BEFORE: One of the most underrated bantamweight rivalries resumes here tonight and the stakes are higher than usual. Defending champion Minka Kelly could look no further than Evangeline Lilly to maintain her #1 divisional status and allthough younger contenders like Nina Dobrev or Emily VanCamp would love to remove the veterans from the spotlight, this match-up proves that women in their mid 30s are still going strong and have no intentions of slowing down anytime soon.

Minka Kelly wears a silver bikini top, red knickers and black gloves. Dark brown hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Evangeline Lilly wears a red & white striped bikini top, white knickers and yellow gloves. Dark brown hair tied in a small bun at the back of her head. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the bantamweight division.

Round 1:
It's impossible to expect Evangeline feeling any nerves before the title clash and Minka is the first one to admit that as she wastes no time in shutting the challenger down from the bell. Both women secure a close range brawlimg opener with plenty of mean punches testing the limits however most of them land on Lilly's body and her efforts to dominate the champion upstairs are largely fruitless. Evangeline holds her ground though and prevents Minka from making serious inroads; she has to clinch the American briefly to establish her balance but once Kelly gains separation the production level actually drops with Evangeline looking more agile on her feet. The defensive switch does her no favors though and Minka catches her with a piercing hook on the brow ridge late to probably steal the opening honors.

Round 2:
Similar tactics in the second, both women settle quickly in close range and while Minka keeps firing away at the challenger's body, Evangeline does likewise and actually hurts the champ with a belting hook on the liver area. Kelly looks more annoyed than anything else over that shot but her switch upstairs triggers immediate response from the Canadian who shows superior accuracy and beats Minka for a quick overhand on the left eye. Because of the frequent past meetings the southpaw stance (orthodox for any left-hander like Kelly) hardly bothers Lilly and the champ needs no reminders that this will be a much tougher test than her St. Patrick's Day brawl vs Jenny McCarthy who clearly struggled to adjust her tactics. Another piercing cross finds the brow ridge again just before the bell and Evangeline is all set to pull even on the cards as the champ tries to calm herself down during the interval.

Round 3:
Back & forth we go; there's literally nothing to choose between these two and neither is willing to change the close range spiking assault. Since a truly big punch is also missing from the record, the resistance test continues however Lilly looks a little more threatening when trying to expose Kelly's brow ridge. The champ swings more left hooks around the temples but cuts thin air more often and has to enforce a late clinch when the Canadian suddenly jumped forward and almost wobbled her back to the ropes. Minka manages to wrap her around into a stalemate at the last moment but still eats a jabbing combo on the ribcage as Evangeline tries to secure the otherwise drawn round into her favor.

Round 4:
Some of the fans begin to wonder if these two show each other too much respect. Minka tries to find a new plan to put some real pressure on the challenger and walks around in mid distance which meets zero reaction from Evangeline. Both women exchange single hand assault but fail to graze serious flesh before the Canadian actually jumps forward and makes Kelly lose her footing in a hectic effort to counter her from the side. AND THE LEFT CROSS FINDS MINKA'S EYE immediately sending the champion against the ropes where Lilly traps her for remainder of the round and ignites quick jabbing pounce on the body. Minka's clinching efforts are worthless at this stage and she can't muscle her rival off; she gets clipped on the rack as Evangeline presses her into the ropes and finds more punishing jabs on the toned breadbasket. Kelly looks relieved when the ref pulls the fellow brunette off her at the bell and the staredown exchange indicates we might finally have a true rivalry classic on our hands now.

Round 5:
During the interval the swelling around Minka's left eye has visibly increased and this triggers the champ's furious start to the fifth round; she buries Evangeline under a heavy aerial onslaught and for whatever reason the experienced Canadian just didn't see it coming... she gets caught with a left hook on the mouth before a follow up from the other side slams her on the ear... Lilly wobbles onto her heels but her response bounces off the forearms and Kelly scythes her across the mouth again to secure a dominant position. Evangeline quickly applies a high earmuff but refuses to step backwards - only for the Los Angeles girl to blast her on the liver area and bend her forward into a brutal uppercut on the jaw... Lilly's knees suddenly buckle and as she tries to lock a much-needed clinch she eats another hook on the ear AND TUMBLES DOWN ON HER BACKSIDE to a rampant ovation from the Las Vegas audience. That's the Minka we all know and the champ has a good reason to shout at the fallen brunette who has to accept an eight count before rising back to her feet. She immediately circles back and avoids tangling up with the Irish-American who on the other hand desperately tries to add more venom into her show. However Lilly is just that little quicker across the boards and while that doesn't win her too many friends in the audience, survival is the name of the game after that painful knockdown. Bell.

Round 6:
Minka hopes to close things out now but she struggles to match the Canadian's footwork at first and gives her enough time to recover by the time the close range brawling resumes. On the other hand it was naive to think such a wiley vet like Lilly would fade away without at least trying to mount a proper comeback. Minka scores all the meaningful punches but since she can't trap her rival against the ropes she must fend off a spirited response over the top and the swelling around her left eye doesn't help her cause at all. She digs a couple of heavy jabs into Evangeline's body but then eats a right cross on the swollen area and clearly loses her hitherto superior punching execution. Lilly jumps on top of her come the final minute even if it's too late to steal the round but a left/right crossing route on the mouth sinks Minka on her heels and makes this bout anything but a foregone conclusion.

