Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 293, which featured a number of upsets, including a loss by a 16-1 favorite.
Bellator closed its March schedule Saturday with Bellator 293, which took place at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif.
The main event saw the late career success of [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] (15-6-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) continue. He added to his case as a potential heavyweight contender to watch when he beat [autotag]Marcelo Golm[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) by third-round knockout.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 293.
Check out the disclosed pay for all 30 fighters on Bellator 293, according to the California State Athletic Commission.
Thirty fighters competed Friday at Bellator 293 with [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] leading all disclosed payouts.
California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster released a full list of fighter payouts Friday to MMA Junkie. The amounts reflect the disclosed payouts only and do not include any off-contract bonuses, sponsor payments, or discretionary bonuses.
The main event and co-main event winners were the only two fighters to pocket six-figure disclosed paydays as a result of their performances Friday. Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Zingano (14-4 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) earned $100,000 flat for her unanimous decision win over [autotag]Leah McCourt[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) in the co-main event. Then, main event winner James (15-6-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) earned to $50,000 show and a $50,000 win bonus for his victory over [autotag]Marcelo Golm[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 1-3 BMMA).
Scroll below to see what the 30 fighters on Bellator 293 were paid – disclosed amounts only.
The first Von Flue finish in Invicta history made Alesha Zappitella atomweight champion.
Not only was Thursday night [autotag]Alesha Zappitella[/autotag]’s night of destiny, but she created a little bit of history along the way, too.
Zappitella (8-2) and veteran [autotag]Ashley Cummins[/autotag] squared off in an entertaining scrap for the vacant atomweight belt in the main event of Invicta FC 42 in Kansas City, Kan.
The back-and-forth fight went into the championship rounds before Zappitella brought home the gold. She submitted Cummins (7-6) at the 1:20 mark via Von Flue choke to become 105-pound champion — the first Von Flue finish in Invicta history.
“Honestly everything feels so surreal, this is a fight I’ve been asking for this fight for so long, and it’s here,” Zappitella said after the fight.
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Cummins is as synonymous with Invicta as any fighter: She’s been with the company since Invicta FC 1, and was competing in her 10th bout in the promotion. She came out looking like a woman on a mission over the first two rounds, absolutely rocking Zappitella with a shot in the first and generally being the more active fighter.
“I felt like Ashley was going to want this so bad, she was going to come out guns blazing and I thought I’d have to feel it out,” Zappitella said.
Indeed, by the third, Zappitella seemed to have things figured out. She has a strong ground game, and she used a low single to score a smooth takedown early in the third, then landed heavy elbows from top position. It was a precursor to the fourth round, and this time, she finished the job.
With her second career submission win, Zappitella has won three in a row. Cummins has lost two straight bouts, both matchups for the vacant Invicta atomweight title.
A pair of COVID-19 positives caused some shuffling in the lineup, but Ashley Cummins vs. Alesha Zappitella for the vacant atomweight belt is a go.
Thursday’s Invicta FC 42 card dropped from six bouts to five on Wednesday, after two competitors tested positive for COVID-19.
Two fights — Auttumn Norton (1-1) vs. Brittney Cloudy (2-2) and Jennifer Chieng (1-0) and Flore Hani (2-1) — were called off due to coronavirus positives.
While the fighters who tested positive were not publicly identified, Chieng was not one of them — she successfully weighed in for her planned strawweight bout and will now face standby fighter Helen Peralta in a 120-pound catchweight, which means the event will proceed with five fights instead of six.
On the plus side, both competitors in the main event are in the clear and made weight for the their fight, which will fill the vacant Invicta FC atomweight belt. Both [autotag]Ashley Cummins[/autotag] and [autotag]Alesha Zappitella[/autotag] checked in under the 105-pound championship weight limit.
