Bellator 259 results: Cris Cyborg stops Leslie Smith in the fifth round, calls out Cat Zingano

Bellator 259 results: Cris Cyborg stops Leslie Smith in the fifth round, calls out Cat Zingano

Cris Cyborg and Leslie Smith

The Bellator women’s Featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg entered the Bellator ring to face Leslie Smith in a rematch. Both of them faced each other five years ago where Cyborg finished Smith in the very first round of the fight.

It was a completely different fight this time, Smith showed the heart of a warrior and survived a few intense moments in the fight. Although, when the fight was just about to end Cris Cyborg stopped Leslie Smith and scored a TKO, and defended her title at Bellator 259.

Cyborg landed the first strike of the fight in the form of a leg kick, Smith tried to hold her aggression and Cyborg landed a stiff combination. When Smith got his back against the cage Cyborg picked her from the back and landed a suplex and Smith just survived the first round.

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Cyborg and Smith had a more intense second round, Smith landed some shots but Cyborg kept high-intensity pressure on her and landed a right hand that stunned her. Entering into the third round Leslie Smith already took a heavy beating.

In the third round, Cyborg continued using her jabs, and she grounded Smith again and ended the round on top. Smith landed some nice strikes in the fourth round, but that doesn’t seem to hurt Cyborg. After these rounds ended, Smith knew she needs a finish in the final round to win this one.

In the final round when only 30 seconds remained, Cyborg dropped Smith with a right hand and landed some follow-up shots. The referee had seen enough and he stopped the fight at 4:51 of the final round.

After the victory, Cris Cyborg called out her fellow former UFC title challenger Cat Zingano to face her in the next title defense.

Bellator 259
Bellator 259

Bellator 259: Main Card Results

  • Cris Cyborg def Leslie Smith via TKO (Round 5,4:51)
  • Leandro Higo def Darrion Caldwell via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Austin Vanderford def Fabian Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Jaleel Willis def Maycon Mendonca via unanimous decision is (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Hanna Guy def Valerie Loureda via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Bellator 259: Preliminary Card Results

  • Saad Awad def Nate Andrews via KO (Round 1,3:16)
  • Grant Neal def Tyree Fortune via submission (Round 1, 4:20)
  • Sumiko Inaba def Kristina Katsikis via TKO (Round 3, 3:35)
  • Aviv Gozali def Sean Felton via submission (Round 1, 1:17)
  • Davion Franklin def Tyler King via KO (Round 1, 2:02)
  • Leah McCourt def Janay Harding via submission (Round 2, 2:42)
  • Danny Sabatello def Brett Johns via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Aleander Shabily def Alfie Davis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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