Titan Fighting Championship returned to the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas tonight for Titan Fighting Championship 20 on HDNet. The co-main event featured a heavyweight bout between former Strikeforce contender Brett “Da Grim” Rogers and Eddie “The Manic Hispanic” Sanchez.
In the main event, former WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner took on late replacement Dakota Cochrane, while Andrew Whitney stepped in on short notice to face Laramie Shaffer at bantamweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for all of the fights on tonight’s TFC 20 main card.
Dakota Cochrane vs Jamie “C-4” Varner
Round 1:
Cochrane opened the fight with a nice right hand and a front kick that backed Varner up. Cochrane continued to score with punches and a variety of kicks. A flurry forced Varner to circle away again. The fighters traded punches and Varner stumbled. Cochrane landed a leg kick and countered a kick from Varner with a right hand. Varner stuffed a takedown, but was struck in the groin.
The fight continued on and Cochrane landed more kicks. Varner countered one kick with a right hand that sent Cochrane off-balance briefly, but he recovered and fired back with kicks. Cochrane flurried with punches and a knee and Varner clinched. He took Cochrane down, but Cochrane quickly got back to his feet. Varner landed a knee and took Cochrane down again. He moved to mount and threw short punches. 10-9 Cochrane.
Round 2:
Time was called early in round two after Varner forgot his mouthpiece. Cochrane drilled him with a front kick after the restart and Varner dove for a takedown. Cochrane countered with a guillotine choke and the fighters stood. Cochrane defended another takedown, but Varner managed to get him down. Cochrane stood and landed a right hook. He followed with a lunging right and sprawled out of a Varner takedown.
Cochrane landed hammerfists on the ground and the fighters stood. Cochrane remained aggressive with body shots and a head kick. Varner took him down, but Cochrane reversed and took top position. Cochrane landed short strikes until Varner spun for a kneebar. Cochrane got out and defended as Varner tried to put him on his back. On the feet, Cochrane landed a one-two. Left hooks scored for both and Cochrane threw a flying knee. 10-9 Cochrane.
Round 3:
Varner threw a kick to the upper body in the final round, but Cochrane punished him with kicks to the body and one to the head. Varner slowed down and the fighters jabbed. Varner took Cochrane down and moved to half-guard. He threw short strikes with his left hand and nearly moved to mount. Cochrane defended and swept. He wound up on top in Varner’s half-guard.
Varner regained full guard, but Cochrane split his lip open with three elbows. Varner began bleeding heavily from the mouth and Cochrane kept him down with more short punches and elbows. Varner tried to stand and Cochrane prevented him from doing so. Varner finally stood and attempted a flying triangle choke. He nearly got it, but Cochrane powered out and landed two elbows at the bell. 10-9 Cochrane.
The judges were unanimous in awarding the fight to Cochrane, who scored a major upset after taking the bout with Varner on just two days’ notice.
Winner: Dakota Cochrane by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 11-1-0.
Eddie “The Manic Hispanic” Sanchez vs Brett “Da Grim” Rogers
Round 1:
Sanchez landed a punch-kick combo in the opening seconds and Rogers fired back with a flurry. He missed with all but one of the punches and clinched. Rogers pressed Sanchez up against the cage and the fighters exchanged knees. Rogers backed away and Sanchez landed a leg kick. Rogers closed the distance and backed Sanchez up to the fence once more and more short strikes were exchanged.
Rogers backed away again and both fighters landed punches. Sanchez followed with a leg kick and Rogers fired off a lunging combination of punches. Again, he pressed Sanchez against the cage and threw punches to the body. Sanchez broke free with a right hand and landed a leg kick soon after. Sanchez scored with an uppercut in a clinch, but Rogers landed knees and backed him up. Close round. 10-9 Rogers, barely.
Round 2:
The fighters briefly traded strikes in round two and Rogers put Sanchez up against the fence. Both landed standing elbows and Rogers circled out. Sanchez flurried and landed a leg kick. He clinched, but Rogers reversed and the fight returned to the cage. The fighters threw punches to the body, but the crowd grew restless with the lack of action.
Sanchez scored a quick takedown and worked from the top in Rogers’s half-guard. Rogers managed to scramble to his feet, but ate a trio of short punches on the way. Rogers landed a knee and Sanchez backed up. Sanchez landed a combination and Rogers appeared to be tired. A nice leg kick scored for Sanchez, and another soon after. One more leg kick landed for Sanchez before the bell. 10-9 Sanchez.
Round 3:
Rogers opened the final round with a leg kick and a jab. Sanchez answered with kicks of his own and avoided a wild hook from Rogers. More leg kicks and a hard one-two scored for Sanchez and Rogers retreated. Sanchez clinched and landed two elbows, then backed Rogers up to the cage. He avoided a knee from Rogers and the fighters separated. Sanchez threw a three-punch flurry and a leg kick. Time was called after Rogers was kicked in the groin.