Complete Invicta FC 42 results:
Ashley Cummins (104.9) vs. Alesha Zappitella (104.4)
Lisa Verzosa (134.5) vs. Raquel Canuto (135.6)
Jessica Delboni (115.6) vs. Herica Tiburcio (115.1)
When Trevin Giles and Ashley Cummins aren’t fighting inside the MMA cage, they’re fighting to maintain law and order outside of it.
When [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag] and [autotag]Ashley Cummins[/autotag] aren’t fighting inside the MMA cage, they’re fighting to maintain law and order outside of it.
Both Giles (12-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC), a UFC middleweight, and Cummins (7-5 MMA), an Invicta atomweight, serve their communities as police officers. The coronavirus pandemic has made their day-to-day work lives a little bit busier.
Trevin Giles
“Work is getting busier; I’d say it’s a good 10-to-15 percent busier,” Giles, a Houston police officer, recently told MMA Junkie. “The reason for that is a lot of people aren’t at work right now. That means more people are home, which means more reason to call. We have to respond to all of those calls. Also, you’ve got the people that don’t really take the virus too seriously. They’re taking them not having to work as them being out on some kind of break. Instead of being in the house, they’re out and about outside. They’re having a little vacation for themselves. I think that’s part of the problem.”
Cummins, an officer in the San Diego area, echoed most of Giles’ sentiments. She said she saw an initial uptick in crime – especially violent crime.
“Where I patrol, I’d say the first week when the virus was bad and they made all of those announcements, it was quiet that week,” Cummins told MMA Junkie. “After that, violent crime got bad. People started taking advantage of the situation knowing that cops may be busy in other areas helping people because of the virus. Where I patrol, I’ve seen a spike in robberies and assaults.”
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While most of the world is quarantining at home and avoiding the virus at all costs, Giles and Cummins have to face the virus head on. When 9-1-1 is called, they have to answer.
Both are outstanding members of their communities, but Giles and Cummins are still human. The prospect of contracting COVID-19 still worries them, but they agreed the feat is less about themselves than it is about their loved ones. Giles has a wife and a baby; Cummins a fiancee.
“I’m obviously concerned about it, especially when I come back home and I have a wife here and an almost 1-year-old boy,” Giles said. “It’s not just me. I’d be a lot less worried if it was just me. I’ve got a family here, so if I come home sick, I can get somebody else sick. It’s just not a good deal. I’m worried all the time.
As for Cummins, there are multiple ports of entry for the coronavirus to enter her household as she isn’t the only one helping the community on the frontlines.
Ashley Cummins
“My fiancee is a nurse, so she’s on the frontlines of all this – even more so than me,” Cummins said. “I am worried we’re going to get it. She has COVID-19 patients on her floor. Me as a police officer, I’ve been going to calls where people have fevers and they’re coughing. We transport them and help medics. I’m around these people, and I don’t know if they’re positive or not. Do they have the normal flu? Or do they have COVID-19? I’m being exposed. She’s being exposed.
“I’m young enough and healthy enough where I know I can fight it off. She can fight it off, most likely. We don’t have asthma or diabetes or anything. I’m mainly worried about my parents because they’re older. … I’m not worried about myself, but I’m concerned about the public. I don’t want to see people sick. Hopefully this gets better soon and we can all go back to normal.”
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Over the past month, the UFC attempted to keep as many of their plans intact as possible. UFC president Dana White and company tried to proceed as planned but were forced to follow the lead of other major sports organizations when ESPN recommended they postpone all upcoming events.
Being both first responders and MMA fighters, Giles and Cummins have a unique perspective on the COVID-19 situation pertaining to fighting. Both fighters agree the safest option is to wait until there is an elevated level of clearance from government and public health officials.
“I think it’s smart as far as business goes, but as far as the fighters’ health, I’m sure they’re taking all the precautions they need to take as far as finding out if the fighters are sick or anything like that,” Giles said. “Obviously, the best thing you can do as far as health is to just not have the fights – just hold off. Again, it sucks because if that’s the case then these fighters were already expecting this payday, they don’t get paid now. I can see both sides of it.”
