LONG BEACH, Calif. – It might not have been the performance Sumiko Inaba was hoping for, but perhaps it was one she needed.
Facing Nadine Mandiau for a second time, Inaba was pushed – and almost finished – but ultimately grinded out a unanimous decision win Saturday night at Bellator 286 from Long Beach Arena. After 15 minutes, the judges scored the fight 29-28 and 30-27 twice for Inaba, but those scores were deceiving given how close the fight truly was.
And that might’ve come as a surprise since Inaba (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) needed just 65 seconds to beat Mandiau (2-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) by TKO as amateurs back in October 2018.
