Lynn “Lights Out” Alvarez lived up to her nickname with a quick victory tonight at Dakota Fighting Championship 17: “Winter Brawl 2014” in Fargo, North Dakota. Alvarez choked out strawweight prospect Amber “The Apex Predator” Stautzenberger in round one of the co-main event on the card.

Also this evening, Jozette “The #1 Headbusta” Cotton kept her perfect professional record intact with a dominant Unanimous Decision victory at Dynasty Combat Sports 6: “The Future” in Omaha, Nebraska. Cotton defeated Jessica “Raising Havoc” Halverson in the 160-pound main event.

Alvarez (6-3-0) rocked Stautzenberger (4-2-0) right away with two powerful right hands and she followed with a series of punches that dropped Stautzenberger to the mat. Stautzenberger rolled over in an effort to escape from Alvarez’s punches, but Alvarez quickly took advantage by locking on a rear-naked choke. A dazed Stautzenberger was unable to escape from the hold and she was choked unconscious at the 45-second mark of the opening round.

Tonight’s performance was easily one of Alvarez’s best to date, and her quick victory put an end to a tough two-fight losing skid. Prior to recent setbacks against top-ranked strawweights Jessica “Jag” Aguilar and Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza, Alvarez had finished four straight opponents. All six of her pro MMA wins have ended inside the distance and she holds a notable submission victory over Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson.

Cotton (4-0-0) was forced to go the distance for the first time in her professional career tonight, but the hard-hitting Nebraskan had little trouble in defeating Halverson (4-3-0), who was unable to get anything going in the striking exchanges. Cotton was aggressive with punches and knees in round one, then resorted to taunting Halverson in the later rounds while keeping her at bay with jabs. Halverson clinched in round three, but Cotton escaped and resumed taunting before finishing strong with a combination. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Cotton, who picked up her fourth pro win.

In amateur action on the DCS 6 card, Janie Konyek (2-0-0) used her superior boxing skills to outpoint Mercedes Timmerman (1-4-0) in a lightweight bout. Konyek repeatedly found a home for her right hand and she targeted both the head and body of Timmerman en route to a clear-cut victory. Scores were 30-27 across the board for Konyek, who remains undefeated.

The DCS 6 Fight of the Night honour went to a spirited amateur strawweight bout between 18-year-old Sydney Sallach (1-0-0) and 19-year-old Casi Lee (0-2-0). Sallach put on an excellent showing in her amateur debut and she mixed up her strikes effectively with punching combinations, knees and body kicks. Sallach rocked Lee on multiple occasions, but Lee held on and countered by taking the fight to the mat. Sallach continued to outstrike Lee in the final round and she threatened with a late rear-naked choke. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Sallach, and the teen prospect was unquestionably one of the stars of tonight’s event.

(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)