Tiara Brown Stuns Skye Nicolson, Snatches WBC Featherweight Title in Gritty Upset | FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS

Inside Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, Tiara Brown (19-0, 11 KOs) stormed into hostile territory and ripped the WBC featherweight title away from Australia's Skye Nicolson (12-1, 1 KO) in a rugged, ten-round battle that swayed judges, silenced doubters, and turned a simmering grudge into a crowning moment.

Weeks before the fight, Brown criticized Nicolson’s path to the belt–won not in battle but by elevation after Amanda Serrano vacated the title, choosing to fight only under 12 three-minute round rules. Brown claimed Nicolson had been “spoon fed.” Nicolson fired back in the media, calling Brown's resume a "joke." The back-and-forth spilled into a combative press conference where tension brewed between the two, a grudge match was born, and the bad blood never cooled.

From the opening bell, Brown brought heat. Marching forward with grit on her gloves and purpose in her step, the undefeated Floridian ignored the crowd and the odds, betting on pressure over polish. Nicolson’s shots were sharper, but Brown’s were louder, heavier, and constant.

Nicolson boxed well early, sliding on the back foot, popping the jab, and placing shots to the body. But with every round, Brown crept closer. By the sixth, the rhythm was fractured. Nicolson was warned for wrestling and holding. By the seventh, she was being bullied, bent, pushed, and hit. A left uppercut in the eighth had her holding again, the pressure finally starting to show.

In the final two rounds, Brown ramped up the pressure, backing Nicolson onto the ropes in Round 9 and landing a flurry of hooks as the champion’s movement visibly slowed. Nicolson answered with sharp counters in an action-packed tenth, but Brown surged again down the stretch, closing strong and leaving the outcome in the judges’ hands.

A 96-94 score in Nicolson’s favor was overturned by 96-94 and 97-93 cards for Brown, sealing the split decision and ending Nicolson’s undefeated run. The crowd murmured. Brown beamed. A champion by effort, not elevation. - 🥊