches as referee Ryan Tackett intervened to stop the fight. Lybarger has her sights set on joining sister Jocelyn on the Invicta Fighting Championships roster next year and has now capped off a lengthy run as an amateur with one of her biggest wins to date.
Winner: Jillian Lybarger by TKO (Punches) at 1:23 of round one. She improves to 5-5-0.
On the night’s preliminary card, Mercedes “The Zombie Killer” White (1-0-0) made a successful debut for Tuff-N-Uff by defeating Danielle “The Executioner” Mack (0-2-0). White landed some strong punching combinations in the opening round and continued to control the fight on the feet throughout. Mack was very tentative in the final round and White picked her shots until the final bell to earn a one-sided win.
Winner: Mercedes White by Unanimous Decision after three 2:00 rounds. She improves to 1-0-0.