The first fight of the night was a women’s flyweight fight between Pennsylvania’s Devon Estes and Serra/Longo’s Lauren Braccia. The fight marked Estes pro debut and Braccia’s second professional bout.
The two immediately clinched to start the fight, and Estes was able to control Braccia against the cage for the opening minutes of the round. This was until Braccia was able to land a trip, immediately putting herself in the mount position. After a wild scramble, Estes was able to reclaim top position on the ground, but Braccia was again able to reverse and get the fight back to the feet. It was a back and forth battle in the trenches during the first round, and the high-level ground skill possessed by both fighters was on display.
In the opening seconds of the second round, Estes came out throwing some heavy punches and was able to land a takedown up against the fence. Estes was able to thwart off Braccia’s multiple submission attempts from her back and began to land some heavy ground and pound against the cage before Braccia finally landed a sweep to reverse the position. Once Braccia was on top, she controlled the position for the remainder of the round, and was able to land some heavy ground and pound of her own.
If I were scoring the fight I would’ve had it 1-1 after these two rounds, but I’m not, I’m just writing about it.
The third round started with a lot more striking than the previous two, with both fighters landing their respective shots (although I’d give a slight speed advantage to Estes). As the round went on, Estes landed some of the heavier shots before clinching Braccia against the cage. Once they broke the clinch Braccia came out with some real urgency, before shooting a reckless takedown that resulted in Estes ending the fight in the top position.
The fight ultimately went to the judges scorecard, where all three judges scored the contest in favor of Devon Estes. For Estes, she’ll move to 1-0, winning her debut, and Braccia is still looking for her first professional victory.
