Bryan “The Beast” Baker vs Art “Pachuco” Santore

Round 1:
Quick jabs were exchanged early on and Baker scored with a stiff leg kick. Santore answered with a big combination that backed Baker up. The fighters traded flurries and Baker landed two more kicks. Santore rocked him with an uppercut, but Baker quickly recovered. More punches were exchanged and Baker dropped Santore with a right hook. He stood over Santore and kicked at his legs, then dove in with a lunging right hand.

Santore battled back to his feet and more punches were thrown in an exchange. Both fighters missed with flying knees, but scored with kicks. Baker tripped Santore to the ground and stood over him again, but Santore latched onto his leg. Santore, bleeding from a cut beside his eye, rolled for a kneebar, but Baker escaped. Baker locked on a tight triangle choke, but Santore worked free and both fighters landed punches before the bell. Excellent round. 10-9 Baker, just barely.

Round 2:
It looked as if the fight would be stopped between rounds due to the swelling and cuts around Santore’s eye, but the action continued and Santore swung wildly with punches. Baker answered with two kicks and opened another cut on Santore’s nose. A flurry landed for Santore and Baker countered with more kicks. Baker began to string together punching combinations, but Santore answered with a hard flurry of his own.

The pace remained high as both fighters aimed for the knockout and Santore backed Baker up with five quick punches. Baker stopped his momentum with a leg kick, but Santore regained his footing and landed four more hard punches. Two overhand rights landed for Baker and the fighters teed off against the ropes.

Santore, with his face a bloody mess from numerous cuts, continued to stand and trade until time was called to replace his mouthpiece, which was ironically done with the assistance of Baker’s corner. Excellent sportsmanship. The fight resumed and more punches were exchanged in the final seconds. Another close round. 10-9 Santore.

Round 3:
The fighters touched gloves and went back to punching each other. Baker connected with a big shot that rocked Santore’s jaw. A one-two landed for Baker and Santore answered with a flurry. Body kicks landed for both fighters and the pace began to slow. Santore scored with another combination and added kicks soon after. Punches and kicks landed for both and Baker slipped while throwing a kick.

Santore pounced and punched from the top, but Baker trapped him in another tight triangle choke and blasted him with elbows. Santore persevered and escaped, then landed a big elbow and passed to side-control. Baker regained half-guard, but Santore punched his way to side-control again. Amazing fight. 10-9 Baker in a third close round.

Winner: Bryan Baker by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 11-1-0.

Dwayne Lewis vs Marvin “The Beastman” Eastman

Round 1:
Eastman scored a quick takedown early in the fight and moved to half-guard. He postured up and landed punches to the body, but Lewis regained guard. Eastman stood over Lewis and continued to punch, then tried to pass guard. The fight was moved to the centre of the ring with Eastman in Lewis’s guard.

Lewis let off a flurry of frantic punches from the bottom, but Eastman remained calm and picked his shots from Lewis’s guard. The fighters were stood up and Lewis threw a right hook. Eastman clinched and Lewis pressed him into the corner. Eastman landed punches and secured a Thai clinch for knees, but Lewis floored him with a vicious uppercut.

Lewis continued to punch an unconscious Eastman even after the referee moved in to stop the fight. Unprofessional display, but an emphatic end to the fight nonetheless.

Winner: Dwayne Lewis by KO (Punch) at 4:58 of round one. He improves to 10-4-0.

Jesse Juarez vs Joe “Jitsu” Christopher

Round 1:
Christopher rushed forward and clinched against the ropes, but Juarez scored a takedown. He threw sparse strikes from the top until Christopher rolled into a kneebar. Juarez escaped and briefly took Christopher’s back. Christopher scrambled and attempted another leg submission, but Juarez dove through the ropes. Time was called and he was warned, but Christopher lost the advantageous position.

Another scramble followed and Juarez wound up on top. He landed weak strikes from the top and pressed Christopher into the corner. Juarez scored with a pair of short elbow strikes and took Christopher’s back again. He landed knees to Christopher’s legs and moved to a partial mount. Big punches landed for Juarez before the bell. 10-9 Juarez.

Round 2:
Juarez opened round two with a pair of front kicks to Christopher’s face and Christopher dove for a takedown. Juarez countered and took his back, then worked from half-guard. He landed sparse strikes until the referee stood the fighters up. Both dove in at the same time and Juarez wound up in Christopher’s guard.

Again, the lacklustre fight was stood up and Juarez scored another takedown. He punched from Christopher’s guard until Christopher locked up a guillotine choke. Juarez scrambled to his knees and fought off two choke attempts, then emphatically slammed Christopher to the mat. Christopher trapped Juarez in rubber guard just before the bell. 10-9 Juarez.

Round 3:
Juarez landed a nice one-two to begin the final round and he quickly took Christopher to the ground again. He landed small punches and took Christopher’s back, but Christopher rolled into another kneebar attempt. Christopher abandoned the kneebar and Juarez worked from top position. He scored with a handful of punches and the fighters were stood up.

A badly fatigued Christopher clinched and tried for a takedown, then switched to a loose guillotine choke. Juarez escpaed and Christopher gave up position. From the top, Juarez did very little, but managed to punch his way out of a triangle attempt. Juarez landed a trio of lefts and the exhausted fighters collapsed to the mat at the bell. 10-9 Juarez.

Winner: Jesse Juarez by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 12-5-0.

Undercard Fights:

Nick Penner defeated Ryan Fortin by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:31 of round two. He improves to 9-1-0 with the win.

Ryan Machan defeated “Ragin'” Kajan Johnson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:30 of round one. He improves to 10-3-0 with the win.

Billy Hua defeated Kenny Hamilton by TKO (Punches) at 0:20 of round two. He improves to 1-3-0 with the win.

With controversy, terrible scoring and another series of lacklustre fights on the main card, MFC 23: “Unstoppable” served as another reminder that having only one dominant MMA promotion in the country isn’t necessarily a good thing.