Friday night featured the return of Maximum Fighting Championships for MFC 22: “Payoff,” which saw local star Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald come up short in his bout with Travis “The Serial Killer” Lutter.
Elsewhere on the main card, devastating knockouts and controversial scoring had the crowd abuzz, while Mike Nickels and David Heath stole the show.
Travis “The Serial Killer” Lutter vs Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald
Round 1:
Lutter jabbed early on and MacDonald answered with a leg kick. The fighters clinched and MacDonald landed knees, but Lutter scored a takedown. Lutter looked to pass to mount, but could only manage half-guard. He eventually managed to move to mount and landed short punches from the top. MacDonald rolled to escape, but Lutter took his back. He punched the sides of MacDonald’s head and tried for a series of rear naked chokes, but MacDonald defended well. 10-9 Lutter.
Round 2:
MacDonald opened the second round with an overhand right and Lutter, already breathing heavily, clinched in the corner. He scored a trip takedown and landed in side-control. Lutter maintained the position, but did nothing with it and the referee called for action. MacDonald tried to work his way free, but Lutter kept him down and moved to mount. Finally, Lutter threw a pair of punches from the top, then took MacDonald’s back again. As in round one, he could not secure the choke before the bell. 10-9 Lutter.
Round 3:
MacDonald clinched to begin the final round and landed knees, then scored a takedown. He landed short elbows and punches from the top and looked to pass to mount. More elbows landed for MacDonald, but Lutter regained guard. That did not stop MacDonald from striking from top position, but he was unable to pass to half-guard and could only manage short elbow strikes against the ropes. MacDonald stood up and dove in with a pair of big right hands, but it was not enough to steal the fight. 10-9 MacDonald.
All three judges awarded the fight to Lutter, but MacDonald landed the only meaningful strikes of the bout while Lutter coasted throughout the fight.
Winner: Travis Lutter by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 10-5-0.
Non-Title Bout:
Antonio “El Negro” McKee vs Carlo “Knee-o” Prater
With both fighters missing weight (Prater at 158, McKee at 156), this fight was no longer for McKee’s title and was changed to three rounds.
Round 1:
McKee shot in for an early takedown and got it. Prater trapped him in a body triangle, but McKee postured up and landed punches, then tried to pass guard. He stood up and scored with two solid punches, then went back to Prater’s guard. McKee cut Prater beside the right eye with a punch, then trapped Prater’s arm and landed more strikes. McKee continued to control the action with short punches and elbows until the bell. 10-9 McKee.
Round 2:
The fighters exchanged sparse kicks in the second round, but very little transpired until McKee scored a takedown one minute in. McKee landed a handful of lefts that worsened the cut above Prater’s eye and opened a second one. Time was called to check the cuts, but action resumed and McKee punched from the top. He threw more short strikes until the fight was stood up. Prater missed with a head kick and McKee shot for a takedown. Prater countered with an Anaconda Choke, but time expired. 10-9 McKee.
Round 3:
Both fighters were very tentative in the final round and nothing happened for a full minute. A side kick landed for McKee and nearly a full minute went by before anything else took place. Over halfway through the horrible round, McKee tried for a takedown and Prater stuffed it. He landed punches to the body of McKee, but McKee managed to put Prater on his back. McKee picked Prater up and slammed him to the canvas. The fight mercifully came to an end. 10-10.
The judges unanimously sided with McKee, but there is a reason why he has spent most of his career in small shows, and that’s because nobody wants to watch him compete in fights like this one and his other MFC outings.
Winner: Antonio McKee by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 26-3-2.
John “The Natural” Alessio vs Luigi Fioravanti
Round 1:
Single strikes were exchanged in the opening minute and Alessio scored with a front kick. A one-two landed for Alessio and both fighters scored with lead hooks. Fioravanti landed a hard leg kick and followed with a quick flurry. He looked to land a big right hand, but could not find the mark. Alessio landed a knee in a Thai clinch and both fighters landed combinations. A left hook landed for Alessio and Fioravanti answered with a lunging one-two. The fighters clinched and traded strikes. Alessio just missed with a flying knee and Fioravanti rushed in with another combination before the bell. Very close round. 10-10.
Round 2:
Fioravanti scored with a nice combination in the early stages of the second round and Alessio looked to counter with a variety of kicks. Big, looping punches were exchanged, but neither fighter landed cleanly. Fioravanti began to take the edge in the exchanges and scored with two flurries and a series of leg kicks. More strikes landed for Fioravanti and he countered a kick with an overhand right. Alessio landed a one-two and Fioravanti went back to leg kicks. A big right hand scored for Alessio, but Fioravanti was unfazed and answered with two hooks of his own. Another close round. 10-9 Fioravanti.
Round 3:
Fioravanti opened the final round with leg kicks and the fighters clinched in the corner. Little transpired and more leg kicks were exchanged. A massive haymaker right hand landed for Alessio and Fioravanti dropped to the ground like a rock. Alessio dove in with follow-up punches before the referee waved him off, but Fioravanti was already out. Big victory for Alessio.
Winner: John Alessio by KO (Punch) at 1:34 of round three. He improves to 26-13-0.