The seventh edition of the successful Jackson’s MMA Series took place tonight at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Tonight’s card was headlined by a women’s strawweight battle between Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson and Diana “Dynamite” Rael.

The co-main event saw once-beaten Jackson’s lightweight prospect Henry Martinez take on Colorado’s Ali Hanjani, and standout boxer Jodie Esquibel returned to the cage for her second pro MMA bout against Arizona’s Amy Riehle. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s fight card.

Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson vs Diana “Dynamite” Rael

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Raul Barata. Waterson closed the distance with punches in the first round and clinched against the cage, but Rael fought out with a nice combination. Waterson scored with a front kick and Rael countered by taking her down. From half-guard, Rael landed hammerfists and tried to pass to mount. Waterson exploded and took Rael’s back in a split second. She locked on a rear-naked choke and Rael tapped out. Extremely impressive victory for Waterson in her return bout.

Winner: Michelle Waterson by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:12 of round one. She improves to 9-3-0.

Henry Martinez vs Ali Hanjani

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Raul Barata. Martinez clinched early on and looked for a takedown, but Hanjani countered with knees to the body. The fighters separated and traded kicks. Martinez connected with a pair of one-twos, but Hanjani answered back with kicks to the legs and body. A left-right snapped Hanjani’s head back, but he continued to score with kicks and began to target Martinez’s lead leg. Hanjani racked up more points with leg kicks and landed a combination in the final seconds. 10-9 Hanjani.

Round 2:
Martinez landed leg kicks of his own in round two and countered a flying knee with a takedown. He postured up and landed some powerful punches as Hanjani covered up. Martinez punished Hanjani with a series of punches and elbows as Hanjani could do nothing while pinned up against the cage. Martinez moved to back control and transitioned from a rear-naked choke to a reverse triangle choke. Hanjani had no choice but to submit.

Winner: Henry Martinez by Submission (Reverse Triangle Choke) at 3:44 of round two. He improves to 8-1-0.

Jodie Esquibel vs Amy Riehle

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Craig Zellner. Esquibel seemed to be a step ahead of Riehle in round one and she countered Riehle’s kicks with quick left hooks and a hard right cross. Riehle tried to use front kicks to keep Esquibel at bay, but Esquibel closed the distance and continued to score with very fast punches. A looping left hook rocked Riehle and she retreated to the cage. Esquibel landed punches and clinched briefly. She backed away and landed two more right hooks. 10-9 Esquibel. Close to a 10-8.

Round 2:
Riehle stayed on the outside and tried to land kicks in round two, but Equibel continued to batter her with punches. A big one-two backed Riehle up and Esquibel followed with more punches. She ducked under a spinning backfist from Riehle and tagged her with a left straight. Time was called after Esquibel was poked in the eye. Action resumed and Esquibel landed another left hand and leg kicks. She backed Riehle up with another hard left hook late in the round. 10-9 Esquibel. Another borderline 10-8.

Round 3:
Esquibel put together quick combinations of punches in the final round and Riehle struggled to land anything. She circled the cage and kicked at Esquibel’s midsection, but Esquibel pushed the kicks aside and closed the distance with one-twos. She used lead left hooks to set up her combinations as Riehle circled to her right. Esquibel picked up the pace and swarmed Riehle with punches late in the round, then dumped her to the may just before the final bell sounded. 10-9 Esquibel. Dominant performance.

Winner: Jodie Esquibel by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 2-0-0.

Armando Montoya Jr. vs Adam Gonzales

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Craig Zellner. Gonzales immediately took Montoya down and moved to side control to escape a guillotine choke. He postured up in North-South position and landed a barrage of punches. Montoya managed to get back to full guard, but Gonzales scored with an elbow and attempted an arm-triangle choke from guard. The fighters were stood up and Gonzales scored another takedown. He landed short elbows and stayed on top until the bell. 10-9 Gonzales.

Round 2:
Gonzales wasted no time in taking the fight back down to the mat in round two and he once again peppered Montoya with short punches and elbows. Montoya tried to scramble, but Gonzales used the opportunity to pass to half-guard. Gonzales attempted a shoulder choke, but Montoya held on and Gonzales let it go. He switched to an arm-triangle choke on the other side, but Montoya again fought free. The fighters were stood up and Gonzales promptly took Montoya down. 10-9 Gonzales.

Round 3:
Gonzales took Montoya down early in the final round, but Montoya countered with a guillotine and switched his grip to a Brabo Choke. Unlike in the first two rounds, Gonzales could not pull his head out and was forced to submit. Nice comeback for Montoya.

Winner: Armando Montoya Jr. by Submission (Brabo Choke) at 0:58 of round three. He improves to 4-1-0.

Amateur Fights:

Emily Peters-Kagan defeated Cortney Casey by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three 3:00 rounds. Peters-Kagan took Casey down in the opening round and spent almost the entire three minutes landing short strikes from Casey’s guard. Casey landed a nice right hook to open round two, but Peters-Kagan took her back down. Referee Raul Barata soon stood the fighters up and Casey pulled guard. Peters-Kagan stayed on top, but landed little. The fighters exchanged punches in round three until Casey dragged Peters-Kagan to the mat with a rear-naked choke. Peters-Kagan escaped, but Casey blasted her with punches. Peters-Kagan scored a slam takedown in the final seconds.

Riki Nobuta defeated Adam “The Avondale Son” Soto by Submission (Armbar) at 1:42 of round two. Nobuta threatened with a number of submissions in the first round including heel hooks and a rear-naked choke. Soto escaped and landed some hard shots before the bell. Soto dropped Nobuta with a counter left early in round two and the fighters exchanged rear-naked choke attempts on the ground. Nobuta spun into the armbar and Soto tapped out, prompting referee Craig Zellner to stop the fight.

Jose Caro defeated “Pistol” Pete Quezada by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:59 of round one. Quezada countered early leg kicks with a takedown, but found himself trapped in a triangle choke. Caro swept and landed elbows from the top, then pulled guard with the guillotine. Quezada tapped out and referee Craig Zellner waved off the fight with one second left in the opening round.