Kelowna woman, Moras, celebrates biggest win of career on weekend
Sarah (Cheesecake) Moras, who trains at Toshido MMA in Kelowna, secured the biggest win of her career at UFC 215 in Edmonton on Saturday night.
After a two-year hiatus from the sport of mixed martial arts to rehab a number of injuries, Moras showed no sign of ring rust as she quickly submitted Ashlee Evans-Smith. This, despite her American opponent being ranked 15th in the world and a 2-to-1 favourite going into the fight.
The action started quickly, with Moras finding herself on her back early from a botched takedown attempt. Moras swiftly regained guard position and immediately attacked Evans-Smith’s arm from the bottom.
After a valiant effort by Evans-Smith to escape the submission, she was forced to tap out to the armlock as the ref stopped the action two minutes 51 seconds into the first round.
“This was the largest fight of Sarah’s career,” said Toshido MMA head coach David Lea. “To come back after two years and finish a top-15 opponent as quickly as she did, that sends a statement to the rest of the UFC women’s bantamweight division that Sarah is back!
“Our goal is to crack the top 10 by the end of the year,” Lea added.
Moras hopes to be back in the octagon by December, perhaps at a UFC on FOX event.
Moras joins a long list of worldclass fighters who have developed under the tutelage of Lea at Toshido MMA, including UFC veterans Shane Campbell and Matt Dwyer, as well as Rory MacDonald, who now fights for Bellator after being a UFC contender in the welterweight division.