The queen remained the queen, albeit in an anticlimactic manner.

Alycia Baumgardner and Delfine Persoon had to settle for a no-contest in their RING/Undisputed 130-pound championship. A collision of heads left Persoon with a deep cut on his right eyebrow, forcing an early end on Friday at Lux Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

The incident in question occurred with approximately 45 seconds left on lap four. Since the fight did not last until the end of the fourth quarter, it was not declared an official fight.

“Listen, everyone knows I was on the verge of blaming her,” Baumgardner said of the sudden ending. “Just understand, I’m back.”

For Belgian Persoon, 39, there were signs of a long night coming off the WBC mandatory challenger’s ring walk.

The former WBC lightweight titleholder wore a massive brace on her right knee that appeared to limit her mobility. Their normally highly dynamic offense was nowhere to be found, but that was also due to the speed and power of the 30-year-old Baumgardner, who was sharp despite a 14-month break.

Baumgardner (15-1, 7 knockouts; 1 no-contest) scored the only knockout of the fight late in the first game. A left hook that trailed a right hand forced Persoon (49-3, 19 KOs; 2 NC) to touch the canvas with both gloves. Referee Laurence Cole correctly ruled that she went down and counted the obligatory eight.

Persoon had slight success with her long, straight right hand in the second and third rounds. These moments were rare compared to Baumgardner’s success through both her right hands and left hooks.

Halfway through the fourth round, time ran out after both fighters clashed heads. Persoon stepped forward and then tried to back away as Baumgardner lowered her head to readjust her stance. The sequence resulted in Persoon turning away in pain while scratching at her right eyebrow. Cole sent both fighters to a neutral corner and called the ringside doctor to examine the wound.

Persoon was visibly upset, despite being told twice that if the fight was stopped the fight would end in a no-contest. This was the decision as it was determined that the cut was too severe for Persoon to continue.

The fight extended Baumgardner’s ten-fight unbeaten streak. However, it was her first fight since July 2018 that did not end in a win. This loss was suffered by Christina Linardatou, a defeat she avenged in a ten-round decision last July in Detroit, Michigan.

Following this championship defense, controversy arose when it was revealed that Baumgardner had tested positive for a banned substance. Due to inaction by the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission, the matter continued for months. Baumgardner was ultimately placed on probation by a decision from the WBC, which ordered the fight to take place on Friday.

Persoon is now undefeated in her last six starts, including two no-contests.

The run came after her loss to Katie Taylor in August 2020 in their RING/Undisputed Lightweight rematch in Brentwood, England. Persoon’s long-running WBC lightweight title reign ended with a narrow loss to Ireland’s Taylor in their full unification fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden in June 2019.

Persoon was the No. 1 contender with all four major sanctioning bodies and was rated No. 1 at 130 by The Ring. However, it was a record-breaking hearing won by the Global Combat Collective, which provided $500,000 to secure combat rights. GCC outbid Matchroom Boxing ($281,500), Baumgardner’s record promoter, even though her contract ended with Friday’s fight.

On Friday, Baumgardner defended at least one title for the fifth time and RING champion for the third time. She won the WBC belt in a November 2021 round of 16 knockout against undefeated defending champion Terri Harper. The IBF and WBO belts and the RING crown were added in a split decision over Mikaela Mayer, who was undefeated before their unification and grudge match in London in October 2022.

Baumgardner earned the final chip, the WBA strap, in a ten-round victory over Elhem Mekhaled last February in New York City. The fight was her first in the United States after three consecutive fights in the United Kingdom. Friday was her third in a row in the States.

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