MMA
Bellator 259 results: Cyborg blasts Leslie Smith with fifth-round TKO in rematch
Cyborg dropped Leslie Smith with a massive right hand a few times earlier in their Bellator 259 main event Friday night.
However, when the MMA legend detonated the same weapon in the fifth and final round, Smith stayed down. Cyborg crushed Smith with a devastating right hand across the jaw, before smothering her with punches and hammerfists to notch a fifth-round TKO with nine seconds left in the fight to retain the featherweight world title. Cyborg had won every round in the headliner from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., before putting the finishing touches on Smith.
A gritty Smith lasted a lot longer than their original meeting in May 2016, when Cyborg demolished her by first-round KO courtesy of a barrage of punches. But she also suffered a lot of abuse in their rematch Friday night.
When Cyborg wasn't connecting on 174 total strikes, she was taking Smith down — seven times to be exact, including borrowing a page from Brock Lesnar with a suplex during the first round.
Although Smith hung tough and kept getting up, Cyborg split her guard with crisp, thudding shots, unleashing that right hand to put Smith on her back in the fourth round, before using the same shot to end the show in the fifth.
The victory marks Cyborg's second featherweight title defense in Bellator, as the champ called out Cat Zingano for a fight after her win.
