Weekend Recap: Paige VanZant, Diana Rael & Jinh Yu Win Quickly“12 Gauge” Paige VanZant rebounded from her first pro loss with a quick submission win on Saturday night at Bush Cree Promotions: “Cage Wars 15” in Castle Rock, Colorado. The 19-year-old prospect finished newcomer Courtney Himes in the first round of a short-notice catchweight bout.

In Castle Rock, Colorado, atomweight veteran Diana “Dynamite” Rael made quick work of Ashley Aguirre at Made For War 2, and Texan Jinh Yu made a successful pro debut by submitting Meghan Wright in an atomweight title fight at Sugar Creek Showdown 16: “Resolution” in Hinton, Oklahoma.

 

VanZant (3-1-0) stepped into the 124-pound bout with local fighter Himes (0-1-0) on very short notice this past week, but she had little trouble in securing victory once the fight began. VanZant survived a standing guillotine choke and overwhelmed her less experienced opponent on the ground. She locked on a rear-naked choke that forced Himes to submit at the 2:22 mark of the opening round. All three of VanZant’s victories have come on very short notice against hometown opponents. Saturday’s win got her back on track after she suffered a decision loss to Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres at Invicta FC 4.

Rael (5-3-0) picked up her second straight victory with a dominant first-round TKO of New Mexico’s Aguirre (0-2-0). After an early exchange on the feet, Rael hurt Aguirre with a knee and dropped her with punches. She continued to batter Aguirre with more strikes on the ground until the fight was stopped at the 46-second mark. Four of Rael’s five pro wins have come inside the distance.

Yu (1-0-0) kicked off her pro career in a big way by capturing the SCS 105-pound women’s title in her first professional fight. Yu forced the veteran Wright (1-5-0) to submit to a rear-naked choke at the 2:04 mark of round one to take home the vacant championship. Prior to turning pro, Yu put together a 3-2 run as an amateur, and only one of her conquered opponents to date has made it out of the first round.