Selena Gomez vs Candice Patton
(Lioness Club of America vs FCBA Independent)
(27-19, 24 KO vs 6-6, 6 KO)
Results: Lookout!; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: It's part two of Candice Patton's revenge tour against the former scouting team that ultimately chose to trade for Nina Dobrev instead of signing her to the bantamweight corps. Candice was duly stopped by Nina Dobrev back in May but she simply couldn't get over the Lioness snub once the plan for Selena Gomez to move up the weight scale was announced. Add Selena's loss to Naomi Scott last month and suddenly Candice is feeling dangerous tonight as she plans to knock the plucky Latina out to prove her point!

Selena Gomez wears a red sports bra with black trim, black hotpants & silver gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a curled ponytail. Candice Patton wears a green sports bra, matching hotpants & yellow gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
Candice tries to lay down the jabbing law but finds herself chasing shadows as Selena brings that lithe flyweight footwork up the weight scales to avoid the initial burst before driving up the Patton gut in quick response. Candice gets trapped in the phone booth and fails to stretch her elbows while Gomez scores easy punches up the middle and racks up the numbers until the older girl jumps back into safety. She tries to swing back at the charging Latina but remains too slow in execution and allows Selena to thump her on each temple before she runs out of room and is forced to hug the ropes while Gomez delivers more juice to punish the body. Ugh! Patton finds a rescue clinch to halt the beating but Selena shows no signs of the anticipated Scott hangover and still lands some pesky shots above the waistline to complete the rout.

Round 2:
More speed is required to avoid the lively Latina and Candice finds it to escape a similar rough treatment however she only mounts a single-punching attack that fails to bother the younger brunette too much. Selena keeps driving some confident shots to leave Patton hanging in mid-distance but there's little progress from each fighter as we head into the second minute and LCA coach Eva Mendes begins to lose her composure. This fight was all about shutting Patton down in her tracks, not just beating her on points. Gomez ups the jabbing rate down the stretch but eats a looping cross on the left eye and gets stunned with a belting shot on the navel that wobbles her on the heels however Candice just can't bring the follow up and misfires badly when she had Gomez seemingly vulnerable in point-blank range.

Round 3:
Candice gets more aggressive this time and finds success slugging it outright; she nails Selena on the chin and sticks additional leather upstairs to finally make the flyweight convert think better off it. Selena refuses to adjust her plan at first but more jabs soon bounce off her face so she has no choice but to retreat while Patton jumps after her in a hectic pursuit. Punches fly thick & fast and the work rate alone gives the older woman the edge even though she lacks genuine power to dump the reeling Gomez into serious trouble. She traps her along the ropes and drills the exposed ribcage before a lenghty clinch allows Selena to run the clock down as the referee does nothing to interrupt the stalemate which earns him a suspicious look from Patton at the bell.

Round 4:
Selena's back to her lively ways as she dodges the initial jabbing rush and loops a promising response from mid-range that nails Candice on each temple. More point-blank range slugging follows where Gomez finds easy success as the older woman's guard simply leaks too many clean hits and glues her on the heels come the one-minute mark. Selena barks in her efforts to inflict more damage but she scores the breakthrough only after scything the subdued rival in the gut before a powerful uppercut slams the chin and sends Patton spinning onto the ropes. No way out thereafter as Candice sags on jelly knees while the crippling punches burst through her leaking guard and allow Gomez to dominate the final stretch. That's as one-sided as it gets here and coach Mendes wants this to end right here but the Latina train is stopped by the bell... Selena pretends she didn't hear it and nabs a couple of extra shots on the nose to leave Patton trembling into spasms but the message is loud and clear here... Selena IS the superior woman - even above the 110 lbs limit!

Round 5:
Lethargic performance from Candice earns her another head-snapping dismay with Selena rolling out the juice to trap the immobile free agent in perfect fashion to deliver the punchbag treatment. Uh-oh! It seems like Patton has been wrecked mentally more than anything else as she gets picked off on the fly and fails to keep her mitts in tact while Gomez hauls in one hit after another until the older girl bellows out into spasms and wobbles into one uppercut too many. Huh! Selena drives one on the jaw and dumps Candice into "Aw, gawd" scowl before she slams a cross hook on the nose AND SENDS THE ACTRESS CRASHING DOWN ON HER BACK with eyes closed! The ref is all in the Lioness corner here and waves off the count as Patton bursts into a sobbing mess and rolls into embrional position pondering this epic failure. KO5 Selena Gomez!!!

AFTER: "This ought to SHUT the bytch up forever! We've got Selena and we don't need Miss Candy Bar! Sorry, you had your chance and you blew it!", coach Eva Mendes sums up Candice's antics in merciless fashion and prefers to talk about Chloe Moretz next: "Look, it's time to look ahead... Candice is done, she'll never rise above the promising journeywoman level... Chloe, well, she's coming up next and we have some big plans for her... IF she can demolish Julianne Hough. Yeah, you've heard that right. We need to see that spark in the ring... spare me the hit & miss show... Chloe's had a great win lately but she needs to back that up tonight! (...) Yeah, Selena is still here but she's a proven commodity. We're not getting rid of her and my coaching is required elsewhere!" (giggles).

Official Result: Selena Gomez def. Candice Patton KO5.