Tale of the Tape:
Diana Korkunova:
Age: 25
Height: 5'5
W/L: 27-8 (27KOs)
Former BBU flyweight champion.
Vs
Ivana Baquero:
Age: 27
Height: 5'3
W/L: 18-3 (17KOs)
Current BBU flyweight champion.

(The Sirens vs Girls Friday)

(Written by Girls Friday/Results by Lookout!)

Intro:
Now it is main event time on this historic anniversary card, the BBU flyweight title is on the line as former champion Diana Korkunova takes on champion Ivana Baquero, the Spanish fighter making her first defence here in the Utilita Arena in Newcastle on the biggest night of her stables history, will the night end in tears for the Girls Friday crew or can Ivana give them a perfect ending against one of the best pound for pound in the world?

Diana is on a four fight winning run in the BBU since she lost her flyweight title, this being her first shot at the title since then with Ivana hoping to stop the former champion from gaining back the world title, before the fight they met outside the arena they were going to fight in for the press, Diana wearing a blue denim jacket with matching jeans, white T-shirt and black trainers, Ivana holding the title on her left shoulder as she wears a black leather jacket, black denim jeans and white black trainers, both probably wishing they were indoors as cold starts to set in this time of year.

After facing off with fists raised, they separate after photos are taken as a podium is set up, Diana being the first to speak at the podium, joking "we couldn't do this a few months ago when it was sunny" getting laughs as even Ivana grins and nods in agreement.

"First I want to say thank you to the Girls Friday management for letting me a part of this massive event for them, also to Ivana for choosing me as her first defence, honestly I thought I would be waiting longer for another shot at being champion, I was losing hope but kept plugging away, now I get the chance to hold that belt once again" Diana adds more seriously.

She looks over at Ivana, telling the champion "while I respect you, I want that title back for me and my stable, you are a great fighter but I am not going to go away so easily" she walks away from the podium locking eyes with Ivana, who stares right back as she moves to the podium.

Placing the title on the podium in front of her, Ivana says "I am glad to hear Diana respects me, I can't say I dislike her beyond trying to take this title away from me, for the past five years since I joined the Girls Friday stable I have been clawing my way up to the top, I debuted against the then champion Jenna Louise Coleman, I have proven I am the best friendly" with a tap of the title with her left hand to prove her point.

Nodding as she looks at her challenger, Ivana says "I know this isn't going to be a cakewalk, you were very impressive as the champion, though I waited by my phone for a call off you, let's be frank you knew you couldn't handle my relentlessness" That makes Diana mouth "oh?" In reply, smiling looking excited by the challenge of the champion.

Over comes Diana to the champion, who stands hands on her hips watching closely the stunning model, Diana puts out her right hand, showing her class as Ivana nods and accepts the handshake, a sign of respect for now, as they head off to get warmed up, will they be as respectful when the bell rings?

Fight night, out first comes the challenger, Diana thudding her black gloves together as she walks to the ring with her coach Henry Carvill, she looks focused as she is wearing a white sports bra, matching trunks with her surname in black letters on the waistband, white shoes, hair tied into a ponytail, she enters the ring bouncing on her toes in her corner.

The BBU flyweight champion now coming out through the curtain, Ivana made her debut in Newcastle back five years ago, so it is fitting her first defence is here, she walks to the ring with Taryn Terrell and cut woman Eva Carneiro beside her, Taryn holding the belt up as they walk down the aisle, Baquero wearing a red sports bra with gold trim, matching trunks, shoes, red gloves and her hair is braided, she steps into the ring eyeing up Diana across the ring, pacing side to side thudding her gloves together.

When they are brought together for the face off and final instructions, Ivana squares up to the taller woman, Diana staring right back into her eyes, referee telling the fighters to stick to the rules, when they are told to touch gloves, respectfully they do before jogging to their corners, crowd roaring as the bell rings to start 10 rounds of BBU flyweight title action.

