New Champ Crowned On TUF 26 Finale, Julia Budd Retains On Bellator 189 As Women’s MMA Takes Center Stage; TUF 26 Finale Highlights

The TUF 26 Finale didn't see its original main event on Friday night, but the UFC Women's Flyweight division kicked off went plenty of storylines.

Nicco Montano is the inaugural UFC Women's Flyweight Champion after defeating short notice opponent Roxanne Modafferi in a five round war on Friday night. You can see an excerpt from our Fightful live coverage below.

Round Five: The round begins with Montano attacking Modafferi with some leg kicks, Modafferi starts catching Montano with some rights. Modafferi then nails Montano with a kick to the midsection, Montano scores a takedown on Modafferi and she gets the half guard. Montano attacks Modafferi with some ground and pound, Montano gets up and she allows Modafferi to stand up. Montano scores a takedown on Modafferi and she gets the half guard, Montano transitions to the side control position against Modafferi. Montano gets full mount and Modafferi quickly scrambles to her feet, Modafferi rocks Montano with a kick to the midsection followed by a series of punches. Modafferi pulls guard to get the fight to the ground again, Modafferi rolls for the arm bar and Montano escapes as the round ends.

Fightful scores the round 10-9 for Montano (Final Score: 48-47 for Montano)

Official Result: Nicco Montano def. Roxanne Modafferi by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) to win the UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion

Nicco Montano, who was the #14 seed in the tournament, becomes the first ever Navajo UFC Champion in history. 

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The show started off the 125 pound women's division with a bang. Shane Dobson scored a big TKO over Ariel Beck, while Rachel Ostovich submitted Karine Gevorgyan with one of three armbar finishes that took place on the prelims of the TUF 26 Finale. 

Brett Johns remained undefeated by pulling off the fastest calf slicer win in UFC history over former UFC title challenger Joe Soto (which you can see at the bottom of the page), and DeAnna Bennett vs. Melinda Fabian went to a controversial majority draw. Montana De La Rosa, who you heard from on Fightful Friday morning, also scored a big submission win over Christina Marks. 

Over on Bellator 189, Featherweight Champion Julia Budd stared at Arlene Blencowe on her way to a second victory over her in as many years. Ahead of the fight, Budd told Fightful.com that Talita Noguiera turned down the fight offer, and with Alexis Dufresne missing weight monumentally yet again, the division is in an awkward place. The bout with Blencowe was a controversial split decision win for Budd, but almost nothing happened to garner a rematch.

Elsewhere on the show, David Rickels competed for the record-setting 19th time in Bellator MMA, defeating Adam Piccoloti, and undefeated Rafael Lovato Jr beat Chris Honeycutt.