Featherweight Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Genah Fabian (Waikato-Tainui) has suffered a unanimous points loss today against Canadian Bobbi Jo Dalziel in Long Island, New York.
29-year-old Fabian, who a had a pro record of one win and no losses going into the fight, was outclassed in three rounds by Dalziel. The Canadian landed a whopping 110 total strikes on Fabian, who could only answer with 45 of her own. The fighters spent almost the entire fight on their feet trading blows, with Dalziel opening a decent cut on Fabian’s face in the third round.
The judges scored the fight: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28. It was the first Professional Fighters League (PFL) event in 2019, with the promotion run by Tongan-born former kickboxing champion Ray Sefo.
The PFL is an ongoing tournament rather than a series of one-off events.
Under PFL rules, the eight fighters with the most points in each weight class advance will advance to the playoff rounds after six fight events.
The point system consists of outcome-based scoring and bonuses for an early win. Under the outcome-based scoring system, the winner of a fight receives three points. If the fight ends in a draw, both fighters will receive one point. There are bonus points for finishing a fight early: winning a fight in the first, second, or third round is three points, two points, and one point, respectively.
Fabian has a background in kickboxing, and holds a 7-2 pro record.
She had a background in track and field as a teenager, before turning to combat sports in her early 20’s. Fabian trains at the increasingly successful City Kickboxing Gym in Auckland, which is also the home gym of UFC middleweight world champion Israel Adesanya.