Women's MMA Report: Honchak submits Modafferi, Young stops Carreiro

BlackEye Promotions and Freestyle Cage Fighting kicked off Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a pair of charity fight cards on Oct. 1.

The events featured a total of 16 women's bouts, and proceeds from both shows go toward research and treatment for the disease.

"Little Warrior" leads winning squad at BlackEye 5

Missouri native Barb "Little Warrior" Honchak (5-1) picked up the biggest win of her pro career in the main event of "BlackEye Promotions 5: Breast Cancer Beatdown" in Fletcher, N.C. Honchak submitted former Strikeforce title challenger Roxanne "The Happy Warrior" Modafferi (15-9) with a rear-naked choke at the 1:46 mark of round three.

Modafferi looked to close the distance early and often in the 125-pound bout, but Honchak's strength advantage was evident as she countered a takedown and took Modafferi's back in round one. Modafferi managed to turn into Honchak's guard, but Honchak swept into mount and threatened with an armbar before the bell.

In round two, Modafferi tried to pull guard with a guillotine choke, but Honchak remained on her feet. She reversed a takedown and threw punches and hammerfists from Modafferi's guard for much of the round. With Modafferi needing a finish in round three, she tried again to take down Honchak. Honchak wound up on top in mount and then took Modafferi's back and secured the choke for the tap-out victory.

Honchak has won all four of her fights in 2011 and is one of the fastest rising prospects at 125 pounds, along with former amateur rival and recent Bellator signee Jessica "Evil" Eye. Modafferi has dropped four straight fights for the first time in her eight-year career.

The BlackEye 5 co-main event ended as quickly as it began. In an all-Canadian clash, Ontario's Anna "Smiles" Barone (2-2) knocked out Saskatchewan's Charmaine "Not So Sweet" Tweet (0-2) with a right hook and follow-up punches in just 18 seconds.

Despite giving up a significant height and reach advantage, Barone rocked Tweet with a counter left hook early in the fight and dropped her with the right. Tweet fell to the mat, and Barone landed two more punches that briefly rendered the kickboxing champion unconscious.

"Little" Patricia Vidonic (5-1) won for the fourth time in 2011 with a rear-naked-choke submission of fellow prospect Chelsea "The Italian Princess" Colarelli (6-3). The end came at the 4:04 mark of round two.

Both fighters displayed solid striking skills in the opening round. The fight was contested mostly in the clinch. Knees and standing elbow strikes were exchanged until Vidonic eventually managed to take down Colarelli. Vidonic landed punches and elbows from the top to steal the close round.

Vidonic wasted no time in taking the fight down to the mat in round two, and she used punches to set up a rear-naked choke and an armbar. A game Colarelli escaped, but Vidonic was persistent and attempted a pair of triangle chokes. Colarelli scrambled out the back, but Vidonic took her back and locked on the rear-naked choke for the finish.

Other results from BlackEye Promotions 5 included:

• Ediane "India" Gomes (8-2) def. Leslie Smith (3-2) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
• Amy "Lil' Dynamite" Davis (2-2) def. Meghan "The Babe" Wright (1-3) via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:03
• Sarah "White Tiger" Schneider (5-5) def. Ivana Coleman (1-2) via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:30
• Amateurs: Ashley Greenway def. Danaea Makemson via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:09

Kaitlin Young victorious in FCF 49 main event

Former HOOKnSHOOT women's grand-prix champion Kaitlin Young (5-5) notched her first win of 2011 with a first-round stoppage of late replacement Liz Carreiro (5-8) at "Freestyle Cage Fighting 49: Fight Strong For The Cure" in Shawnee, Okla. The end came at the 4:47 mark of the opening round.

Young, who was competing for the first time since April, had expected to face Strikeforce veteran Jan "Cuddles" Finney in the main event of the all-female FCF 49 card. However, when Finney was forced out, local favorite Carreiro stepped in and put on a game performance before eventually succumbing to Young's punches.

Young will make a quick return to action; she is already booked to face Russian prospect Milana Dudieva (7-1) at ProFC 37 on Nov. 9 in Ufa, Russia.

The FCF 49 co-main event between Sarah Ward-Maloy (2-2) and Amanda "Red Fox" LaVoy (2-4) was canceled backstage minutes before it was scheduled to begin. Contracts for the fight did not specify a round length, and while the night's bout sheet stated that the fight would be contested over three five-minute rounds, Ward-Maloy requested that three-minute rounds be used instead. When LaVoy maintained that she would only compete under five-minute rounds, the fight was scrapped, and both fighters were suspended pending an upcoming hearing.