Round 7:
LCA entourage sits on the knockdown advantage and Minka's seen too much action not to cherish it - especially that she couldn't really add to Evangeline's woes in the sixth. The defensive switch blows right back into her face though - quite literally - when the Canadian splits the high guard and pierces the previously swollen left eye into more misery. Minka gets trapped on left leg which stays behind and Lilly explores the cleavage firing uppercuts in close range to reel the champion back. The Irish girl does well enough to avoid getting trapped in the corner but when Lilly beats her for a double overhand and smacks the head back & forth then things get really serious. Minka leans forward and triggers a heavy jabbing onslaught to walk the challenger back to center of the ring before Evangeline still has the last laugh when she scythes the fellow brunette across the mouth and adds a belting hook on the navel to bend the champ into spasming conclusion of a very uneven round.

Round 8:
Minka regains the fiery attitude as Evangeline simply left her with no other choice; the close range brawling is a very familair scenario but the Canadian scores more success around the swollen eye and tries oh-so badly to shut it completely down. In fact, other than the fifth round knockdown disaster, she's been the better woman on the night according to most pundits. She eventually makes Kelly really worried over that potential injury and shuts her down in the center of the ring while switching low on the guts for a good measure. Minka just can't tame the challenger and loses her precision come the final minute before eating more cross hook over the top that pound her butt-in-ropes. The high Canadian assault does the trick but the real eye-opener comes inside the last twenty seconds when a monster hook on the liver makes Kelly scream out and wobble forward into a nasty follow up on the chin. Lilly lifts her right leg just as she delivers the punch and almost takes the Irish brunette off into the orbit with her... AND KELLY SLIDES DOWN ON HER BACKSIDE... that's a truly shocking sight for some despite all the good work from Evangeline up to this point... the champ gets rescued by the bell just as she gets back up on her feet at eight but she looks quite shaky now and Lilly bumps her shoulder into her chest as they head back to their corners.

Round 9:
Minka complains to LCA head coach Claudia Schiffer that her jaw is hurting and well, let's be honest, her left eye looks quite bad as well. Meanwhile Lilly is buzzing with wrath in the other corner and quickly closes the distance to resume the uppercut nightmare. Kelly's guard suddenly takes a time-out and enables the Canadian to deliver mosnter strikes which send the champ butt-in-ropes and clinching in numbers. The ref tries to let the girls settle their feud the rough way and Minka's ribcage takes a pounding as a result. She simply can't block the older brunette and gets wrapped onto the turnbuckle with Lilly rallying to a championship glory with methodical and ruthless display. She leaves the Irish-American yelping in pain and sagging on jelly knees at the bell, the worst possible sight for the lioness crew before the final round.

Round 10:
Can Evangeline knock Minka out now? The champ lives on borrowed time according to most pundits and Lilly looks like she just entered the fight. She splits the high guard and resumes knocking more leather into the swollen eye before Kelly simply cries out her resistance and allows the Canadian to spike it into a bloody mess! Ugh! Minka's eye is literally no more, swollen shut and begging for a medical treatment. Likewise the lips who remain under fire as Lilly hits the destruction button and batters the Irish girl into standstill. The ref looks to be fond of this rampage or he just wants to save Kelly's pride but he refuses to stop the fight even though Minka slides onto the ropes with eyes closed and appears to be thoroughly finished. Even the challenger runs out of fuel and finally drops the tempo of her aggression but she's done more than enough to send the champ to the point of no return. Clock expires just as the two women collapse against the turnbuckle but there's only going to be one winner here tonight. Comes back 96-94 for your winner and the NEW unified bantamweight champion Evangeline Lilly!!!

AFTER: Evengeline gave it her all in the latter stages and comes away with the big prize! She has little energy left to celebrate this extremely hard-fought success but the outgoing champion looks far worse to wear. Minka simply slides down on her bum and her head collapses between the shoulder before head coach Schiffer makes her way to the ring and analyzes the damage. And there's plenty of it to address. The left eye is completely swollen shut and the lips are bleeding too while Minka mumbles her demise and asks the German to escort her from the ring. She's no longer the champ and she knows it!

Meanwhile Evangeline finally affords herself a beaming smile when she catches her breath back. The Minka rivalry has resumed in the perfect way possible for the 36 year old Floydian stalwart and she's quick to shout some words of advice to the LCA contingent. Not so friendly words of advice but this duell hasn't written it's last chapter by all accounts and the new champ wants her nemesis to realize that. Minka acknowledges it's not over as she glares down at the Canadian with her one healthy eye but she has to yield center stage tonight and orders coach Schiffer to throw the belts straight at the "goofy face so she can choke on them!"

Final result: Evangeline Lilly def. Minka Kelly UD10.