Ashley Cummins
Cummins added, “I understand why they’re shutting down and people are pissed off. This virus is serious. People are dying at the end of the day. Is it really worth someone possibly dying? It’s not. That’s what I said my last fight. My opponent didn’t make weight. Everything thought I was going to talk all this (expletive) and be mad. I was like, ‘No. I’m just glad she’s healthy and didn’t end up in the hospital.’ At the end of the day, this sport isn’t worth our health.”
Note: MMA Junkie’s interviews with Giles and Cummins were conducted prior to the cancellation of upcoming UFC events.
A mishap with her weight meant Jinh Yu Frey no longer had a title to defend Friday night, and that made her win a little anticlimactic.
A mishap with her weight meant [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag] no longer had a title to defend Friday night, and that made her win a little anticlimactic.
When Frey (9-4) was announced the unanimous decision winner over [autotag]Ashley Cummins[/autotag] (7-5) with a trio of 48-47 scores in the five-round main event, many in the crowd booed their disapproval. And it did seem like Cummins may have been just a little quicker than Frey most of the night.
But it was Frey who took the win in the atomweight title fight – even though she no longer had a 105-pound title to defend. Only Cummins could win the belt after Frey missed weight by 0.8 pounds at Thursday’s weigh-in, and she fell short in a rematch from a 2017 fight that Frey also won.
“It feels good to get a win, but it still can’t erase the fact I missed weight,” Frey said afterward. “We’re going to go home and reevaluate things and see if 105 is the place to be, or if it’s time to go up.”
A Cummins win would have given her the atomweight title. But since Frey missed weight and was stripped, the belt becomes vacant – with Frey now at the top of the heap to try to win it back.
Invicta FC 39 took place Friday at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. The event streamed on UFC Fight Pass.
When Cummins and Frey first fought, the bout was largely contested on the canvas and Frey walked away with a unanimous decision. But that wasn’t the case this time around.
The fight stayed standing in the first round, and each fighter worked kicks to the body and straight punches. But despite some big swings from each, neither landed anything truly definitive – though Cummins seemed to come on stronger than Frey late in the round.
In the second, Frey ducked under a punch and looked for a takedown. Cummins defended, and Frey was forced to clinch up. She looked for a trip takedown, but Cummins turned things around and broke away. Cummins landed a solid combination two minutes in, but then ate a big left a few seconds later. Cummins landed hard in return, and it forced Frey to tie her up again. Cummins was cut over her right eye from the Frey left hand, but she pushed forward without a care. A Frey punch briefly put Cummins on the canvas, but she quickly bounced back up.
After a close third, with a couple minutes left in the fourth round, Frey put a nice combination together. But Cummins kept pushing forward with jabs, hooks and kick attempts. Frey stayed busy late in the round, but couldn’t put anything definitive on Cummins.
Cummins thought about a takedown a couple minutes into the final round, but it wasn’t there. Instead, the fight stayed where it had been the first 22 minutes, and stayed mostly even. With neither fighter taking an obvious advantage, it went to the judges with a fair amount of uncertainty over which fighter would get the nod.
Miranda Maverick dominates Pearl Gonzalez
[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag] stayed after a finish throughout the co-main event. It never came, but Maverick (7-2) settled for a fairly dominant win, and arguably the biggest of her career against former UFC fighter [autotag]Pearl Gonzalez[/autotag] (10-5). Maverick swept the scorecards with a pair of 30-27s and a 30-26.
Thirty seconds in, Gonzalez landed a pair of body kicks. But 30 seconds later, Maverick drove in and took Gonzalez to the canvas. She worked around and passed to side control 30 seconds later and tried to go to work with ground-and-pound while Gonzalez defended. When Gonzalez tried to scramble her way out, Maverick took her back with more than half the round left. Maverick landed a series of punches to try to soften Gonzalez up, then with 90 seconds left worked for a rear-naked choke. But up against the fence, Gonzalez reversed with a minute left and got on top. She was in danger of a triangle choke from Maverick, but cleared it and tried to land big ground-and-pound of her own before Maverick reversed again near the horn.