Round 1:
"Ding!" Both fighters take a breath before they come out to fight, trading stiff jabs as we see the different in looks from the fighters, Diana staying tall compared to the crouching Ivana, who is trying to find a way to close that gap early to work away on the inside, getting clipped on the top of her head as she steps in with her punches around the abs of the challenger.

A one-two combo catches Ivana to her face as Diana starts to open up now, banging in another two punch combo to make Ivana shell up, till she misses with a left cross as the Spanish fighter ducks under it to finally get in two short right hooks followed by a left to the opposite side of the body, getting shoved back by Korkunkova to open up space.

Heading towards the halfway point of the round, with a jab followed by a right cross turning Ivana's head to the side, a three punch straight combo then follows as the champions head is snapped back, Ivana ending up pressed to the ropes, covering up as Diana looks to break open that guard to smash in the face of the Girls Friday fighter.

Pulling Diana into a clinch, getting the referee to break them apart, when they resume Ivana starts to get in more as they enter the final minute of the round, still getting caught to her face as that reach advantage is already proving a problem, at the bell it's a solid start from Korkunova as she returns to her corner.

Round 2:
Back out the come with Ivana stepping onto the front foot quicker, burying in a jab to the chest of Diana to open her up to an overhand right to the cheek of the taller fighter, knocking her to her heels, getting clipped back with a left cross to her cheek in return.

Giving Diana a nudge with her left forearm, wanting to keep the challenger off balance as they exchange on the inside, Ivana proving to be a hassling pain to Diana, catching her to the cheek with overhand punches, getting clipped around her head by short digging punches.

Pushing back out Ivana to range, a one-two smacks Ivana to the nose, that slows her down as we head past the halfway point of the round, Diana getting her rhythm going again as she forces the champ to cover up, pressing back Ivana around the outside of the ring as takes the center for herself.

Late on a missed straight opens up Diana to an overhand left to her jaw, an uppercut then knocks back Diana to her heels, back across the ring go the fighters as Ivana drives her challenger to the ropes, pounding away to the body in the final ten seconds to the bell, Ivana nodding to Taryn when the round ends, happier with how that went after a bad round.

Round 3:
Back out they come with eyes locked as the focus is on show, they exchange stiff single punches as Diana seems to be backing off a little more, trying to keep the gap where she is more comfortable compared to Ivana, with the actress getting smacked around her forehead.

Ivana dips down to land two hard body shots, getting pulled into a front headlock, Ivana driving Diana to the ropes, referee breaking them up with Ivana looking upset, eyes full of fire as they resume with Baquero swinging in hooks, LEADING TO HER GETTING CAUGHT WITH A COUNTER RIGHT TO THE TOP OF HER HEAD THEN AN LEFT UPPERCUT SENDS IVANA TO HER BACK!

The crowd stands whistling and cheering as Taryn mouths a few curse words, 1...2...3... Ivana shaking her head as she props herself up on her elbows to clear her vision, 4...5...6... She turns to her front and pushes to her knees, 7...8.. Pushing to her feet, fists up nodding that she wants to fight on.

As they resume Diana is quick to pounce on Ivana, knocking her head back with a double jab/straight combo, less then a minute to go, Ivana defending herself as best as she can under the barrage from the challenger, grabbing Diana in a clinch to slow the assault down, referee splits them up with the remaining seconds of the round seeing Ivana shelling up, at the end of the round Diana making a big leap with that knockdown, she mouths "yes" as she returns to her stool.

Round 4:
The champion doesn't look as confident understandably to come back out on the front foot, Diana slinging in double jab that lands on the gloves of Ivana, looking for openings as she dances around her opponent, digging in punches around the chest of Ivana to try to break that guard up.

Ivana tries to land several punches over the top to catch out Diana, mostly grazing if she does land, taking a right straight into her marked up face, then a left hook smacks Ivana on the jaw to send some sweat flying off her brow, back goes the Girls Friday fighter as her team is starting to look worried.

Especially as she gets clocked with a left cross then a straight that sends her into a neutral corner, Ivana shelling up as Diana looking to end this with a flurry of punches coming towards the head of Ivana, grabbing onto Diana desperately, Ivana has a cut on the bridge of her nose.

