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The action kicked off a full day early for Invicta Strawweight and Flyweight, Pearl Gonzalez. Starting with a handshake, then a step forward by Pearl Gonzalez to get a little more intimate eye contact with her opponent, Barbara Acioly — at the Invicta FC 29 weigh-ins — escalating to Gonzalez getting a right-cross hook to the chin from her Invicta FC 29 opponent. An action that seemed to and rightly anger, Pearl Gonzalez. A splash of hot sauce now drizzled all over this Invicta FC 29 Flyweight bout.

Once in the Invicta FC 29 Octagon, Barbara Acioly would seem to have a reach advantage over her opponent, Pearl Gonzalez when arms positioned to outstretched. Reach advantage doesn’t always conclude to an advantage, as Gonzalez opted to use the lean-in stance and step in, to help her strikes reach their destination. Gonzalez would use the step in, overhand corckscrew – lefts and rights as her predominant weapons of choice, to score some significant point scoring strikes early on — strikes that are rather helpful againt longer / taller opponents than ones-self — before kicks were exchanged and caught; leading to the fight to head to the mat. A place where Gonzalez excels.

It would be Gonzalez who would gain the takedown off of the kick, but Acioly would secure a guillotine choke position on Gonzalez upon Pearl attacking a single-leg. A threat that Gonzalez quickly removed by positioning her body to the opposite side to the threat on the neck when completing the takedown. Goanzalez would lock in a figure-four to secure base from top position, and land some softening strikes to the rib of Barbara Acioly. Acioly would opt to keep a hold of Gonzalez’s neck from various half guards. Gonzalez would soon make quick transitions from being top half guard, to side-control, to mount, to dropping for an arm-bar. Which after a brief loss of position Gonzalez would post up and scoot back in to latch on a triangle choke; which would lead to an eventual: tight, semi belly down arm-bar that would get the tap-out victory for Pearl Gonzalez. Credit to Gonzalez on such an elegant cartwheel pass to mount also.

Rewinding back to Gonzalez’s pass from top half guard to side control. Barbara Acioly would effectively make Gonzalez’s job much easier to pass, as she would maintain a hold of a lost cause guillotine choke with an s-lock. Still persisting with such a hold as Gonzalez had upper body control with a gable-gripped hug; giving Pearl Gonzalez more movement in her lower body to push off of the legs of Acioly and shimmy her way out of and past the figure-four half guard. Gonzalez did have a shoulder choke (Von Flue Choke) in play whilst passing, but opted to let go of the hug and overhook the head of Acioli instead, looking for the pass as the next option, by walking her hips up to the head of Acioli’s to clear room for the pass.

Upon the referee calling an end to the Gonzalez / Acioly bout, there would be an instant apparent look of bemusement on the face of Barbara Acioly, along with some verbal condemning leading to commentators and viewers at home to believe Acioly was proclaiming that she ‘didn’t tap out’ to the armbar submission.

Upon clear replay review, Acioly did tap to the armbar. Leading to a a standard challenge for Pearl Gonzalez. One that she passed with ease.

Check out this SIGNED / FIGHT-WORN MMA Memorabilia!

Carla Esparza fight worn signed singlet — from her title losing fight against Joanna Jedrzejcyk | Carla Esparza fight worn shirt — UFC 197 vs. Julianna Lima | RARE, Fight Worn: TUF 10 SIGNED Trunks — Kimbo Slice / Team Rampage | Fight Worn King Mo, Bellator 175 Shorts | Fighter Worn, Signed, Ryan Bader — The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 T-Shirt | Rachelle Leah Signed UFC Octagon Girl Shorts | Signed Kevin Randleman UFC Shorts | Carla Esparza Signed TUF 20 Final Weigh-In Worn Used Bikin | Carla Espara Fight Worn TUF 20 Shorts — vs. Tecia Torres | Carla Esparza TUF 20 Fight Worn Shorts — vs. Jessica Penne | Demetrious Johnson Fight Worn Hand Wraps, Signed — From UFC on Fox 9