BBU International from Rome
Anne Vyalitsina vs Belen Rodriguez
(Russian Federation vs Argentina)
(2-4, 2 KO vs 6-1, 6 KO)
Results: BBU; Story: Vassago

BEFORE: Tanya Mityushina's recent defeat at the hands of Kelly Gale forced Anne Vyalitsina into quick response and the Russian model arrives in Rome to face the exciting TV showgirl Belen Rodriguez who returns to action after unsuccessful lightweight championship bid that dates back to August 2019. Belen is widely viewed as a genuine elite contender so it's hard to explain why she remained on the sidelines for so long. Maybe her peers are simply scared of her potential? Well, Anne most certainly lays down the gauntlet and claims Belen is "rusty as hell" so it's perfect timing to claim such a valuable scalp!

Anne Vyalitsina wears a light blue bikini set & silver gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Belen Rodriguez wears a red bikini set & black gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a curled ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the lightweight division.

Round 1:
Belen relies on her power punching approach which keeps Anne in mid-distance safety in the early stages but she eventually tries to outwork the local favorite with a slugging attack that triggers a hectic dispute come the second minute. Both women aim for the head-hunting success where Anne lands a crippling left hook on the mouth to reel the brunette backwards but fails on the follow up and gets locked into a clinch as Belen muscles her way into a rare stalemate. She bumps the blonde off down the stretch and cracks a left hook on the mouth to restore parity before blocking off Anne's desperate jabbing push that ends with the Russian eating a counter-punching blast right up the middle instead.

Round 2:
Belen finds more success working on the overhand swing, she's happy to see Vyalitsina in such an aggressive mood which makes her response mission slightly easier. Anne comes in hot and wants to slug it out but gets overpowered by the former title challenger and slumps to the side when Rodriguez whacks her on the chin with a nasty uppercut double. Belen pauses a bit and lets a right hook crash into Anne's temple which sends the Russian babe reeling onto the ropes wholesale. Anne just can't escape the subsequent heat and gets clobbered to the body as Belen cranks up the slugging volume and pounds away in supreme form leaving the SI model slumped in spasms at the bell.

Round 3:
More fancy jabs from Belen who doesn't look rusty at all anymore. She drills her mitts into Vyalitsina's face and stuffs her in the center of the ring before a looping left cross tags the ear and wobbles the younger woman into an uppercut combo that Rodriguez is all set to explore with room to spare. Anne can't even clinch her and gets scythed across the mouth before another banging piledriver clips her nose and DROPS DOWN FOR THE COUNT!!! Ugh! Blonde model just couldn't embrace the Latin American heat anymore and just dropped to her knees... she takes the standard eight count before getting up and Rodriguez is ready to take her for another slugging spin! She races across the ring to pounce on the seemingly wounded Russian and thumps her back to the ropes but Anne refuses to go away here and spikes the brunette's ribcage in an otherwise futile attempt to salvage her pride as Belen still nails her across the lips and leaves a bloody mark on the blonde's face. Uh-oh! Anne shouts something in her native language and the word сука doesn't require subtitles at all.

Round 4:
Anne jumps into a hectic slugging attack which leaves Belen a little surprised at first but there's every chance the Russian goes out of this one swinging! She scythes the older woman across the nose but fails to throw her off the comfort zone so Belen duly works her way back thru supreme precision that gives Anne bloody lips again. Ugh! Vyalitsina soaks up the pressure and lands a big right overhand on the brow ridge that cuts a small gash before thumping the exposed chest and this is where Rodriguez gets caught napping as she wobbles into an uppercut flurry but still gets stuffed like a training dummy as Anne drives the jug muggin' wave until she pounds the Argentine showgirl onto the ropes. She adds a wild belting hook on the liver area right at the bell and for once Belen looks vulnerable here!

Round 5:
Belen comes storming back to snap Anne's head back with a left cross but eats a similar shot from the inside and wobbles to the side as the Russian beats her for a quick overhand swing and begins to rattle more punches straight on target. Uh-oh! The small gash over the left brow ridge suddenly gets bigger and Anne outworks the older babe in heads up slugging dispute before she stuffs her with another belting hook on the liver... Uh-oh!!! BELEN IS HURT!!! She wobbles forward with a whimper but instead of clinching the blonde, she gets SMOKED by a vicious uppercut bomb on the chin... DOWN GOES RODRIGUEZ!!! The local favorite gets floored by a proper haymaker and looks rattled even during an otherwise slowish count. She gets up at eight but stares down the Russian with that misty look in her eyes and Anne literally shoves the ref away before launching a head-hunting haywire blast to blow Belen away on the spot! Whatever damage the initial uppercut did, it only gets worse now as Anne thumps Belen into stupor along the ropes and renders her completely numb come the two-minute mark. The Argentine babe drops her gloves by the wayside and bellows out on top of the ropes with her eyes closed so the referee has no other option but to HALT THE CONTEST before Belen gets pounded out of her senses! Stunning TKO5 Anne Vyalitsina in come-from-behind fashion!!!

AFTER: This is a shocking result given both these fighters' profiles and Anne simply scored another upset against Italian-based opponent having dispatched Elisabetta Gregoraci last year already. She engages in another furious Russian tirade as Belen has to be escorted back to the locker room in full-blown shaken & stirred fashion. But this is all about Anne and her potential rise up the rankings. If she wanted to upstage Tanya Mityushina just by winning her next fight then she also upstaged the predictions taking Belen's scalp and one can only wonder if the bidding war enters true contender status going forward!

Official Result: Anne Vyalitsina def. Belen Rodriguez TKO5.