Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera vs Eric “Red” Schafer
Round 1:
Rivera stuffed an early takedown attempt from Schafer, but Schafer got him down on his second try. Schafer moved to side control, but Rivera managed to get back to half-guard. Schafer landed elbows, but Rivera swept and stood up. Schafer tripped Rivera again and punched from the top. Rivera used butterfly guard to try to sweep, but he could not.
Schafer postured up again and landed elbows, then tried to set up a top-side guillotine choke. Rivera fought out and tried to stand. Schafer kept him down and transitioned to the back. He attempted a rear-naked choke, but Rivera used the cage to block and fell to his back. Rivera reversed and found himself stuck in an omoplata at the bell. 10-9 Schafer.
Round 2:
Schafer looked for a takedown in round two, but Rivera stayed on his feet and landed two right hands that bloodied Schafer’s nose. Schafer fell to his back and wilted as Rivera blasted him with punches for a full minute. Rivera’s punches were slow, but most landed and referee Herb Dean stopped the fight.
Winner: Jorge Rivera by TKO (Punches) at 1:31 of round two. He improves to 20-9-0.
Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov vs Kamal “Prince of Persia” Shalorus
Round 1:
Shalorus landed a hard left hook early on and clinched for a takedown, but Nurmagomedov shrugged him off. The fighters traded knees to the body and Shalorus switched stances to throw a head kick. Shalorus kept Nurmagomedov on the defensive with left hooks and kicks as the Russian fighter circled away.
Nurmagomedov floored Shalorus with a counter left and dove in with punches. Shalorus regained his composure and managed to get Nurmagomedov off of his back. Nurmagomedov punched from the top and Shalorus stood. Wild punches were exchanged and Nurmagomedov appeared to be tired. He landed a knee and a right hand as more boms were exchanged. 10-9 Nurmagomedov.
Round 2:
Nurmagomedov took Shalorus down early in the second round and looked to move from half-guard to side control. Shalorus defended against Nurmagomedov’s strikes and got back to butterfly guard, which led referee Mario Yamasaki to stand the fighters up. Nurmagomedov immediately took Shalorus back to the mat and landed in half-guard.
Nurmagomedov postured up briefly and landed hammerfists. He passed to side control and then attempted an Anaconda Choke. When that failed, Nurmagomedov returned to striking from Shalorus’s guard. The fighters were stood up and Nurmagomedov landed a right hook. Shalorus landed a left and Nurmagomedov countered with a wild flying kick and punch. He landed two right hooks before the bell. 10-9 Nurmagomedov.
Round 3:
Both fighters stuffed takedown attempts in the final round and exchanged wild punches. Nurmagomedov took Shalorus down and fought his way out of a guillotine choke. Nurmagomedov landed hammerfists from the top and passed to side control, then mount. Shalorus rolled to his side and Nurmagomedov locked on a modified no-hooks rear-naked choke. Shalorus tapped out.
Winner: Khabib Nurmagomedov by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:08 of round three. He improves to 17-0-0.
Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman vs Daniel “Ninja” Roberts
Round 1:
Brenneman landed a short right hook right away, but Roberts stunned him with a counter flurry. Brenneman scored a takedown and moved to side control to escape a guillotine choke. Roberts abandoned the choke attempt and got back to half-guard. Brenneman returned to side control and landed right hands from a top-side crucifix. Roberts eventually freed his arm, but not before Brenneman landed a series of short punches.
Roberts battled his way back to half-guard momentarily, but Brenneman wasted little time in returning to side control again. He looked to set up a move to mount with knees to the body and backed Roberts up to the cage. Roberts got to full guard and Brenneman punched to the body. Roberts stood up very late in the round and defended a slam attempt, but Brenneman got him down before the bell. 10-9 Brenneman.
Round 2:
Roberts countered early punches by pulling half-guard with a guillotine choke in round two. Brenneman freed himself and passed to side control. Roberts quickly scrambled back to half-guard, but only briefly. Brenneman moved to the side and began punching with his free hand. Again, Brenneman secured a top-side crucifix and peppered Roberts with right hands. He mixed in slashing elbows and hammerfists as well.
Roberts got back to full guard and held Brenneman in place until referee Herb Dean stood the fighters up. Brenneman closed in with a lunging right hand and tried for a takedown, but Roberts countered with a Kimura attempt and elbows. Brenneman got him down, but Roberts locked on another Kimura and an armbar, then transitioned to a high back control. Roberts trapped Brenneman in a reverse triangle choke, but time expired. 10-9 Brenneman, barely.
Round 3:
Brenneman used a body-lock takedown to get Roberts to the mat very early in the final round and he landed knees to the body from side control. Brenneman looked to set up another top-side crucifix, but settled for more knees instead. Brenneman isolated Roberts’s right arm and landed short punches and knees. Roberts managed to work his way back to full guard and got a quick standup.
Roberts tried for a takedown and Brenneman sprawled out to defend. He wound up on top and landed two punches from Roberts’s guard. Brenneman held Roberts’s arm behind his back, but Roberts broke his grip. Brenneman postured up with a hammerfist and avoided a triangle choke attempt. Roberts secured a Kimura and wrenched Brenneman’s arm behind his back, but time ran out. 10-9 Brenneman.
Winner: Charlie Brenneman by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 15-3-0.
Fabricio “Morango” Camoes vs Tommy “Wildcard” Hayden
Round 1:
Hayden landed a nice jab early on and avoided a looping right hook from Camoes. Hayden avoided a pair of takedowns and took Camoes’s back, but Camoes countered with a Kimura attempt from the bottom. The fighters stood and Hayden ducked under a head kick. He ate a big knee, but took Camoes down briefly. Back on the feet again, Camoes ducked under a kick and tripped Hayden to the mat. Hayden moved to back control and wound up on top in half-guard.
Hayden looked to land strikes, but Camoes secured an omoplata and then swept Hayden with a heel hook attempt. Camoes landed a diving hammerfist from the top and then took Hayden’s back in a scramble. He worked for a rear-naked choke and secured it soon after. Hayden appeared to tap twice, but referee Josh Rosenthal did not stop the fight. Camoes readjusted his grip and Hayden tapped again as he lost consciousness.
Winner: Fabricio Camoes by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:03 of round one. He improves to 14-6-1.
Daniel “The Pit” Pineda vs “Thrilling” Pat Schilling
Round 1:
Pineda began the fight with jabs and leg kicks and Schilling looked to counter with a one-two. He avoided a big right hook from Pineda, but Pineda landed two solid punches in close and took Schilling down. He moved to mount and landed punches until Schilling rolled over. Pineda used more punches to set up a rear-naked choke. Schilling stood as Pineda locked on the choke, then fell backwards and tapped out. Impressive win for Pineda.
Winner: Daniel Pineda by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:37 of round one. He improves to 16-7-0.
“The Ninja of Love” Nick Denis vs Joseph Sandoval
Round 1:
Denis opened the fight aggressively with punches and seemed to rock Sandoval with a right hand. He closed in and secured a Thai clinch, then floored Sandoval with four consecutive elbows to the temple. Referee Josh Rosenthal intervened to rescue a barely conscious Sandoval.
Winner: Nick Denis by KO (Elbows) at 0:22 of round one. He improves to 11-2-0.