Sydney Sweeney vs Katie Austin (Empress of the Body Saddle)

BEFORE:

Blonde on blonde matchup sees fast-rising Katie stepping up to Sydney, who's seemingly made the breakthrough everyone's been expecting for a while now and is looking very comfortable in the role of one of the top bantams in the FCBA. And, turns out, this one is for the title of Empress of the Body Saddle, as Sydney recently added that bauble to a collection one would expect might become fairly extensive by the time she exits the ring. But, as good as Sweeney's been, Katie's exuding confidence that her recent run of success is going to continue. "She's definitely a tough test," says Austin with a smile. "But, nobody in the FCBA is fitter than me, and that will make the difference tonight."

"She's got a lot of physicals," Sydney admits. "But, tonight, it's going to be about who the better fighter is. And, that's ME."

ROUND ONE:

Austin doesn't just have fitness going for her, she has reach, and a good bit of it against Sydney. Sweeney, however, is able to counteract that easily in the opening stanza. She slips past Katie's defenses, gets inside, works her to the body, then bangs some upstairs. Austin fires back in these situations. not giving quite as good as she gets, but definitely hanging around. At times, Katie gets some space, and, when she does, she makes up most of the stagger from the Empress' inside work. Austin's in control at range, using excellent feet and a quick piston jab to set up hard right hands. At the bell, it's been a good, two-way round, but Sydney has the points and the 10-9 lead.

ROUND TWO:

Same again. Both fighters getting some, but not enough of what they want. Both taking full advantage of opportunities when they arise, with Katie looking more and more comfortable when she's able to get space. She's moving extremely well, snapping out that jab, putting punches together, scoring with both hands. At other times, though, its Sweeney who's calling the tune. When Sydney gets inside her rival's defenses, the shorter blonde makes hay, working her rival to head and body, scoring points, offsetting what Katie is able to do at gunnery range. Once again, it's very close, but this time, it's Austin who has the slight edge at the bell and evens things at 19.

ROUND THREE:

Austin gets it going early. She's kicking up sand as she ups the movement, and it pays immediate dividends. Now, Sydney not only has to try to work past Katie's defenses, she has to corral her as well, and the younger blonde's having problems doing it. She's trying to cut the ring, but Katie's playing hard to get, all while piling up points with an effective offense that, by late in the round, is getting to the point where she's touching up the shorter woman all while not GETTING touched by Sydney. Final seconds see a pair of excellent combinations from Austin that stop and back up Sweeney. At the bell, there's no question about it. It's Katie wide and with the 29-28 lead.

ROUND FOUR:

Sydney adjusts in a big way. Shorter blonde ups the aggression and the foot movement, enabling her to cut the ring effectively and force the taller woman into exchanges, mostly on the inside, where Sweeney wants to be. Again, Katie bangs back in this situations, but Sydney who's more effective, especially since she's now almost ignoring the body and working exclusively upstairs, backing Austin up again and again with heavy shot and even trapping her on the ropes twice. Katie's game, but she's coming off second best in a big way, as Sweeney gets stronger as the round goes on. At the bell, Sydney's taken it wide, and we're even at 38.

ROUND FIVE:

Sweeney's got it all working now, and she's pouring on the pressure, bottling up Katie, working her over. She's going more to the body now, but just enough to keep Austin honest. Shorter blonde concentrating upstairs, landing hard shot, backing her rival up over and over aga...BOOM! Right hook SYDNEY and Katie is GOBSMACKED! Austin wobbles then GOES DOWN after a four-punch flurry! Sweeney stalks across the sand to a neutral corner, while Katie stares all wide-eyed up at the referee, watching the count get larger. The eyes are open, but nobody's home. She's not reacting at all, just staring until the count reaches ten. It's OVER! And your winner by KO5 is Sydney Sweeney!