On Saturday night, featherweight prospect Faith Van Duin became Storm MMA’s inaugural 145-pound women’s champion at “Storm Damage 3” in Canberra, Australia. The New Zealand native defeated three opponents in Storm MMA’s first women’s grand prix tournament to capture the title.
Elsewhere on Saturday, flyweight knockout artist Alexa Grasso claimed the inaugural Xtreme Kombat women’s 125-pound title at Xtreme Kombat 20 in Cuautitlan Izcalli, Mexico. Grasso defeated Alejandra Alvarez and Karina Rodriguez in succession to win a one-night, four-woman title tournament.
As a result of a short-notice withdrawal, the Storm MMA women’s featherweight tournament was changed from eight competitors to seven, with a wild card entry allowing one of the losers of the first three quarterfinals to receive a second chance to advance on to the next round.
In the first quarterfinal bout, Ginny Connors (1-1-0) made a successful professional debut by submitting an overmatched Belinda “The Bellringer” Sedgwick (0-3-0) with a modified arm-triangle choke in just 33 seconds. Kate “Jiu-Jitseira” Da Silva (5-1-0) advanced on to the semi-final round by submitting Arlene “Angerfist” Blencowe (2-4-0) with a rear-naked choke at the 2:17 mark of round two.
Quarterfinal #3 ended in quick fashion, as Van Duin (4-0-0) overwhelmed Michelle “Powerhouse” Peruzzi (1-2-0) with punches for a TKO stoppage at 2:01 of the first round. As a result of her game performance against Da Silva, Blencowe received the wild card entry and made the most of it by defeating Maryanne Mullahy (1-1-0) by Unanimous Decision in the fourth quarterfinal fight.
The semi-final round established two clear contenders for the Storm MMA title. Da Silva earned her fourth career submission victory when she finished Connors with an armbar in 88 seconds. Van Duin punched her ticket to the final by taking a close and competitive Split Decision victory over Blencowe, who put on another strong performance in her third fight of the night.
Van Duin and Da Silva fought through fatigue and engaged in an action-packed, back-and-forth battle in the tournament final. Van Duin landed stiff jabs and leg kicks, and she avoided Da Silva’s submission attempts on the mat. The fight entered the championship rounds and Van Duin secured a triangle choke that forced Da Silva to submit at the 1:36 mark of round four. With the win, Van Duin kept her perfect professional record intact and became the first Storm MMA Women’s Featherweight Champion.
The four-woman Xtreme Kombat title tournament also underwent a late change when original participant Sandra Chimeyo was replaced by fellow newcomer Alejandra Alvarez.
In the first of two semi-finals, Rodriguez (2-1-0) earned her biggest win to date by upsetting previously undefeated prospect Anely “Neka” Jimenez (7-1-0) by Unanimous Decision in a hard-fought battle. The second semi-final ended much more quickly, as Grasso (4-0-0) scored her third straight victory via a form of knockout by taking out Alvarez (0-1-0) with punches in just 26 seconds.
With tournament favourite Jimenez eliminated in the semi-final round, Grasso and Rodriguez were left to compete for the title in the championship final. Grasso, who had to fight beyond round one for the first time in her career, showcased her formidable striking skills en route to a Unanimous Decision win over Rodriguez. The win earned Grasso the Xtreme Kombat Women’s Flyweight Championship.
I hope that Storm will share Van Duin with Invicta, One FC and SFL
to kee her busy and making money
plus if we are all lucky whe will be venturing into 135
and showing up in the UFC
The same wishes for Da Silva and Blencowe
We want to see these ladies fighting often
Ideally XK will share Grasso with Invicta
and maybe we will see her reach the UFC