April 16, 2021 – Bellator 257 (Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, CT)
After six months of anticipation, Veta Arteaga and Desiree Yanez finally got the chance to dance in the Bellator cage. Both athletes obviously put the extra prep time to good use, as the fight was extremely exciting, technical, and competitive. In the end, despite a questionable point deduction, Arteaga emerged with the majority decision victory!
Both athletes get to work quickly, meeting in the middle and unleashing punches. Arteaga appears to land the better of the two and Yanez quickly clinches and shoves Arteaga against the fence. Arteaga does well to get her underhooks and circle off the cage. Arteaga shows off improved head movement and feints which give Yanez pause as she attempts to come forward on Arteaga. Arteaga begins to mix things up well, landing a strong jab to the body, low kicks, and bursts of power punches. Yanez is able to time some good counters of her own, but Arteaga is controlling the action. With about 30 seconds left, Yanez scores a nice takedown in the center of the cage and advances to Arteaga’s back as time expires.
Round two begins with Arteaga coming forward and holding the center of the cage. Both athletes are again mixing it up well, but Arteaga has the power advantage. A left hook by Yanez is countered with a strong right hand by Arteaga that drops Yanez rear the fence Arteaga pursues her to the ground and attempts to close the show with vicious ground and pound. Yanez does well to return to her feet, but Arteaga quickly scoops her up with a double and returns her to the mat. Moving to the back and securing hooks, Arteaga looks for a rear naked choke while mixing in strikes from the back. Yanez manages to free herself from back control and Arteaga moves to a front headlock. Yanez stands against the cage with a hand on the ground. Arteaga, still with the front headlock, but unable to see Yanez’s hand, fires off two illegal knees to the head of the grounded Yanez. The referee promptly halts the action and Yanez is given time to recover. After a brief review the referee elects to deduct a point from Arteaga, despite the knees seemingly doing minimal damage. The action resumes with about 90 seconds remaining, Arteaga finishes the round aggressively, landing several hard right hands.
The final round begins with Arteaga again coming forward, and Yanez looking a bit fatigued. A nice level change by Yanez leads to a takedown, and she settles into Arteaga’s closed guard. Arteaga is aggressive from bottom and uses an omoplata to sweep Yanez and return back to her feet. More strong punches land for Arteaga and a tired Yanez clinches before being reversed against the cage. Arteaga denies a takedown attempt and shoves Yanez against the fence and finishes a takedown of her own as the round ends. Final scores are 28-28, 29-27, and 29-27 for Arteaga who picks up the majority decision! Congrats to Veta on a great win against a tough, game opponent! Special thanks to all the coaches, teammates, and Tribe for their help and support preparing Veta for victory!
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