Just 20 seconds into the second round, Gonzalez took Maverick to the canvas and grinded down the clock there until Maverick eventually got back to her feet. There, she spun Gonzalez around and landed some short knees and then scooped her legs up and delivered her own takedown with a minute left in the frame. With 30 seconds left, Maverick jumped to full mount and landed heavy punches and elbows, but couldn’t get enough done for a stoppage.
The two traded kicks early in the third, and a spinning back fist from Gonzalez landed hard. But her momentum allowed Maverick to clinch her up, then take her down a minute in. From her back, Gonzalez briefly worked for a triangle choke, but couldn’t get close enough while Maverick postured up and landed knees to the body. With two minutes left, Gonzalez got back to her feet, but Maverick immediately went back to a takedown attempt. She got it, then eventually took Gonzalez’s back again.
Invicta FC 39 results:
Jinh Yu Frey vs. Ashley Cummins via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Miranda Maverick def. Pearl Gonzalez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Jinh Yu Frey will still fight at Invicta FC 39, but she won’t defend the atomweight title.
[autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag] will still fight Friday, but she won’t defend the Invicta FC atomweight championship.
Why? It’s not her’s anymore. Frey (8-4) missed weight by 0.8 pounds at Thursday’s Invicta FC 39 official weigh-ins. As a result, Frey vacated the 105-pound strap ahead of her fight with challenger [autotag]Ashley Cummins[/autotag] (7-4).
Cummins can still win the title with a victory, but the belt would remain vacant if Frey wins.
Shortly after the weight miss, Frey, who was fined 25 percent of her fight purse, issued a statement on her Instagram page. The former champ said she was humiliated by the miss, deeming it a failure at professionalism.
“To my absolute humiliation, this morning I missed the atomweight championship limit by 0.8 lbs. I have plenty of reasons, but they don’t matter.
I failed in my professionalism. The fight will proceed, but it is now vacant and I will not be fighting for the belt. If I win, I will receive the next title shot. After the event, my husband and I will revisit this and discuss where we go from here and where my future lies. I still have a 5 round fight on the horizon, so for now that will have to await my attention. My apologies to my opponent, her camp, Invicta, and the fans for failing in my duties. But, for now my mind and focus is on tomorrow.”
Invicta FC 39 takes place Friday at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. The card streams on UFC Fight Pass.
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Check out complete weigh-ins results below, per Invicta FC.
Jinh Yu Frey (105.8) vs. Ashley Cummins (104.5)
Pearl Gonzalez (124.7) vs. Miranda Maverick (125.1)
Shanna Young (N/A) vs. Daiana Torquato (125.1) – fight cancelled due to Young medical concerns
Alesha Zappitella (105.5) vs. Kelly D’Angelo (105.8)
Erin Blanchfield (125.1) vs. Victoria Leonardo (124.6)
Jillian DeCoursey (105.7) vs. Linda Mihalec (105.2)
“Hopefully 2020 will be the year (the UFC) finally starts the atomweight division.”
Invicta FC 39 won’t be the first time [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag] and [autotag]Ashley Cummins[/autotag] face off.
Two of the world’s top atomweights, Frey (8-4) and Cummins (7-4) fought two and a half years ago at Invicta FC 24 in July 2017. Unlike Friday night’s rematch, their initial meeting wasn’t for championship gold. After three rounds of fighting, Frey was named the victor by unanimous decision.
Though they spent 15 minutes familiarizing themselves with one another, neither fighter thinks there’s much knowledge they can bring into their second fight in 2020.
