Darina Mazdyuk entered Bellator 269 with plenty of attention thanks to a viral video. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t make the first impression she hoped to.
Katarzyna Sadura spoiled Mazdyuk’s promotional debut by earning a second-round TKO victory in their flyweight bout in what was also Sadura’s Bellator debut Saturday at VTB Arena in Moscow.
Mazdyuk came into the bout with hype around her name after winning an intergender fight against a 529-pound man in 2020. Bellator 269 represented the first bout on a multifight contract.
Mazdyuk (3-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) came out aggressive in Round 1, mixing leg and body kicks and punches, but she was throwing winging punches with her chin up, which opened her up to Sadura’s counters. Sadura (5-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) continued to tag Mazdyuk as she got the better of most of their striking exchanges. The damage was evident on the left side of Mazdyuk’s face, too. As the round wore on, Sadura found success with front leg kicks, too, which compromised Mazdyuk’s movement. It was clear from the first five minutes that Sadura was the more technically sound fighter.
Throwing hands on the buzzer!
Tune in to the #Bellator269 prelims, brought to you by @monsterenergy and fueled by @ampm
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— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 23, 2021
Sadura’s length advantage and disciplined striking continued to shine against Mazdyuk’s winging punches in Round 2, which continued at a slower pace but with high volume. The accumulation of strikes absorbed by Mazdyuk finally was enough midway through the second round. Sadura landed a big overhand right that stunned Mazdyuk, who walked right into a short left that dropped her to the mat. From there, Sadura rained down with strikes to finish Mazdyuk at the 3:17 mark.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 269 results include:
- Katarzyna Sadura def. Darina Mazdyuk via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:17
- Irina Alekseeva def. Stephanie Page via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Nikita Mikhailov def. Brian Moore via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Alexey Shurkevich def. Grachik Bozinyan via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:25
- Aiden Lee def. Alexander Osetrov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:41
