Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson vs Aaron Riley
Round 1:
Riley landed kicks to the body and head early on and followed with a pair of left crosses. Ferguson missed with an overhand right, but landed a leg kick. Riley continued to try for head kicks, but Ferguson stayed out of range. He caught a kick from Riley and Riley slipped briefly. The fighters exchanged punches again and Riley landed a body kick. Ferguson rocked Riley with two uppercuts and flurried to the head and body.
Riley recovered and circled away. More punches were exchanged and a kick from Riley strayed low. Ferguson fought on and put together a combination of punches in close. A standing elbow also landed for Ferguson and Riley tried to counter with kicks to the upper body. Riley landed a one-two and a pair of body kicks, but Ferguson remained effective with counterstrikes. A knee and an uppercut landed for Ferguson at the bell. 10-9 Ferguson.
The fight was stopped between rounds due to Riley’s obviously broken jaw. Replays showed that one of Ferguson’s early uppercuts did the damage.
Winner: Tony Ferguson by TKO (Broken Jaw) at 5:00 of round one. He improves to 12-2-0.
Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch vs Nick “The Promise” Ring
Round 1:
The fighters circled early on and traded kicks. Boetsch looked to close the distance with punches, but Ring kept out of range. Ring landed a left cross and caught a body kick. He tripped Boetsch to the mat and used a front headlock to keep him down. Ring landed occasional knees to the shoulder until Boetsch got back to his feet.
Boetsch missed with a lunging left, but landed a right hook soon after. He threw a leg kick and missed with two wild hooks. Boetsch closed the distance and landed a knee and a lead right hook. Ring jabbed, but Boetsch scored with another right. Ring fired off a head kick right at the bell. Close round. 10-9 Ring.
Round 2:
Ring stayed on the outside again in round two and threw kicks to the legs and body. He nearly caught a kick from Boetsch and landed another one of his own. Boetsch connected with a right hook that forced Ring to circle away. Ring jabbed and mixed up his strikes with leg and body kicks. Boetsch scored with a right hook and an uppercut. Ring backed away and Boetsch dropped him briefly with a right. Ring recovered quickly and stood up.
Ring landed a knee and Boetsch pulled guard with a guillotine choke. Ring eventually freed himself and landed short punches and elbows. He used another front headlock to keep Boetsch down again, but Boetsch scrambled to his feet and scored with punches. Boetsch avoided Ring’s knees and landed more punches. Ring retreated and jabbed, but Boetsch threw him to the mat and landed two punches. He attempted a Kimura as the round ended. 10-9 Boetsch.
Round 3:
Ring returned to his jab in the final round and Boetsch again tried to close the distance with lead right hooks and a knee. Boetsch clinched and Ring reversed against the cage. The fighters battled for position until referee Mario Yamasaki separated them. Ring landed a nice knee to the body from a Thai clinch, but Boetsch took him down.
Boetsch threw a handful of punches and hammerfists from the top as Ring tied him up and kept him in guard. The fighters were stood up and Boetsch pushed forward. Ring landed a head kick, but Boetsch used a big hip toss takedown to slam him to the mat. Boetsch landed elbows and attempted a front choke as Ring tried to stand. Boetsch moved to mount briefly before the bell. 10-9 Boetsch.
Winner: Tim Boetsch by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 14-4-0.
Junior Assuncao vs Eddie “The Filipino Phenom” Yagin
Round 1:
The fighters were cautious early on and very little transpired in the opening 90 seconds. Assuncao threw occasional kicks and stayed out of range of Yagin’s punches. Assuncao took Yagin down and landed some solid punches from the top. Yagin eventually kicked Assuncao off, but ate a flurry on the way. Yagin landed a quick combination, but Assuncao took him back down in the final minute of the round. He landed a handful of strikes before the bell. 10-9 Assuncao.
Round 2:
Yagin stuffed a takedown in round two and landed a knee. Assuncao took his back on the feet and attempted a rear-naked choke. Yagin spun into a clinch against the cage and the fighters separated. Leg kicks were exchanged and the crowd booed the lack of action. Yagin landed a grazing right hand and Assuncao answered with a leg kick. Assuncao taunted and kept his distance. He took Yagin down and fought out of a tight guillotine choke. He landed elbows and a leg kick after the fight returned to the feet. 10-9 Assuncao.
Round 3:
Yagin stuffed a takedown and wound up on top in the final round, but Assuncao used butterfly guard to push Yagin off and stand up. Assuncao landed a left cross and dropped down for a takedown. Yagin jumped into a flying guillotine choke, but Assuncao remained calm and slammed Yagin down. Assuncao threw short hammerfists, then postured up and rained down some big punches and elbows. He remained active and scored with another flurry of hard punches. Assuncao continued to land punches and elbows until the bell. 10-9 Assuncao. Close to 10-8.
Winner: Junior Assuncao by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 13-4-0.
Takeya Mizugaki vs Cole “The Triangle” Escovedo
Round 1:
Mizugaki landed punches early on and Escovedo countered with a knee. The fighters traded jabs and Mizugaki landed a solid leg kick. He pushed forward with punches and Escovedo countered with another knee. Mizugaki nearly tripped Escovedo to the mat, but Escovedo stayed on his feet and the fighters battled in the clinch. Mizugaki landed a knee and took Escovedo down. Escovedo scrambled to his feet and landed a knee and a standing elbow. He attempted a flying triangle choke, but Mizugaki escaped and wound up in Escovedo’s guard.
The fight returned to the feet and Mizugaki targeted the body with a right hook. Two big punches scored for Mizugaki and Escovedo answered with knees to the body. Standing elbows scored for both fighters and Mizugaki mixed in uppercuts. Escovedo landed knees and another standing elbow that stunned Mizugaki. Escovedo remained active with punches, but Mizugaki hurt him with a body shot late in the close round. 10-9 Mizugaki by a small margin.
Round 2:
Mizugaki caught a kick and tripped Escovedo to the mat in round two. Escovedo stood and Mizugaki landed a combination. The fighters exchanged leg kicks and Escovedo landed a head kick. Mizugaki fired off a three-punch combo to the head and body and followed with a hard one-two. He landed another left-right combo to the ribs and head of Escovedo and Escovedo fell.
Mizugaki allowed him to stand and scored with a right hook. Escovedo secured a Thai clinch, but Mizugaki made him pay with a flurry of punches. Mizugaki landed another hook and a standing elbow. Mizugaki dropped Escovedo with a hook and threw more punches as Escovedo stood. A knee to the body and a left-right-left combo dropped Escovedo for good.
Winner: Takeya Mizugaki by TKO (Punches) at 4:30 of round two. He improves to 15-6-2.
James Te Huna vs Ricardo Romero
Round 1:
Romero shot in for a takedown right away and Te Huna shrugged him off with a right hand. He dropped Romero with an uppercut seconds later, but Romero got back to his feet and clinched. Romero tried for another takedown and dropped down to his knees. Te Huna threw three right hands to the side of Romero’s head that rendered him unconscious. He added one more punch and the fight was stopped.
Winner: James Te Huna by KO (Punches) at 0:47 of round one. He improves to 13-5-0.