Istela Nunes Takes Split Decision Victory Over Mei Yamaguchi
In a closely-contested affair to kick off ONE: HEROES OF THE WORLD at The Venetian Macao’s Cotai Arena, two-time Muay Thai World Champion Istela Nunes (5-0 1NC) defeated former ONE Women’s Atomweight World Title challenger Mei Yamaguchi (15-10-1) via split decision.
Yamaguchi started the fight in a lively manner, looking to use her karate skills to dart in and out of Nunes’ range and land strikes and takedowns off the clinch. Nunes stayed patient, however, and remained content to throw a variety of kicks and knees at Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi’s strategy soon paid off, as she was able to grab a hold of Nunes’ leg and drag her to the ground. To Nunes’ credit, she was surprisingly capable of controlling Yamaguchi’s position and avoided any significant damage. Perhaps a little too eager to land some offense, Yamaguchi picked Nunes up for a possible slam, but Nunes took the chance to get to her feet and escape. They traded a few more glancing blows as the round ended.
The second round began in an identical manner, with neither committing to any moves that might leave them open to counters. This time, Yamaguchi managed to make something of her takedowns, as she advanced quickly into mount on Nunes. Once again, Nunes was up to the task and avoided being in too much danger as they transitioned across a variety of positions.
Yamaguchi then took Nunes’ back and worked for a rear naked choke, setting up a potentially fight-ending submission by flipping Nunes over and sinking her hooks in, but moved to an ill-advised armbar that allowed her opponent to reverse position and land in her guard. Nunes understandably wasn’t too keen to stay on the mat, and decided to stand and kick Yamaguchi’s legs until the round ended.
Once the third round started, both fighters decided to show a little more urgency, though more of the same followed. Nunes did manage to catch Yamaguchi’s leg during a kick for a nice sweep, but declined to follow up on the ground.
Near the end of the bout, Yamaguchi once again dragged Nunes to the floor, but unfortunately ended up in bottom position. However, she landed a sweep off a scramble to end the match on top to go to the judges scorecards.
In the end, it was Nunes who did more to earn a close split decision in the eyes of the judges, upsetting the former world title challenger and spoiling calls for a Lee-Yamaguchi rematch.
