Dhant Edges Murdoch, Meng Delights Home Crowd in Thrilling Fights
The cage delivered a night of tight margins, grinding control and late surges, with Rabindra Dhant, Meng, Suzuki, Ryo Tajima and Bohyun Park all walking away with their hands raised after a series of bruising contests.
Dhant survives leg attacks to outpoint Murdoch
From the opening exchange, Kasib Murdoch locked in on Rabindra Dhant’s legs. He dived on a leg lock early in the first round and clamped down, forcing Dhant to work under pressure while eating steady jabs. Dhant turned defence into ambition, switching into a full submission attempt of his own, hunting the choke as the grappling exchanges rolled across the mat.
Murdoch slipped free. Dhant did the same moments later, coolly evading a rear-naked choke as both men traded dangerous positions. The round ended with Dhant pinned to the canvas but very much alive in the contest.
Murdoch kept top control to start the second, grinding away on Dhant, who refused to panic. Flat on his back, he spotted a gap and drove a vicious elbow straight into Murdoch’s face, a reminder that he remained a threat even while smothered. The horn sounded on a tight, tactical round.
Murdoch went back to his bread and butter in the final frame, grabbing Dhant’s leg again and driving him toward the cage. This time Dhant answered with a flurry of hooks, left then right, rocking Murdoch and leaving him visibly dazed. Murdoch rallied to reassert top control and fired off a string of jabs to close the fight, but the damage had been done. With little between them, the judges split.
DHANT BEATS MURDOCH BY SPLIT DECISION.
Meng grinds out split decision in front of home fans
Meng stepped into the cage with the crowd behind her but began cautiously against Fukuda. The first round unfolded as a measured stand-up battle until Meng finally closed the distance and landed a clean right hook, one of the few clear highlights in an otherwise finely balanced opener.
She raised the tempo in the second. Driving Fukuda toward the fence, Meng added a couple of sharp shots before trapping an arm and sinking in a firm choke attempt. Fukuda showed real composure, peeling herself out of danger and surviving the most threatening moment of the fight.
The final round ticked away with both fighters searching for a decisive moment. With around 40 seconds left, Fukuda went for broke, whipping hooks in bunches but failing to connect cleanly. Meng seized her chance, taking top position and raining down ground-and-pound as the clock expired, leaving the impression of a fighter finishing stronger.
MENG BEATS FUKUDA VIA SPLIT DECISION.
Suzuki’s speed and pressure force TKO
Suzuki wasted no time showing his edge in speed against Larcinese. While Larcinese flicked out probing leg kicks in the first round, Suzuki answered with a sharp right hook that landed flush. Constant movement kept Larcinese guessing, and when Suzuki launched a flying knee, Larcinese escaped by a whisker. The round closed with both men trading, but Suzuki’s timing stood out.
The second round belonged to him. Suzuki dictated the pace, forcing Larcinese backward with a varied arsenal. When Larcinese finally landed, Suzuki bit down and responded by taking top position, hammering home a couple of heavy shots. The pressure broke Larcinese’s resistance, and the referee stepped in.
SUZUKI BEATS LARCINESE BY TKO (stoppage).
Tajima outpoints Koren to book next step
Ryo Tajima used his reach smartly from the opening bell against Chungreng Koren. Long, disciplined work kept Koren at bay, and whatever the Indian fighter threw in the first round, Tajima slipped or sidestepped with minimal fuss. When Koren tried to change the script with a takedown, Tajima stood firm, reversed the momentum, and drove Koren to the cage. As Koren lost his balance, Tajima pounced, taking top position and unloading a flurry of jabs to close a strong first frame.
Koren came out for the second with the same idea: pin Tajima to the fence and work from there. It briefly paid off, but when Tajima created a sliver of space, he made it count, landing a clean right hook that clearly rattled Koren. Still, the round ended with Koren again muscling Tajima to the cage and finding a couple of shots of his own.
The pattern held in the third. Koren grew more expressive, looser, and more willing to let his hands go, but Tajima’s composure and earlier work weighed heavily. With no finish on either side, the scorecards told the story of control and cleaner moments.
RYO TAJIMA BEATS CHUNGRENG KOREN BY UNANIMOUS DECISION — and earns a meeting with Dhant, fresh from his split-decision win over Murdoch.
Park takes over as Abduveva battles blood and pressure
Park and Abduveva opened with an evenly matched first round, each fighter probing, each finding occasional openings without seizing full command. The fight changed shape in the second.
Abduveva initiated the grappling and then pivoted to a kicking assault, whipping several strikes into Park’s torso. Just when it looked like the momentum might swing her way, Park answered. Late in the round she stepped in behind a strong jab that smashed into Abduveva’s nose, drawing blood and tilting the contest toward the South Korean. Park finished the frame with a series of solid connections, the tide now clearly turning.
Before the third, the doctor checked Abduveva as the bleeding worsened. She got the green light and charged back out, but Park smelled the advantage. She drove Abduveva to the cage and kept her there, piling up control time and points. Park hunted the takedown repeatedly; Abduveva, though hurt, refused to fold, fighting off each attempt.
The action halted briefly as the referee called time with Abduveva bleeding heavily again. Cleared once more, she returned, but the clock and the damage were against her. The final bell sounded with Park still pressing forward.
BOHYUN PARK BEATS ABDUVEVA VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION.
On a night of narrow calls, late surges and relentless pressure, it was the fighters who finished strongest — Dhant, Meng, Suzuki, Tajima and Park — who left with the momentum and the matchmakers’ attention.