Other results from Freestyle Cage Fighting 49:

• Heather "Hurricane" Clark (4-1) def. Sarah "Too Sweet" Alpar (2-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:28 of round three
• "Miss" Mollie Ahlers-Estes (1-0) def. Lacie Jackson (1-1) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Latoya Walker (1-0) def. Jackie Enos (0-1) via KO (punches) – Round 1, 0:43
• Amateurs: Angela Baltimore def. LaNita Jackson via submission – Round 3, 1:01
• Amateurs: Jade De Haas def. Candace Eich via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Amateurs: Ashley Delk def. Nikki Lowe via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Amateurs: Jinh Yu def. Cristina Crist via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
• Amateurs: Kathina Caton def. Cheryl Boling via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:47

Darla Harris, Shino VanHoose victorious in pro debuts

Despite entering the bout as a considerable underdog, 20-year-old Darla Harris (1-0) picked up a big victory in her professional debut on Oct. 1 in Pueblo, Colo. Harris upset former training partner Jennifer "Lil' Ice" Berg (2-4) in a featured bout at "Bring The Thunder MMA 2: Genesis."

Showing off much-improved striking, Harris held her own in clinches throughout the three-round fight and was effective with knees. She took down Berg in the opening round and punched from the top, but Berg reversed and landed strikes of her own. Rounds two and three were contested on the feet, where Harris held a slight edge in the striking exchanges and controlled enough of the clinch battles to earn a unanimous-decision victory.

On Oct. 2 in Tokyo, 16-year-old grappler Shino VanHoose (1-0) needed just 51 seconds to win her MMA debut at Pancrase Impressive Tour 10. VanHoose took opponent Nana "Chanchin" Ichikawa (0-12) down immediately and exploited Ichikawa's shaky submission defense by moving straight to mount and securing a rarely seen Ezekiel choke. As Ichikawa struggled to defend, referee Yoshinori Umeki intervened for the technical submission stoppage before Ichikawa lost consciousness.

Andria Caplan set to make pro debut at Bellator 54

Multi-time Grapplers Quest champion Andria Caplan (3-1 amateur) makes her professional MMA debut on Oct. 15 at Bellator 54 in Atlantic City, N.J.

Caplan, who is also a former WKA North American champion in amateur Muay Thai, faces Illinois native Adrienne "Aggravated Battery" Seiber (1-1) in a preliminary-card bout.

Although she is married to Bellator matchmaker Sam Caplan, Andria will not have an easy fight for her promotional debut. She has shown marked improvement in recent bouts and brings a three-fight winning streak into her bout with Seiber, who took rising star Ashley "Loca" Sanchez to a highly competitive decision in May. Seiber won her pro debut by TKO in just 91 seconds and will make a name for herself if she is able to upset Caplan this weekend.

The bout between Caplan and Seiber streams live on Spike.com.

Quick results

Late replacement Katja Kalliokoski (5-0) defeated Spanish prospect Karla Benitez (6-1) by unanimous decision after two rounds at "Cage 16: 1st Defense" on Oct. 8 in Espoo, Finland. Kalliokoski stepped into the fight after Finnish compatriot Maiju Kujala was forced to withdraw earlier in the week. Kalliokoski has won both of her fights this year after debuting with a trio of victories in 2010.

Maria "The Real Deal" Andaverde (1-0) defeated Charlene "Princess" Gellner (0-2) by split decision at "Rogue Fights 15: Five Knuckle Showdown" on Oct. 8 in Redding, Calif. With the victory, Andaverde avenged a decision loss to Gellner from one year ago when both fighters were competing as amateurs.

Upcoming fights

Kim "Sugar Free" Couture (3-5) faces Suzie Montero (0-0) at "Warrior-1 7: Reloaded" on Oct. 15 in Coral Gables, Fla. Couture looks to end a two-fight losing streak when she takes on Montero, who is making her pro debut.

Brenda Gonzales (2-0) faces Elsie "The Sweetheart" Henri (5-4) at "King of the Cage: Underground 71" on Oct. 15 in Cortez, Colo. Gonzales has won both of her fights by TKO since debuting in May. Henri most recently earned a corner's stoppage victory in July.

Marianna "The Crushen Russian" Kheyfets (3-0) faces Molly "The Maulinator" Helsel (8-12-1) at "XFC 14: Resurrection" on Oct. 21 in Orlando, Fla. Kheyfets is another top prospect in the 125-pound women's division and made a name for herself with two victories for XFC this past year. She returns to the promotion to face Helsel, an eight-year veteran whose victories have all come by knockout or submission. This event airs live on HDNet.

