Mixed martial arts career Tara LaRosa

1 mixed martial arts career

1.1 career
1.2 international career
1.3 independent promotions
1.4 invicta fc , pancrase
1.5 ultimate fighter

mixed martial arts career
early career

larosa s first mma fight april 2002 bantamweight bout against shelby walker in hooknshoot. used judo skills walker ground, full mount , landed punches led walker tap canvas right hand @ 3 minutes in fight. larosa s next opponent angela wilson on hooknshoot card. larosa won when hurt wilson right knee, obtained full mount on ground , unleashed punches, resulted in tko win @ 4:59 in round 1. @ shooto americas event, larosa submitted ginele marquez armbar.

larosa s first loss came in may 2003 @ hands of jennifer howe, considered top female fighter in mma. weeks notice larosa replaced howe s original opponent , competed vacant hooknshoot flyweight title. defeated tko after 2 minutes in first round. took year off mma competition , returned face , defeat linda langerak. larosa faced alisa cantwell @ xfo 4 on december 3, 2004. won fight armbar submission. quickest victory, despite illness on plane en route lakemoor location of bout.

international career

she faced hitomi akano @ mfc: usa vs. russia 3 on june 3, 2006, , won fight unanimous decision.

larosa signed bodogfight , debut against #2 ranked amanda buckner in highly touted 3 round battle in costa rica. submitted buckner rear-naked choke 29 seconds remaining in bout. @ bodogfight: usa vs. russia on december 2, 2006 in vancouver, larosa joined team usa fight counterpart, julia berezikova, member of fedor emelianenko s russian red devil team. larosa won fight armbar submission in second round. on card in costa rica, larosa earned dominant technical knockout win on shayna baszler. larosa next set face laura d auguste in championship bout, ankle injury forced d auguste off card , replaced kelly kobold. larosa met kobold @ bodogfight: alvarez vs. lee on july 14, 2007 bodogfight 135-pound women s championship. won fight via armbar submission in fourth round.

larosa in talks join international fight league , yamma until promotions closed in 2008 because of financial losses. next bout uncertain until august 2008, when signed american fight league (afl). upstart afl had acquired bobby lashley, mike van arsdale, julie kedzie , roxanne modafferi. contract afl lucrative 1 duration of 18 months, have made highest paid female fighter in mma. signing officially announced @ afl event on may 30, 2008 plans have fight on promotion s first pay per view card fall. bad economic climate cited reason pay per view did not happen. rematch roxanne modafferi shifted afl ironheart crown promotion, under affiliate promoter program. bout cancelled due shortage of afl funding. larosa never competed in afl result of bad economic conditions. larosa returned mma competition after 14-month absence face alexis davis @ extreme challenge: war @ shore on january 23, 2009. larosa survived triangle choke @ conclusion of second round , won tko when doctor stopped fight late in round 3 due worsened cut above davis eye. mmarising.com awarded bout fight of year , named larosa super flyweight of year .

larosa rematched roxanne modafferi @ moosin: god of martial arts on may 21, 2010. defeated split decision, marking first loss in 7 years.

larosa faced takayo hashi @ dammage fight league 1 on november 24, 2010 in atlantic city, new jersey. defeated hashi unanimous decision after 5 rounds become first dammage fight league women s 125 lbs champion. larosa s original opponent fight aisling daly, not approval bellator fighting championships compete.

independent promotions

during larosa s time in bodogfight, bout carina damm, promotion, considered never happened. years later, larosa went on face damm @ shark fights 14 on march 11, 2011, in lubbock, texas. bout made 2 weeks notice after co-main event match between houston alexander , james irvin cancelled. larosa won fight via submission reverse heel hook in second round. match had fulfilled first of 3 bouts larosa had shark fights.

in 2012, larosa signed non-exclusive three-fight contract resurrection fighting alliance (rfa). larosa fought kelly warren @ resurrection fighting alliance 2 on march 30, 2012. warren replaced angela magaña, injured in car accident. prior bout, larosa had spent second-longest time outside of mma competition not fighting 12 months. defeated warren submission due armbar 1 second remaining in fight.

the bout warren catchweight, larosa , warren exceeded flyweight limit 4 , 3 pounds, respectively. first time in larosa s career had missed weight, , larosa partly blamed issue on malfunctioning sauna caused 9 others miss contracted weight on same card, including elaina maxwell , ashley sanchez, overweight featherweight fight.

invicta fc , pancrase

larosa faced vanessa porto @ invicta fc 3: penne vs sugiyama on october 6, 2012. porto avoided larosa s takedown attempts, outstruck in stand up, , landed noticeably bruising kicks larosa s left leg. larosa defeated via unanimous decision (30-27 on scorecards).

on september 29, 2013, larosa faced rin nakai in non-title bout @ pancrase 252: 20th anniversary in yokohama, japan. defeated majority decision.

on september 6, 2014, larosa faced roxanne modafferi third time @ invicta fc 8. lost fight via unanimous decision.

the ultimate fighter

in august 2013, announced larosa 1 of fighters selected on ultimate fighter: team rousey vs. team tate. larosa faced sarah moras in elimination round tuf house. in 1 of show s bigger upsets, moras defeated larosa via decision, thereby eliminating show.