After being broken apart and told to fight on, Diana doesn't quite land flush with some hooks, Ivana uncharacteristically backing off from her challenger, needing to be smart to get out of the round as the bell dings, Ivana sitting on her stool getting a rallying speech from Taryn, things more calmer in the Sirens corner as Henry simply telling Diana to keep boxing smart, let Ivana either give up or knock her out when the chance presents itself.

Round 5:
Exchanging around the ring as Ivana realising she can't win retreating looks somewhat back to her normal self, using feints to try to find chances to strike, Diana smartly just sticking behind her range finding shots, using her jab to knock back Ivana when she gets in closer.

Slowly though Ivana is starting to find gaps to strike, dipping under a left cross to hammer in a right hook to the ribs, then a short left uppercut knocks back the head of her opponent, Diana tries to give Ivana a shove, IVANA SETS HER FEET QUICKLY AS SHE SWINGS IN ANOTHER UPPERCUT TO SEND DIANA DOWN ONTO HER BACKSIDE!

Taryn jumping for joy as now it's Henry shaking his head in disbelief at what he is seeing here, 1...2...3.. Diana now starts to blink rapidly to clear her vision, 4...5...6.. Diana pushes herself up to her right foot and left knee, 7...8.. Getting to her feet tapping her gloves together before raising her fists, showing she wants to continue.

Back they come together with Ivana looking to have a second wind, getting right into the grill of the model, who is swinging in short hooks towards the head of Baquero, things getting scruffy as they nearly clash heads due to the renewed aggressiveness from Ivana, both ending up clinched up, needing to be pushed apart, at the bell it's a solid return round for Ivana after being on the back foot the last few rounds.

Round 6:
The exchanges are becoming harder fought now, Ivana pressing in closer to force the action, she slips under a straight to bash in a straight to the body of her opponent, then an overhand left smacks Korkunova onto her jaw to send sweat from the beautiful models head.

Near the ropes Diana is being herded around, she is now the one covering up more tightly, Ivana switching up targets as she is drilling punches into the abs of the challenger, with overhand shots landing more clean then Henry would clearly like as he shakes his head.

After a rough first half of the round, Diana using her left forearm to create space, slinging in several good straight punches to knock sweat off the head of her opponent, Ivana grimacing when her cut nose is being hit, bullying back the champion across the ring to another set of ropes.

With less then thirty seconds to go Ivana dips under a right hook, she hammers in two left hooks under the ribs of Diana, then uses her right forearm to nudge back Korkunova, they let their hands go on the way to the bell, when the round ends with the fighters staring at their coaches wondering how they will overcome their opponent, both marked up as Ivana's blood trickles from the end of her nose.

Round 7:
As they exchange early on Ivana is definitely finding more openings to strike through, getting clipped with cross punches and straight punches into her face, keeping Ivana from bullying her backwards like the last two rounds, punches knocking sweat off the others head as the crowd roars.

A counter right catches Ivana to turn her head, a double jab knocks back the head of the champion, driving back Baquero towards a neutral corner, sending in hooks around the guard to make Ivana wince, grabbing onto Diana in a tight clinch to slow her assault down, referee needed to step in to break them apart.

As they resume Diana is back on the front foot, Ivana getting caught with hard combos through to her face, getting clinched again as Ivana doesn't want to let her assault go unanswered, landing some kidney shots as the referee warns Baquero to keep it clean.

Final forty seconds with Diana again coming on the front foot, missing with a left cross as Ivana gets her right glove up in time, stepping in with a jab into the solar plexus of the model, an overhand right then smacks Korkunova onto her chin to send sweat flying off, knocking back Diana onto the ropes, working the body again as her head is under the chin of Diana till the bell rings, they return to their corners with both women taking a breath on their stools.

Round 8:
Coming back out to fight with Diana on the attack with several double jabs out the gate, Ivana needing to back off early as the challenger seems to smell blood in the water, shots catching the champion around the top of her head in the first forty seconds.

