Valerie Loureda continues her unbeaten Bellator run.
The 22-year-old rising prospect scored a knockout over Tara Graff in the preliminary card of Bellator 243 on Friday night. Loureda (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) picked up her first win of 2020. The official stoppage came at the 5:00 mark of Round 2.
The finish came after Loureda dropped Graff (1-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a right hook and then followed up with ground-and-pound, forcing referee Mark Beltran to wave off the fight.
The bout was a clean and calculated performance by Loureda. For the majority of the fight, Loureda circled on the outside of the canvas, picked her shots and avoided any grappling exchanges.
It was towards the end of round two where Loureda was able to open up more in her striking, pressure and land bigger shots, which resulted in the fight ending sequence.
Loureda makes a successful return after 14 months out of competition. The American Top Team fighter was kept out of action due to injury, an appearance on reality show “Exatlon,” and the ongoing pandemic which suspended Bellator events for a few months.
The flyweight bout was part of the Bellator 243 preliminary card at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. It streamed on MMA Junkie ahead of a main card on Paramount and DAZN.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 243 results include:
Valerie Loureda def. Tara Graff via TKO (punches) — Round 2, 5:00 Grant Neal def. Hamza Salim via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-24) Charlie Campbell def. Nainoa Dung via TKO (leg kicks) — Round 2, 1:42 Dalton Rosta def. Mark Gardner via TKO (doctor stoppage) — Round 1, 5:00