Victoria Souza is coming off the first win of her ONE Championship career. She was competing at Lumpinee Stadium against the previously undefeated Linda Darrow.
Her last fight for the promotion was in 2021 and she suffered a serious arm injury in the loss to Victoria Lee. The Brazilian had it all to prove when she returned for her second appearance in the cage and she feels her striking was key to the decision victory over the Indonesian.
An emotional Instagram post from Souza translates as,
There are no words to say how good I felt throwing kicks and knees in this fight.
View this post on Instagram
Lack of activity
Her most notable moment in the opening round came in the closing stages when she was able to put Barrow on her back. The Indonesian had previously been scouted by the UFC and invited to train at one of its Performance Institutes.
But Souza was constantly throwing kicks even if they didn’t always connect. Both fighters were warned by referee Herb Dean for a lack of activity in the second round.
Barrow came into the contest with a big reputation as an undefeated One Pride MMA strawweight champion but was very conservative with her output although one left hand in the second round did find its mark.
Linda "The Arrow" Darrow hits the mark in Round 2! 🏹#ONEFightNight7
🇺🇸🇨🇦 FREE with a subscription 👉 https://t.co/Zy2z3gZ0qO
🌍 Live TV broadcast in 170+ countries (check local listings)
🌍 Also available on ONE YouTube and ONE Facebook (geo-restrictions may apply)
🌍 Also… pic.twitter.com/mpHAj3p6yM— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) February 25, 2023
Fine margins
There was very little to choose between the two fighters and the decision could have gone either way. But in a match of fine margins the body kicks from Souza probably made the difference.
Having started out trying to kick her opponent in the head she had more success when aiming lower and targeting the Indonesian’s midsection. Darrow was able to catch a few of these shots and unbalance the Brazilian but they mostly found their mark.
Souza got a takedown in the final round and when Darrow got back up she landed a series of soft knees from the clinch. It wasn’t the sort of performance to send shockwaves through the ONE Championship’s atomweight division but the Brazilian ultimately got the job done.
