Hannah Guy threw caution to the wind against Valerie Loureda, and it paid off Friday night at Bellator 259.

Guy withstood some initial adversity but rebounded in a big way to hand Loureda her first defeat in a scrappy fight, as Guy earned unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 from the judges at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Given how the fight unfolded, it’s hard to believe Guy didn’t come away with a submission as she had Loureda in trouble on two occasions.

Guy (3-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) came out as the aggressor in Round 1, but she paid for it when Loureda (3-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) landed a 2-3 combo and dropped her with a left hook. Loureda rushed in for the finish, but when she realized she couldn’t get it, she decided to let Guy up. Loureda’s standup continued to look good as Guy marched forward, but then Guy changed levels and secured a takedown. Guy transitioned to an armbar, and had it locked in tight, but Loureda managed to escape and get back to her feet. Between Loureda’s knockout and Guy’s threatened submission, it was a close round for the judges to score.

Early knockdown for @valerielouredaa

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— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) May 22, 2021

Check out the final minute of round 1⃣ between @ValerieLouredaa and Hannah Guy.

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Round 2, however, was a different story, after Guy changed levels in the early going. Loureda initially stuffed the takedown and ended on top, but Guy reversed the position and secured full mount with 3:30 remaining. Loureda was in serious danger as Guy secured an S-mount with Loureda’s arm trapped and eating punches and elbows. The referee appeared close to stopping the fight until Loureda’s toughness shined through again, and she somehow managed to escape a dire situation.

“I thought I was gonna finish with the triangle honestly,” Guy said. “She just slipped right out of there, so that was awesome of her. Her defense was really good. I was really impressed by that actually. I didn’t know what her ground game was, but it was a lot better than I thought. No offense to her.”

Hannah Guy keeps working for the sub!

A real tense fight here at Mohegan Sun

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— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) May 22, 2021

In Round 3, Guy wasted no time trying to get the fight to the mat by jumping for a guillotine. Loureda escaped and smartly backtracked to stand up, but she was visibly exhausted, while Guy marched forward. Loureda abandoned her basics and instead threw flashy strikes that didn’t connect and only left her in bad positions. Guy secured a takedown in the final minute and ended in dominant position to secure the round and victory.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 259 results include:

• Hannah Guy def. Valerie Loureda via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Saad Awad def. Nate Andrews via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:16
• Grant Neal def. Tyree Fortune via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:20
• Sumiko Inaba def. Kristina Katsikis via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:35
• Aviv Gozali def. Sean Felton via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 1:17
• Davion Franklin def. Tyler King via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:02
• Leah McCourt def. Janay Harding via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 2:42
• Danny Sabatello def. Brett Johns via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Alexander Shabliy def. Alfie Davis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)