FAN POLL: 100% Saffron Harris

REFEREE: Willie Green

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ROUND ONE

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[The horn sounds for round one, and both ladies take the center of the cage. Neither engages much at first, until Harris feigns a jab and moves in for a clinch, catching Wade by the back of her head, then maneuvering into a Thai clinch! Despite Harris’s control, it’s Wade that’s the aggressor at first, throwing punches to Saffron’s ribs that cause a visible wince. Tilly pummels her way into a better position, but Saffron keeps control by switching to one underhook, then securing a second. Wade tries to throw a high punch, but Saffron hooks her leg and trips her down to the mat! She doesn’t get a chance to maneuver, though, before Tilly locks her guard. Saffron grinds her elbow into Tilly’s thigh, trying to open the guard, and eventually manages to do so, but Tilly blocks her from passing any further.]

[From her back, Tilly throws a few punches up at Saffron, but Harris is able to avoid the contact easily. She counters with a couple shots to the ribs and moving to pass to half-guard--but when Tilly moves to block her, Saffron switches to a kneebar! At first glance, it looks deep, and Tilly winces as Saffron tries to crank on it, but Tilly’s eventually able to kick herself free and escapes to her feet. She beckons Saffron back up, but it’s only when referee Willie Green halts the fight that Saffron actually gets back up, to the approval of the fans.]

[Saffron throws a few jabs out, but Tilly easily avoids, without engaging herself. Saffron keeps pushing forward, looking for angles for her punches, but when she moves in, Tilly tags her with a straight right over the top of her punch. Saffron’s in close, though, and tests Wade’s chin with an uppercut, even as Tilly lands another pair of shots to Saffron’s jaw. Despite taking a shot, Tilly remains aggressive, leading with a sharp jab, but Saffron’s able to parry--but her counter right hand whiffs, as Tilly disengages before she can make contact.]

[Saffron bites down on her mouthpiece and presses forward, throwing a quick one-two combo, but Tilly manages to avoid the punches and counters with an uppercut that stumbles Saffron back! Tilly moves to engage, but Saffron’s able to throw a straight right that might’ve turned Tilly’s lights out if it connected, but Tilly manages to get her head out of the way. It gives Saffron a couple more seconds to recover, though, and when Tilly engages again, Saffron shoots for a single leg takedown! Despite Tilly struggling against it, Saffron sweeps her leg out from under her!]

[Tilly manages to keep her guard locked despite the impact of the takedown, but Saffron is quick to try to pass, throwing punch after punch to Wade’s ribs to try to force her to open her guard. Wade’s able to keep her composure, though, and blocks Saffron’s attempt to pass, although her attempt to reverse her situation gets blocked as well. Harris throws more punches, body-body-head, before trying to pass Tilly’s guard again--this time, managing to escape to half-guard! Saffron postures up and throws a few punches at Wade, but Wade manages to catch one and flip the script, turning Saffron to her back! Saffron’s able to recover her full guard before Tilly can react.]

[Tilly pulls her head up, posturing up to throw down some ground and pound, but Saffron avoids it, and while Tilly’s committed, unlocks her guard and sweeps Tilly over to her back, taking full mount! Saffron catches Tilly’s left arm, trying to lock up an Americana--and it looks tight! Tilly struggles to free herself from the hold, her eyes clenched shut as Saffron torques the hold, but Tilly’s eventually able to rip her arm free of Saffron’s grasp! Tilly bucks her hips to try to escape the mount, but her position gets worse as she allows Saffron a chance to move to a high mount!]

[Saffron throws a couple punches down to bait Tilly, and when she moves her hands up to block her face, Saffron switches for an armbar! Tilly clasps her hands together and rolls into the pressure, eventually forcing her arm free and pushing Saffron’s legs aside, passing into side mount of her own! It’s not meant to be for her, though, as Saffron recovers her guard, but she takes a few punches from Tilly in the process. As the claps signal the last ten seconds of the round, Saffron throws up a Hail Mary triangle, but Tilly’s able to posture her way out of it, and the horn blares to end the round.]

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ROUND TWO

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[With so much success in the first round with her takedowns, it’s no surprise that the horn barely sounds to begin round 2 before Saffron shoots for a double-leg takedown, but Tilly’s able to sprawl and keep herself on her feet. Instead, Tilly tries to take the fight to the ground with a foot sweep, but Harris manages to avoid it, and instead, Tilly jumps guard and drags Saffron to the mat instead! Saffron’s quick to try to pass, and at first, it looks like she might’ve escaped at least to half-guard, but Tilly’s quick to recover her full guard. Tilly tries to sweep Saffron over, but Saffron’s able to block the transition, and cracks Wade’s ribs with a few punches. Tilly covers to block the punches, and Saffron takes advantage, quickly escaping to side mount!]

[Saffron drops a few punches from the side, but Tilly’s able to block most of the impact. It’s enough to give Saffron an opportunity to move to mount, though, which she jumps on--but Tilly’s prepared for it this time! Saffron overcommitted, and Tilly’s able to maneuver herself into a better position, locking her guard back up. Saffron tries to get herself free again, but Tilly catches both underhooks and pulls her in tight, trying to get the standup. Saffron’s eventually able to get her posture back, crossfacing Tilly back to the mat before catching her with a solid punch from the top! Saffron moves back to side-mount, catching Tilly’s head in the process, and moving for an arm triangle choke!]

[Despite the sudden choke she’s in, Tilly’s defense holds up, and she’s able to resist the pressure, and eventually slip herself free from the choke, but she remains under Saffron’s control--and Saffron’s not happy being tentative. She tries to catch a Kimura on the far arm, but Tilly frees her arm before it gets locked up! It may not have worked the way Saffron wanted it to, but it opened an opportunity for her to move to mount, and this time, she’s more careful about her pass, and gets the mount!]