Nicdali "The Night Queen" Rivera-Calanoc (7-5) faces Amy Riehle (0-1) at "Maxx FC 14: VIP Edition" on Oct. 21 in Puerto Rico. Rivera-Calanoc has alternated between wins and losses in her 10 most recent fights, but she was victorious in her debut for Maxx FC this past year. Riehle looks to rebound from her first professional setback in November.

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women's MMA Report every other Monday. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.

Josh Lynch: A Cage of Their Own

Article By Josh Lynch

It’s been a meteoric rise for the popularity in women’s MMA recently, thanks in no small part to the promoters who not only recognize the virtue of having theses talented fighters on their cards, but also truly wish to create an environment where female athletes can flourish in a male dominated sport. One such promotion and perhaps the one making the biggest waves within the WMMA scene as of late is Asheville, North Carolina based BlackEye Promtions.
Now preparing for only their fifth event (BlackEye 5: Breast Cancer Beatdown; Oct. 1), this young but ambitious company has made a name for themselves by adding a wealth of female talent and exciting women’s matchups to (BlackEye President) Scott Crosby’s already quality show. The source of this new focus is recent addition to the BlackEye family, Janet Martin.
Bringing a unique perspective to the table, Janet became devoted to furthering the cause of WMMA during her sociology studies at local Warren Wilson College. It began with a year-long research of the behaviors of female athletes in a sport which has a strong emphasis on male competitors. She was shocked at what she found.
“Within this sport female fighters really are struggling. Not just lack of fights, very personal, almost unsafe incidents going on… within schools, by trainers, by promoters, even with how the fans treat them. “
“We’ve got to make some changes. One of the biggest things we can do is giving them more visibility and more representation. That’s why I approached BlackEye and said hey, how can I help you bring more female fights to your card? Instead of having a single female fight on a card we put our personal money in, my partner and I, to bring the four fights to the card in June. In this event in October we’re putting seven female fights on and Scott Crosby, the president of BlackEye, and also John Husky and Johnny Buck , the other partners within it… all realized that now’s the time to create these women’s divisions, have balanced cards, and give them representation because the fans are getting more and more accepting, excited, and even just out curiosity watching and becoming fans of female MMA.”
But you can’t put on deep cards without signing fighters, which BlackEye has been doing with alarming ambition. Most notably, former Strikeforce champion Marloes Coennen (#2 135lbs.). Other recent signings include Elaina Maxwell (# 8 145 lbs.) and Roxanne Modafferi (#7 135lbs), who will battle Barb Honchak (#11 125lbs.) at BlackEye 5: Breast Cancer Beatdown.
“We’re doing some contract negotiations within 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, and 155. We’re looking at signing three to four multi-fight contract fighters per division, and also bringing in individual bout fighters to create that competition throughout 2012 so fighters can work their way up to challenge for title contention. Then we’ll just keep expanding and rejuvenating each weight class. We’re looking at international fighters, and also working with other promoters that do provide some good competition. There are some good regional sized promoters that are making great strides to be inclusive of women’s MMA.”
Within days after her contract was terminated by Strikeforce, Marloes signed a three fight, non-exclusive deal with Blackeye. Her first fight will occur at a currently unannounced date and venue in February.
“Non-exclusive contract is also beneficial to us because we’re looking at three to four major events per year. Possibly some smaller events as well, but letting the females fight outside of BlackEye helps keep them competitive, they’re working on their skills; and people can recognize that they are BlackEye fighters. Especially with Marloes, being able to fight internationally. We’re not trying to lock ‘em down so their career is limited.”
That’s all well and good, but it takes two to fight. Having one of the greatest fighters in WMMA is all for naught without a worthy opponent. With all these recent signings, who will we see challenge the former Strikeforce champion?
“Right now I don’t have a definite answer. In speaking with her golden glory trainers, they’re evaluating potentially what weight class she wants to fight in. We’re working with them and see what direction she wants to go for her career.”
Marloes Coennen at 145? Does that mean a battle with Elaina Maxwell is a possibility?
“It could be at some point. We did sign Elaina knowing that she is core fighter at 145. She has great experience; she has potential, outstanding character and personality. She’s a great example of who we want as a BlackEye fighter. In 2012 we got a lot different ways to explore each weight class. We’re at all different levels of talent, not just those with the best records or experience. We’re looking at all different levels of talent, who’s got potential, what’s the best fit.”
BlackEye’s previous event featured Olympic medalist and currently undefeated Sara McMann, who has been simply steamrolling through her opponents. Is this an inevitable match-up?
“That is a possibility. She’s an outstanding 135lber. I don’t see her jumping a weight class just to fight Marloes. When I’m addressing the female fighters, I prefer that they find a weight class that they’re comfortable in and want to be competitive in. I don’t expect, nor am I going to demand, that a fighter jump weight classes just to take a fight. We will create the best possible match up for them in their weight class. We certainly see Sara as a great 135lber, so the future may hold a fight with Sara McMann and Marloes. We’re here to create great matchups. We’re fans of women’s MMA. There’s a lot of great depth and talent at 135. “
“Zuffa is a very male product; and I’m not sure where Strikeforce is going to fit in, but we’re doing it different than they are. Our first major event will be in February. We’re looking at venues in Florida, Atlanta, and Texas… so probably in November we’ll be able to move forward and say we know the location and the date for that February event. We’re making some great working relationships with other promoters to get this off the ground. We’re vying for television contracts and corporate partnerships to really get the funding and support to solidify the women’s division for 2012, so we can have this inaugural season and give it longevity and viability; a cage of their own.”

