Sara Viéitez rallies past Hanna Palmquist to become WOW FC’s first champion

Sara Viéitez defeated Hanna Palmquist in a historic fight to become WOW FC’s first champion. The Spaniard, holding a 4-2 record, won by unanimous decision over Palmquist (3-1) and captured the strawweight belt after a comeback when the bout appeared to be almost slipping away from her.

WOW FC’s return to Seville with WOW 32 was a success in front of nearly 5,000 people at the Polideportivo San Pablo. The first two rounds were largely controlled by “Hannimal”, who recorded a knockdown and was in position to secure a knockout. Viéitez then gradually found her rhythm again, driven by her courage and the backing of the crowd, before imposing her endurance to hand Palmquist her first defeat.

In the fourth round, Viéitez was in turn close to a knockout. Palmquist even shook her head while turning her back on her opponent, but she lasted until the judges’ decision.

Dani Ladero (5-3) also returned to winning ways, beating Przemysław Dzwoniarek (4-4) by unanimous decision. The victory followed his no-contest against Enoc Solves in the light-heavyweight title fight. In the co-main event, Pepe Torres (11-1) earned a hard-fought unanimous decision over Jefferson Vargas (5-3), who came close to finishing him in the first round. Pepe Torres had previously been seen before his fight in LFA.

The other major contest of the night matched Jefferson Batista (7-1) against Junior Hernández (6-2-1). The Peruvian fighter showed remarkable resilience by surviving two knockdowns from Batista, who unleashed his full arsenal in an attempt to finish “El Matador”. Batista ultimately had to settle for a unanimous decision, with both men receiving an ovation. Arturo Guillén, WOW FC’s president, then awarded the Fight of the Night bonus to that matchup and to the Viéitez-Palmquist bout.

Among the professional fights, Sara Cabeza de Vaca (1-0) endured a difficult debut against Ludmila Scurco (2-2) before winning by unanimous decision. Charlie Hatton (2-1) produced one of the night’s knockouts against Theo Pino (0-2), while Alejandro Manzorro (1-1) finished Nuno Krug (0-1) by ground and pound in the second round. Pablo Colado (3-0) preserved his unbeaten record against Vitor Enrique (3-2), using elbows that secured him the Knockout bonus.

Enrique Kakulov (1-0) also stood out against Christian Berrocal (3-3), as he had said he would. The Spanish kickboxing and boxing champion was unable to keep his promise of a first-round finish because of Berrocal’s wrestling, but he closed it out in the second round for a successful amateur MMA debut. His next objective is to turn professional, with WOW 34 Valencia at the Roig Arena his clear target.