Cristiane Justino is the new women’s featherweight champion.
Justino (18-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) further solidified herself as the world’s top female fighter with a one-sided drubbing of former Invicta FC bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger (19-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who held on until the 1:56 mark of the third round.
The women’s featherweight title bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC 214 event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FXX and UFC Fight Pass.
“I don’t have words to say, I just want to thank fans for watching me,” Justino said afterward. “Cyborg nation forever!”
Justino battered Evinger around the octagon and cornered her before unloading with the fight-ending shots. Evinger had been knocked to the mat several times but did not rise to defend herself after taking the knee.
Evinger showed surprising resiliency in taking Justino’s best shots, rolling with punches and ducking out of the way when she could. But it was clear from the get-go she couldn’t hurt Justino, a former Invicta FC featherweight champ who walks around between 170 and 180 pounds.
Evinger was a short-notice replacement for Invicta FC featherweight champ Megan Anderson, who withdrew from the title fight for personal reasons. The fight was for the vacant title after inaugural champ Germaine de Randamie refused to fight Justino and was stripped of the belt.
Justino tried to eliminate Evinger’s best chance of winning the fight by attacking the legs. Evinger took dozens of kicks, yet managed to briefly ground Justino by trapping a leg and using gravity to her advantage. The victory was short lived, however, as Justino righted herself and continued to land punches.
Unlike previous performances, Justino measured her offense, doling out sustained punishment rather than flurries. When Evinger flopped to the mat, she stepped back to initiate a standup. Then she resumed the beating.
Justino said she is becoming more of a technician than a brawler.
“Before I was just crazy inside the cage,” she said. “Now, I’m learning to fight. I have calmed down. I see the nice shot. I’m really happy to be the world champ, and this is the perfect time. I think I’m at the top of my career now.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC 214 results include:
- Cristiane Justino def. Tonya Evinger via TKO (knees and punches) – Round 3, 1:56 – to win vacant women’s featherweight title
- Robbie Lawler def. Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Volkan Oezdemir def. Jimi Manuwa via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:42
- Ricardo Lamas def. Jason Knight via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:34
- Aljamain Sterling def. Renan Barao via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-26)
- Brian Ortega def. Renato Moicano via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 2:59
- Calvin Kattar def. Andre Fili via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Alexandra Albu def. Kailin Curran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jarred Brooks def. Eric Shelton via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Drew Dober def. Josh Burkman via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:04
For complete coverage of UFC 214, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
(MMAjunkie’s Dann Stupp, John Morgan, Ben Fowlkes, Mike Bohn and Ken Hathaway contributed to this report on site in Anaheim.)
[sigallery id=”xjyzqu9SEBQ2qzNqSUgEgD” title=”Justino def. Evinger” type=”sigallery”]
