The North American Allied Fight Series returned to the Nautica Pavilion in Cleveland, Ohio tonight for NAAFS: “Fight Night In The Flats 8.” The event was headlined by an NAAFS Featherweight Championship battle between Frank “The Tank” Caraballo and “Mexican Muscle” Antonio Castillo, Jr.
In the co-feature, Bellator veteran Chris “The Cleveland Assassin” Lozano took on late replacement James “The Unbreakable Heavy Hitter” Warfield in welterweight action, while “Smokin'” Joe Heiland faced Andrew Osborne at 155. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s NAAFS card.
NAAFS Featherweight Championship
Frank “The Tank” Caraballo vs “Mexican Muscle” Antonio Castillo Jr.
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Chad Trukovich. Castillo shot in for a takedown right away and backed Caraballo up to the cage. Caraballo countered with elbows to the side of Castillo’s head. Castillo finally got Caraballo down and both fighters landed elbows on the ground. Caraballo used the cage to work back to his feet and Castillo slammed him down again.
Castillo avoided a triangle choke attempt by passing to side control. Caraballo scrambled up and scored a takedown of his own. He took Castillo’s back and tried for a rear-naked choke. Castillo stood up and Caraballo locked on the choke. Castillo fell to the ground and tapped out just before losing consciousness. Impressive title defence for Caraballo.
Winner: Frank Caraballo by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:46 of round one. He improves to 10-4-0 and remains the NAAFS Featherweight Champion.
Chris “The Cleveland Assassin” Lozano vs James “The Unbreakable Heavy Hitter” Warfield
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Jerry Krzys. The fighters traded cautious punches early on and Lozano threw a head kick. He followed with a leg kick and Warfield countered with a right hook. A lead left hook scored for Warfield, but Lozano caught a kick and took Warfield down. He punched from the top in Warfield’s guard. Warfield attempted an armbar and Lozano scrambled out into a front headlock.
Lozano rolled for an Anaconda Choke attempt and the fighters returned to their feet. Lozano landed a knee and the fighters traded left crosses in close. Lozano missed with a spinning back kick and Warfield countered nicely with two looping hooks. Warfield landed another lead left hook and clinched. A spinning wheel kick landed behind Warfield’s ear just before the bell. Close round. 10-9 Lozano.
Between rounds, Warfield indicated that he was unable to continue due to the kick. Replays showed that it landed to the back of the head. Lozano was deemed the winner by technical knockout.
Winner: Chris Lozano by TKO (Retirement) at 5:00 of round one. He improves to 10-3-0.
“Bonesaw” George Comer vs Khama “The Deathstar” Worthy
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Chad Trukovich. Comer kept his distance early on and looked to throw kicks and single punches. Worthy replied with one-twos, but was unable to land anything. Comer took him down against the cage and trapped Worthy’s right arm behind his back. He punched from the top and Worthy tried to block the strikes with his left hand.
Comer moved to half-guard and landed more short punches. He released Worthy’s arm and passed to side control. Comer alternated between North-South position and side control and landed elbows along the way. Worthy tried to buck out to escape, but Comer kept him pinned down. More short punches and elbows caused Worthy’s right eye to swell up before the end of the round. 10-9 Comer.
Round 2:
Worthy threw a combination in round two and Comer answered by trying to take him down. Worthy stayed on his feet and both fighters landed one-twos. Comer followed with a body kick. The fighters circled and Comer eventually took Worthy down. He tried to pin down one of Worthy’s arms again, but Worthy battled back to his feet and landed a knee.
Comer pressed Worthy up against the cage and landed knees to the thigh. He took Worthy down and transitioned to back control. Comer worked for a rear-naked choke and managed to get his arm under Worthy’s chin. Worthy briefly defended, but he was forced to submit.
Winner: George Comer by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:58 of round two. He improves to 1-1-0.
“Smokin'” Joe Heiland vs Andrew “Ozzy” Osborne
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Jerry Krzys. Heiland closed the distance early on and scored a takedown against the cage. He was unable to do much damage on the ground and Osborne eventually battled back to his feet. Heiland landed punches, but lost his balance after a flying knee from Osborne. Heiland stood and landed a quick combination and a looping right. Osborne missed with another wild flying knee and Heiland scored with a counter right.
Osborne cut Heiland above the eye with a hook and tried for a takedown. Heiland secured a guillotine choke as the fighters hit the mat. Osborne escaped and got back to his feet. time was called to replace Heiland’s mouthpiece. Action resumed with an exchange of strikes and the fighters clinched in the final seconds. Close opening round. 10-9 Heiland.
Round 2:
Heiland flurried with punches in round two and clinched against the cage. Osborne circled out and landed a grazing flying knee and two quick punches. Heiland closed the distance with a right hook, but Osborne again circled away. Heiland put together a combination and the fighters traded left hooks. Osborne threw a spinning backfist and Heiland answered with punches and a takedown attempt. Osborne reversed and tried for a takedown of his own.
Heiland initially sprawled out, but Osborne got him down momentarily. Heiland stood and Osborne threw a flying knee. Heiland hurt Osborne with a right hook and Osborne appeared to fatigue. Heiland began to target the body with his punches and he put together another nice combination. A knee to the groin put Osborne down and time was called. The fight resumed with jabs from Heiland. 10-9 Heiland.
Round 3:
Both fighters landed combinations to begin the final round and Osborne appeared to have recovered after the rest period. Heiland remained aggressive with his punches and targeted the body again. A overhand right backed Osborne up and Heiland put the pressure on with a big flurry. Osborne held strong and landed a knee. An exchange of right hands followed and Heiland continued to walk Osborne down.
Heiland shot in for a takedown and got it. He landed on top in side control and threw short elbow strikes. Heiland remained active enough with elbows to prevent the fight from being stood up. He tried to move to a top-side crucifix, but Osborne scramble up to his feet and big punches were exchanged. Heiland threw a lunging kick and a one-two. He tripped Osborne to the mat and unloaded with punches before the bell. 10-9 Heiland.
Winner: Joe Heiland by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 7-2-1.
(Amateur undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)