**Fighter Girls writer, Josh Lynch, will be attending the event this Saturday and providing 'play-by-play' coverage on our Forum! Stay Tuned...

Mike Chiappetta: Former Strikeforce Champ Marloes Coenen Signs With Upstart Blackeye Promotions

Former Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen has signed a new deal, and it's not with her former promoter.

On Friday, the 30-year-old Coenen announced that she has signed a non-exclusive contract with Blackeye Promotions, a North Carolina-based upstart league that has been in existence for less than one year.

"I am very excited to have the opportunity to be part of Blackeye Promotions, as they have an honest passion for the sport and are genuinely committed to building a platform for women in MMA," Coenen said in a statement. "Equality for women in this sport is a cause close to my heart and important to the generations of women fighters that will compete after me. I am happy to be signed with a promotion that not only supports this quest for equality, but is dedicated and committed to making a difference."

Blackeye will produce their next event on October 1 in Fletcher, North Carolina, a show that will feature several women's matches, but Coenen is unlikely to debut until early 2012.

Coenen fought five times for Strikeforce over the last 18 months, going 3-2 during that time. She lost a featherweight title fight to Cris Cyborg in January 2010, but dropped down a division and captured the bantamweight belt by defeating Sarah Kaufman via armbar submission in October 2010. She then successfully defended the belt against Liz Carmouche before losing it to Miesha Tate on July 30.

Just days after that defeat, Coenen was cut after a rift developed between her Golden Glory management team and Strikeforce ownership group Zuffa over business practices.

Coenen is 19-5 overall.

Blackeye Promotions promoted its first show on November 19, 2010, and has produced a total of four events altogether, with its fifth event set for October 1. At least six women's fights have already been announced for that card, which is being promoted as a breast cancer benefit show

Sara McMann Impressive In Blackeye Promotions 4 Victory

A second Olympian was also in action tonight, as silver medallist in freestyle wrestling Sara McMann needed only 32 seconds to stop Julie Malenfant at Blackeye Promotions 4 in Fletcher, North Carolina. McMann took the fight to the mat and moved to mount, then unloaded with punches for the win.

With the victory, McMann moved her pro record to 2-0 and now has a career that closely rivals that of fellow Olympic medallist Ronda Rousey, who was also victorious tonight. McMann struggled desperately to find fights earlier this year, but has now scored two big wins in the last three weeks alone.

After an early exchange of strikes, McMann (2-0-0) played to her strengths and quickly took the fight with Malenfant (0-2-0) to the mat, where she wasted no time in moving to mount. Rather than working for a submission, as she did in her last fight, McMann instead landed punches to the face of Malenfant until the referee intervened to stop the fight. The official time was just 32 seconds of the first round, giving McMann another quick and impressive win.

The card also featured three other women’s bouts earlier in the evening. Results were as follows:
- Vanessa Mariscal defeated Colleen Schneider by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:40 of round 3.
- Ediane Gomes defeated Kat Alendal by Submission (Ankle Lock) at 0:42 of round 1.
- Glena Avila defeated Angelica Brotherton by Submission (Armbar) at 4:01 of round 3.

All fight results and notes courtesy of Fightergirls.com.