[Again, Saffron moves for a finish, seeing an opportunity for another arm triangle choke, but Tilly’s able to slip free of the choke before it’s really locked in. In the process of moving for the choke, Saffron almost gets caught in Tilly’s half-guard, but she manages to keep herself in mount--but Tilly wraps her up and keeps her from posturing. Saffron’s unable to free herself this time, and after several seconds of minimal action from either fighter, Willie Green orders a stand up, to the crowd’s delight.]

[Saffron’s not discouraged, though, and sticks with what’s worked for her so far--no sooner are they restarted, then she’s shot for a takedown. Tilly’s able to avoid this one, and Saffron gets back up to her feet, both women circling each other. Pawing jabs from both ladies don’t do much but gauge the distance, and when Tilly throws one, Saffron again moves for a takedown--but again, Tilly blocks it. This time, Saffron pulls guard, and immediately turns Tilly over into mount! She feigns a few punches, then switches her hips for an armbar! She’s got the arm almost extended, but Tilly’s able to free herself and spin around into side control on top of Saffron!]

[Saffron struggles to escape the bad position she’s ended up in, but Tilly keeps hold of her, and maintains her position--she doesn’t seem too interested in improving it, though, simply blocking every attempt by Saffron to improve her’s. It’s several attempts before Saffron can even recover her half-guard, but as soon as she does, she’s back on the offense. Saffron tries to catch a Guillotine Choke, but Tilly recognizes the danger and pops her head free, escaping to her feet, and forcing Willie Green to stand Saffron up. The claps signal the last ten seconds of the round, and both ladies throw wild punches--Tilly’s largely miss, but Saffron connects with a powerful right hook to Wade’s jaw! It’s too late to follow up, though, as the horn sounds to end the round.]

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ROUND THREE

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[Round 3 begins like the previous 2, with Saffron attempting to take the fight to the ground, but Tilly’s more wary this time, and avoids the takedown. Instead, the two ladies circle around the center of the cage, Tilly throwing a couple pawing jabs to gauge the distance, but it’s Saffron on the aggression once again, shooting for a single leg takedown, and tripping Wade to the mat once again! Saffron tries to pass, but Tilly blocks the movement, and instead throws up a triangle attempt! It’s not particularly close before Saffron realizes the danger, and slips out of the choke, backing away and forcing Willie Green to stand Tilly up.]

[Saffron throws several punches, jabs and hooks, but none really connect with any power. Tilly feints a punch and shuffles to the side, avoiding Saffron’s counterpunch--but she can’t avoid the clinch that follows it up, Saffron once again catching a Thai clinch! It’s only for a moment, though, before Wade frees her head and pushes Saffron away, actually causing her to stumble backwards a step or two. Wade uses the moment to engage, but Saffron’s quick on the shot, and once again takes the fight to the mat!]

[Tilly doesn’t lock her guard, instead trying to escape back to her feet, but Saffron moves for a kneebar! This one’s harder to catch than the one earlier, and Tilly’s able to free herself with relative ease, and escape to her feet. Saffron follows suit, and after a moment of hesitation between the two, Saffron throws a powerful left hand--that Tilly ducks underneath and tries to counter with a takedown of her own. Saffron isn’t caught off-guard, though, and avoids the takedown attempt, but Tilly pulls guard and drags Saffron to the mat with her.]

[It’s a struggle for Harris to break Tilly’s guard this time, several seconds passing between the fight hitting the mat and much action happening, but eventually she’s able to escape to half-guard, then to side control! Tilly rolls in to try to recover her guard, but Saffron spins with the movement, and ultimately catches Tilly’s far arm with a Kimura! It looks tight, and Tilly’s visibly in pain--but she manages to escape the hold! Saffron recovers her position, though, and eventually moves into full mount!]

[Saffron keeps working for a finish, and once again catches Tilly’s arm, moving for an armbar! Tilly recognizes Saffron’s attack, though, and frees herself, once again escaping into side control. Saffron tries to move to guard, but Tilly blocks the movement--at first. She ultimately gets caught in half-guard, then Saffron’s able to transition to full guard. Tilly tries to posture up, but Saffron catches her and brings her back down, then throws up an omoplata! Tilly tries to free her arm, to no success, and it looks like she might tap...]

[...but she’s eventually able to roll through the pressure, and even take control, escaping to side-mount, then full mount! The claps signal the last ten seconds of the round, as, in a reversal of fortunes, it’s Tilly now going for an armbar on Saffron! Saffron struggles against the hold, eventually freeing her arm, but only as far as closed guard before the horn blares to end the fight.]

JUDGE MIRANDA FRANCO

Tilly-Jean Wade  9 9 9: 27

Saffron Harris  10 10 10: 30

JUDGE MAX CARVER

Tilly-Jean Wade  9 9 9: 27

Saffron Harris  10 10 10: 30

JUDGE OZZIE SEBASTIAN

Tilly-Jean Wade  9 9 9: 27

Saffron Harris  10 10 10: 30

Winner: Saffron Harris by Unanimous Decision 

Statistics: Tilly-Jean Wade

Punches 3/4 (75%)

Kicks 0/0 (0%)

Clinch strikes 3/3 (100%)

Takedowns 0/2 (0%)

GnP strikes 0/6 (0%)

Submissions 2/2 (100%)

Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)

Time on the ground 468 s

Statistics: Saffron Harris

Punches 4/13 (31%)

Kicks 0/0 (0%)

Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)

Takedowns 4/7 (57%)

GnP strikes 3/13 (23%)

Submissions 14/14 (100%)

Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)

Time on the ground 478 s