Till Diana swings in a left cross that Ivana crouches under, a right lands square into the solar plexus of Diana, then a left hook looks to lift up her ribs, making Korkunova wince as she backs off now, Ivana now the aggressor as she shoves back the challenger towards the ropes.

Body shots are certainly starting to hurt Diana, who is trying to protect herself better but is beginning to open herself up more up top, Baquero not one to turn down free shots up top strikes in hooks across the face of the taller woman, Diana needing to hold onto Ivana to slow her down in this topsy turvy fight.

It looks like Diana can't get out of her own way as she nearly trips backwards when they resume after a right hook flashes near her chin, she is being bullied around the ring as Ivana drives into her with more thudding body shots, Diana holding onto her each time till the round ends, the fighters both look to be hurting as they return to their corners, Diana sucking in more air now, trying to refill the tank before these final two rounds.

Round 9:
Neither are as quick to push off their stool, Ivana is finding some more gaps to attack, with Diana getting in some good single punches, a right hook just sails over Ivana's head as Diana looks like she wants one big shot to end this on her terms not Ivana's.

Soon enough though a right smacks into that solar plexus again, Diana starting to bend a little bit as she gets smacked behind the ear by an overhand left, holding onto her opponent to force the referee to break them up, chants for both fighters are creating an electric atmosphere as neither fighter wants to give this up easily.

Heading into the final minute, Ivana catches Diana with a right hook on the chin that looks to have rocked the challenger, who is knocked back by more pounding punches around her face, AN UPPERCUT CATCHES DIANA FLUSH ON HER CHIN TO SEND HER DOWN TO HER BACK! IVANA JUMPING UP ARMS RAISED AS THE REFEREE YELLS AT HER TO GO TO THE NEUTRAL CORNER!

After Ivana does as told by the referee, the count begins 1...2...3.. With Diana looking at the lights with her left glove lifted up to her forehead, 4...5...6.. Right knee bent but she is still on her back groaning in pain, 7...8.. Henry willing his fighter to find the strength to push up, 9...10 instead she is counted out!

Winner and still BBU flyweight champion Ivana Baquero KO Round 9

After:
What a way to end this anniversary card for the Girls Friday stable with an absolute war for the flyweight title, Ivana falls to her knees seemingly as much from exhaustion as well as emotion, arms in the air as tears of joy trickle down her cheeks, a big smile etched on her marked up face, she had to dig down dip to show she could arguably be the number one flyweight in the division.

Diana on the other hand is checked over by the ringside doctor and her coach Henry, she admits she got it wrong to her coach as she is helped to sit up, staring hard at the canvas knowing she had Ivana rocked early in the fight, instead of being the one on top she is on the deck.

Crowd applaud both fighters as they are led to their corners to be patched up by their coaches, even the managers are on their feet whistling and cheering these two warriors, though both are probably just as happy to be getting treated by their corner team, along with just a moment to breath.

Once they are both ready they come slowly to the middle of the ring, Ivana getting her right hand raised as Taryn places the title belt around her waist, Diana clapping Ivana with a respectful nod to her, showing her class that has made her so popular in the BBU, over comes Ivana to give her a hug, both smiling as they chat, Ivana telling Diana she better be coming to the after party with what they put each other through, Diana letting her know she will as they act like old friends, not two women who tried to knock each others lights out for a world title.

As Diana leaves the ring she gets a long round of applause from the crowd, Diana blowing kisses to the fans as she walks up the aisle to show her love for them, Diana heading to the back knowing her future is very bright with the crowd behind her and her impressive legacy growing with each fight.

In the ring Ivana smiles as she claps Diana herself, then once Korkunova is in the back stage area, Ivana can take in her own cheers and chants of "there's only one Ivana Baquero! One Ivana Baquero!" Which makes her chuckle, going on a lap of honour holding the title belt up with her right hand, who will be the next challenger to the title?

All Ivana is interested in as she leaves the ring is hitting the bar that's being rented for the party, Taryn and Eva chuckling as they joke about if Ivana will be dancing on the tops with the title belt on, all smiles as the night ends on a positive note for the Girls Friday stable, who will hope the next ten years can be as magical.