Action resumed and Sanchez landed a grazing one-two. Despite a deep cut on his shin, Sanchez continued to throw leg kicks and he clinched again. Rogers reversed briefly, but Sanchez looked for a takedown. Rogers defended the takedown, but Sanchez landed a hard knee to the body. The fighters separated and Sanchez landed a leg kick. Rogers took him down and threw quick punches before the bell. 10-9 Sanchez despite Rogers’s last-second rally.
Winner: Eddie Sanchez by Split Decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 13-5-0.
Anthony “Sharkbait” Gutierrez vs Shane “The Devil” Hutchinson
Round 1:
Gutierrez threw a variety of kicks to open the fight and avoided wild punches from Hutchinson. Gutierrez took Hutchinson down and quickly locked on a Brabo Choke as Hutchinson tried to get to his feet. Gutierrez rolled into an Anaconda Choke and Hutchinson hastily tapped out.
Winner: Anthony Gutierrez by Submission (Anaconda Choke) at 1:05 of round one. He improves to 4-0-0.
“The” James Krause vs Sean “P-Town” Wilson
Round 1:
Krause stayed out of range of Wilson’s punches in round one and threw a head kick. Wilson ducked under and clinched, but Krause circled out and landed a leg kick. The fighters clinched and Krause tripped Wilson. He moved to mount and locked on a guillotine choke in a scramble. Wilson tried to hold on, but was forced to submit.
Winner: James Krause by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:39 of round one. He improves to 14-4-0.
Justyn “With The Y” Riley vs Alex “The Shaved Gorilla” Huddleston
Round 1:
Huddleston clinched early on and landed knees and a big uppercut. He followed with two more knees and Riley answered with a right hand. Huddleston took him down against the cage and fought out of a brief Kimura attempt. Riley stood and tried to pull guard with a guillotine choke. The fight returned to the feet and Huddleston landed a leg kick. The fighters traded uppercuts in the clinch and Huddleston got the better of it.
Riley wobbled and tried for a takedown. Huddleston wound up on top and landed punches, then moved to mount. He threw more strikes and spun into an armbar. Riley escaped and used punches to take over top position. He rained down hammerfists, but both fighters were already tired. Huddleston attempted another Kimura and got to his knees. He took Riley down momentarily, but Riley reversed and closed out the round with an elbow. 10-9 Huddleston.
Round 2:
Riley landed big, looping punches to open round two and tripped Huddleston. He struck from the top in side control and moved to mount, but Huddleston immediately swept and wound up in Riley’s guard. Huddleston moved to the back, but Riley spun back into Huddleston’s guard. Riley threw elbows and put his knee on Huddleston’s forehead.
Huddleston tried to counter with an armbar, but Riley easily avoided it and continued to score with punches from the top. Huddleston rolled over and Riley moved to mount. He threw single, powerful elbow strikes and punches as Huddleston wilted. Riley landed punches and elbows for nearly a minute until the fight was finally stopped with roughly 30 seconds to go.
Winner: Justyn Riley by TKO (Punches & Elbows) at ~4:30 round two. No official time announced. Riley improves to 4-2-0.
Andrew “The Beast” Whitney vs Laramie “The Contract Killer” Shaffer
Round 1:
The fighters traded strikes in the early goings and Whitney landed nice left hooks. He rocked Shaffer with a head kick just under two minutes into the round. Whitney followed with more punches, but Shaffer recovered and clinched. He took Whitney down and fought out of a guillotine choke.
Shaffer postured up and landed some decent punches from the top. Whitney defended as Shaffer punished him with strikes and tried to move to mount. Shaffer moved Whitney up to the fence and passed to a partial mount, then unloaded with punches until the end of the close round. 10-9 Shaffer due to the late rally.
Round 2:
Whitney opened round two with a left hook and followed with a right. He countered a takedown attempt from Shaffer and took him down. Shaffer reversed on the ground and looked for submissions while landing punches and elbows from the top. Whitney gave up his back and Shaffer continued to throw strikes.
Whitney rolled back over and ate a barrage of elbows. The fight returned to the feet and Whitney countered a takedown attempt with a guillotine choke. Shaffer escaped and took Whitney’s back. He threw hammerfists and Whitney fired off a reverse elbow strike. Shaffer remained on Whitney’s back until the bell. 10-9 Shaffer.
Round 3:
The fighters circled early in the final round until Whitney launched in with a flying knee. Shaffer was instantly rendered unconscious and collapsed to the mat. Big comeback win for Whitney, who took the bout on one week’s notice.
Winner: Andrew Whitney by KO (Flying Knee) at 0:21 of round three. He improves to 5-1-0.