Puja Tomar finished Anastasia Feofanova in the main event at Matrix Fight Night 12. The Indian successfully defended her strawweight title for the first time when her opponent refused to come out for the fifth and final round.
Feofanova clearly decided she had taken enough punishment from the resurgent Indian. This was the first time a female fight had headlined a Matrix Fight Night card and there were several celebrities at ringside to witness the action including Bollywood star Disha Patani and the promotion’s co-founder Tiger Shroff.
Tomar took her opponent down in the first round before unleashing some dangerous kicks including a crack at Feofanova’s jaw. The visitor struggled to live with the champion’s striking and responded by pushing her up against the cage wall.
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Signs of damage
The five-time national wushu champion continued with her leg attacks in the second stanza and scored with low kicks as Feofanova began to show signs of damage. The pattern continued into the third as Tomar continued to chip away at the base of her opposite number who landed with a side kick but wasn’t showing any real aggression.
Feofanova was made to pay for this timidity in the fourth as the champion began to overwhelm the promotional newcomer with her volume. Tomar scored with a big high kick and at this stage there was only ever going to be one winner.
Feofanova clearly concurred because when the referee asked her if she wanted to continue fighting in the final round the answer was ‘no’. Tomar has relaunched her career after an unsuccessful stint with ONE Championship and moves up to 8-4 while the Russian drops to 8-3-1.
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Best of the rest
There was disappointment in the co-main event as Mochamed Machaev’s featherweight title clash with Khabibullo Azizov was ruled a ‘no contest’ after the Austrian landed an accidental low blow in the second.
Machaev will be doubly disappointed as he was dominating the undefeated Russian before firing the illegal shot. He moves to 13-1-0-1 while Azisov is now 10-0-0-1.
Matrix Fight Night 12, July 1st, Uttar Pradesh
Puja Tomar def. Anastasia Feofanova via TKO (defends strawweight title)
Mochamed Machaev vs. Khabibullo Azizov ends in no contest
Chungreng Koren def. Chaitanya Gavali via TKO
Rahul Thapa def. Avizo Lanamai via Decision (Unanimous)
Shyamanand def. Mido Mohamed via TKO
Digamber Singh Rawat def. Neeraj Panghal via KO
Pawan Maan Singh def. Sandeep Dahiya via Decision (Unanimous)
Gurtej Singh def. Edukondal Rao via Decision (Unanimous)
Sonam Zomba def. Jojo Rajkumari via Decision (Unanimous)
Dushyant Singh def. Anthony Syiem via Decision (Unanimous)
Aminder Bisht def. Akash via Decision (Unanimous)