“I haven’t gone back and watched it,” Frey told MMA Junkie. “She’s switched camps since then. I’ve changed coaches since then. That was almost two and a half years ago. A lot has changed since then, so I’m not going to base my training too heavily on how the previous fight went.”
Both fighters agree there isn’t much to be learned from rewatching the first fight. That’s not to say Frey and Cummins haven’t been preparing specifically for one another since July 2017.
The two were supposed to fight in October at Invicta FC 37, but Jinh pulled out late with an injury. According to Cummins, the fight was also previously booked a third time, but never came to fruition.
“This is the third time the fight has been scheduled,” Cummins told MMA Junkie. “We were supposed to fight in October. I did an entire camp. A little more than a week out, it got canceled. Before that, it was scheduled again. (Invicta FC president) Shannon (Knapp) called my coach and said we were fighting for the belt. I was just waiting on a contract. I was in camp for about two weeks and I found out Jinh was fighting for a belt in Asia, instead.”
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For Cummins, the motivation to take this fight was simple. She wants to erase the loss on her record – and win a belt in the process.
“My only loss at 105 pounds is to Jinh, so I’m looking to avenge my only loss at this weight class and become a world champion,” Cummins said. “Becoming a world champion has been my goal since day one when I started training 13 years ago.”
On the other and, Frey’s incentive to take a fight against someone she already beat was a little more complex. Regardless of who’s in the on-deck circle, Frey wants to face the toughest challenges out there. At atomweight right now, that’s Cummins.
“Anybody who is willing to challenge me for my spot, I’m willing to take them on whether I’ve fought them before or not,” Frey said. “I’m defending my territory.”
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Both fighters are happy representing Invicta, but neither would deny their interest in joining the UFC should that opportunity come about – especially Cummins. Frey is a little less optimistic, but didn’t rule out the possibility.
“I’ve heard a lot of rumors that say maybe the UFC is starting to look into the atomweight division,” Frey said. “I’m going to be 35 this year and I’m hanging in there as long as I can. We’ll see. I’m not basing my hopes at the start they’ll start a division. … I’m just taking it one fight at a time.”
“Every day I say a little prayer the UFC is finally going to start the atomweight division,” Cummins said. “That’s been the goal – to be a UFC fighter. I want to be a world champ and I want to be a UFC fighter. Hopefully 2020 will be the year (the UFC) finally starts the atomweight division.”
Invicta FC 39 takes place Friday at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. The card streams on UFC Fight Pass.
Seven fights have been announced for the first Invicta FC card of 2020, including two intriguing fights at the top of the bill.
Invicta FC has a date, location, and lineup for its first event of 2020.
Friday, Feb. 7, Invicta FC 39 takes place at Memorial Hall in Kansas Ciry, Kan, the promotion announced in a press release Thursday. In addition, the promotion announced seven bookings are set for the event.
In the main event, the atomweight title will be on the line. Champion [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag] (8-4 MMA) will defend her strap against [autotag]Ashley Cummins[/autotag] (7-4 MMA).
Invicta FC 39 marks the second time the two fighters have squared off. At Invicta FC 24 in July 2017, the two women competed in a three-round fight. After the two combatants utilized the full 15 minutes, the judges unanimously declared Frey the victor.
Also featured on the card, former Invicta FC title challenger [autotag]Pearl Gonzalez[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag]. Gonzalez (10-4 MMA) has won four out of five outings since being released from the UFC in late 2017. As for Maverick (6-2 MMA), the 22-year-old flyweight defeated three opponents in one night at Phoenix Series 2 in September.
Invicta FC 39 streams live on UFC Fight Pass (8 p.m. ET).
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Check out the current lineup below:
Jinh Yu Frey vs. Ashley Cummins
Pearl Gonzalez vs. Miranda Maverick
[autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Daiana Torquato[/autotag]
[autotag]Kelly D’Angelo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alesha Zappitella[/autotag]
[autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag]
[autotag]Jillian DeCoursey[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Linda Mihalec[/autotag]
