Tuesday night USA Boxing Champ and Golden Glove winner Danyelle Wolf made her MMA debut securing a UFC contract in Dana White’s Contender Series.
Much like the UFC’s reality competition show “The Ultimate Fighter” and former web series “Looking For A Fight,” the series was created in 2017 as a way for UFC President Dana White to scout talent. The challenge returned this summer, with hopefuls squaring off inside the UFC Apex with the chance to claim a contract.
Danyelle Wolf
Wolf competed in amateur boxing for nearly ten years; ending with a 29-14 record before her MMA debut last week resulting in a plethora of title wins. Including three USA Boxing National titles, two Continental Boxing titles, one Jiu-Jitsu World League title, and one Jiu-Jitsu World title ontop of her Golden Glove win in 2014. And is a hopeful for the 2021 Olympics. However, despite her extensive boxing history, Wolf went into the match with a 0-0-0 record. Making her the first contender in the series history never to have a pro-MMA bout beforehand.
Taneisha Tennant
Wolf faced off against Taneisha ‘Triple Threat’ Tennant. Who started her MMA career a year ago in the Ring of Combat. She went pro shortly after and moved to Invicta FC where she won the Phoenix Series after defeating three contenders in one night. Tennant went into the fight with a 5-0-0.
The Bout
Not only was this the only women’s bout of the night. But the first women’s featherweight bout in the history of the series.
Despite specializing in Muy Thai, Tennant chose to remain on her feet for most of the first round. Which was arguably not the best call considering Wolf’s history in boxing. She quickly paid for that mistake within the first few minutes. But learned her lesson as the bout went on, improving her striking and implementing more Muy Thai in her attack. Within the third, the fight hit the ground with both of their experience in Jiu-Jitsu coming into play.
Unlike the previous two rounds, which had a seemly clear winner, this one remained extremely close. But in the end, it was Wolf’s attempt at a guillotine choke that solidified the final decision—resulting in Tennant’s first loss with Wolf coming out with a 29-28 win across the board.
Since fight night, the result has consistently come under criticism. Yet still, the fact remains that the decision was made, and Wolf will be phasing into the UFC in the near future.
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