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Photo courtesy Dave Bottomley – MMA-Flordia.com

The XFC was in Orlando and saw a spirited battle between Marianna Kheyfhets (4-0) and Molly Helsel (8-13-1).

In her pre-fight interview, Kheyfets stated she had quit her job 3 weeks ago to concentrate on fighting. She also moved back to her native Ft. Lauderdale from Connecticut to train back at American Top Team. (Bellator’s Jessica Aguilar has been training and mentoring Kheyfets.)

Helsel was on the Wombast Podcast a few weeks ago and had told us she found a permanent home in Tuscan, AZ. This was first time in years Hesel had a regular training camp and had two months to prepare for the match. Helsel weighed in 2.6 pounds over and dropped it the previous evening.

These results courtesy MMARising.com. For Complete XFC results click here.

Round 1:

Kheyfets threw front kicks to the body early on and Helsel countered with right hooks. Another front kick from Kheyfets backed Helsel up and the pair traded punches. Helsel caught a body kick and took Kheyfets down. Helsel backed her up to the cage and stood up. She landed a right hand as Kheyfets upkicked from the ground. Helsel returned to Kheyfets’s guard and kept her pinned against the fence.

Helsel postured up and Kheyfets attempted a triangle choke. Helsel stood and landed two punches as Kheyfets kicked to the legs and body. Helsel again returned to Kheyfets’s guard and the referee stood the fighters up. Helsel landed a lead left hook and a leg kick. Kheyfets answered with a right hook and a knee. Both fighters landed punches and Helsel followed with a leg kick. 10-9 Helsel.

Round 2:

Kheyfets countered a body kick with a one-two and a kick of her own in the second round. Her quick punches continued to land before Helsel could connect, but Helsel avoided a knee. Helsel jabbed and Kheyfets answered with a short right hook. Leg kicks landed for both fighters and Kheyfets threw a two-punch combo. Helsel landed a left hook and Kheyfets answered with a right.

Kheyfets landed a right cross and followed with a left hook. She jabbed as well and snapped Helsel’s head back momentarily with a right hook. Helsel landed a one-two and ate another leg kick. Kheyfets scored with a nice right hand and continued to find a home for her jab. Helsel’s nose began to bleed, but she countered a combination from Kheyfets with one of her own. 10-9 Kheyfets.

Round 3:

Kheyfets landed jabs and a right hand in the final round that caused Helsel’s nose to bleed heavily. A combination landed for Kheyfets and Helsel answered back with a right hook. Another right hand grazed Kheyfets’s jaw, but Kheyfets tagged Helsel with a four-punch combination. Both fighters threw jabs, but Kheyfets appeared to be more effective and she countered a leg kick with a right cross.

Kheyfets took Helsel down and passed from half-guard to side control, but Helsel scrambled out and returned to her feet. Kheyfets took her right back down and tried again to move from half-guard to side control. Helsel got back to full guard and Kheyfets threw punches to the body and head. The fighters stood up and Kheyfets landed jabs. She just missed with a right hand in the final seconds. 10-9 Kheyfets.

Winner: Marianna Kheyfets by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 4-0-0.

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