Pannie Kianzad and Katharina Lehner showed why their fight had such high expectations.
The first women’s featherweight bout in the history of The Ultimate Fighter was a high-level affair, though it was Team Gastelum’s Kianzad (10-3) who would walk out with the unanimous decision win after 10 minutes of action.
Both women entered the TUF 28 house with Invicta FC experience. Kianzad holds a 2-2 record in the promotion and Lehner (7-1) battled Sarah Kaufman for a vacant 135-pound title in May. Lehner was Team Whittaker’s last pick, but she looked like a contender in the first round going blow-for-blow against Kianzad.
A former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion, Kianzad made good use of jabs and kicks from range while Lehner searched for combinations inside. Kianzad began to pull away at the end of round one, picking up the pace on the feet and snagging a late takedown.
Lehner, whose goal is to become the first German woman to win a fight in the UFC, was taken down at the start of round two and struggled to keep Kianzad off of her for the remainder of the frame. As Lehner tired, Kianzad continued to smother her against the cage and get the better of the scrambles.
With the win, Kianzad, a Swedish resident who also proudly represents Iran (her home country) and Denmark (where she trains), joins Team Gastelum teammate Maurice Greene as a semifinalist. Greene knocked out Przemyslaw Mysiala in episode one to advance in the heavyweight bracket.
In other storylines, Kianzad had to deal with a broken tooth and a grave fear of the dentist that caused a temporary freakout when she was taken to get it fixed, and Team Gastelum grew concerned with Justin Frazier’s cardio issues.
Here are the first-round results so far:
Maurice Greene def. Przemyslaw Mysiala via KO (uppercut) in round one
Pannie Kianzad def. Katharina Lehner via unanimous decision
On next week’s episode, Team Whittaker’s Anderson da Silva fights Team Gastelum’s Justin Frazier in a heavyweight bout.
Season 28 of The Ultimate Fighter is being coached by UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and top contender Kelvin Gastelum. Gastelum will challenge Whittaker for the middleweight title at a future date to be determined.
The finalists of the TUF 28 heavyweight and featherweight tournaments will compete for a six-figure UFC contract at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale on Nov. 30 in Las Vegas.
Here is the TUF 28 roster divided by team:
Team Gastelum
Heavyweights
Justin Frazier
Maurice Greene
Josh Parisian
Ben Sosoli
Featherweights
Marciea Allen
Macy Chiasson
Pannie Kianzad
Bea Malecki
Team Whittaker
Heavyweights
Michel Batista
Juan Francisco Espino
Przemyslaw Mysiala
Anderson da Silva
Featherweights
Katharina Lehner
Leah Letson
Larissa Pacheco
Julija Stoliarenko
Advancing to Round 2: Greene, Kianzad
Eliminated: Mysiala, Lehner