Hatsu Hioki vs Bart “Bartimus” Palaszewski
Round 1:
Hioki dropped Palaszewski right away, but Palaszewski quickly stood and backed away as Hioki followed with a body kick. He continued to throw a variety of kicks and mixed in jabs. Hioki ducked under a right hand and latched onto Palaszewski’s leg. He took Palaszewski down and escaped a guillotine choke, then moved to side control. Hioki trapped Palaszewski’s arms and landed punches and elbows from the top.
Palaszewski tried to block the strikes, but Hioki kept him in place. Palaszewski scrambled, but gave up his back. Hioki transitioned from a rear-naked choke to an armbar and then an omoplata. Palaszewski managed to escape, but wound up on the bottom. Hioki punched from Palaszewski’s guard and landed some big shots. He stood and landed more punches until the bell. Dominant round. 10-8 Hioki.
Round 2:
Both fighters threw kicks in the second round and Palaszewski landed a solid right cross. Hioki pushed forward with punches, but Palaszewski was effective with counters. A head kick just grazed Palaszewski and Hioki landed a stiff jab and a left hook to the liver. Palaszewski answered back with a one-two and a leg kick. Palaszewski landed leg kicks of his own and Hioki threw two head kicks.
The second kick landed for Hioki, but Palaszewski was unfazed and he continued to target Hioki’s lead leg. Time was called after Palaszewski was kicked in the groin. The fight continued soon after and this time it was Hioki who was struck low. Action resumed and Palaszewski remained effective with leg kicks and punches. Hioki took Palaszewski down and tried for a rear-naked choke just before the bell. Close round. 10-9 Palaszewski.
Round 3:
Hioki quickly closed the distance and took Palaszewski down early in the final round. Hioki nearly made it to side control, but Palaszewski managed to trap a leg. Hioki used punches to get to side control and tried to pass to mount. As in round one, he pinned down Palaszewski’s arms and punched from a top-side crucifix position. Palaszewski freed his arms, but Hioki landed knees to the body and more punches.
Palaszewski tried to scramble to his feet, but gave up his back in the process. Hioki worked for a rear-naked choke and nearly got it, but Palaszewski escaped. Hioki landed short elbows and punches to the temple and followed with left hands to the body. Hioki retained back control with a body triangle and worked for a neck crank, but Palaszewski managed to defend until the end of the fight. 10-9 Hioki.
Winner: Hatsu Hioki by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 26-4-2.
Anthony “Showtime” Pettis vs Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon
Round 1:
Pettis landed a nice kick to the upper body right away, but Lauzon pushed forward with a combination. The fighters traded punches and Pettis flurried in close. A head kick from Pettis sent Lauzon crashing to the mat and he put him away with punches on the ground. Huge knockout win for Pettis.
Winner: Anthony Pettis by KO (Head Kick & Punches) at 1:21 of round one. He improves to 15-2-0.
Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi vs Eiji Mitsuoka
Round 1:
Mitsuoka jabbed and kept his chin tucked early on as Gomi pawed out with his right hand. Mitsuoka landed a nice right hand and followed with a one-two and a left hook. Gomi stuffed a takedown and scored with hard knees to the body. Three consecutive punches landed to the jaw of Gomi and Mitsuoka looked for a takedown soon after. Gomi stayed on his feet and threw a right hook to the body.
Mitsuoka avoided a right hook and landed one to the temple. Both fighters landed uppercuts at the same time and Mitsuoka countered a leg kick with a right hook. Two more punches connected for Mitsuoka, but Gomi landed a body kick in return. Mitsuoka floored Gomi with a big right hand, then took his back. He secured a reverse triangle choke from back control, but the bell sounded to save a dazed Gomi. 10-9 Mitsuoka. Close to a 10-8 due to the late offence.
Round 2:
The fighters exchanged wild power punches in the second round and Mitsuoka was forced to retreat. Gomi became the aggressor, but Mitsuoka dropped down for a single-leg. Gomi stayed up and blasted him with knees and uppercuts. More punches scored for Gomi and Mitsuoka attempted another takedown. Gomi countered by taking his back and unloading with right hands. Gomi continued to punch until the fight was stopped. Great comeback win for Gomi.
Winner: Takanori Gomi by TKO (Punches) at 2:21 of round two. He improves to 33-8-0, 1 ND.
Vaughan Lee vs Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto
Round 1:
Yamamoto circled for much of the opening minute before lunging in with a right hook. Lee answered with punches of his own, but Yamamoto shrugged him off and scored with a body kick. Another right hook landed for Yamamoto, but Lee landed one of his own and Yamamoto lost his balance. He got back to his feet and dropped Lee with a lead right hand. Lee stood and ate a barrage of punches. Lee managed to survive the onslaught and moved away.
Two hard right hands landed for Yamamoto, but Lee rocked him with a jumping knee. Yamamoto clinched and recovered. He landed punches while circling away, but appeared to unsteady on his feet. Yamamoto landed punches in close, but Lee countered with a right hook and rocked Yamamoto with more punches. Yamamoto took him down, but fell into a triangle choke. Lee switched to an armbar and Yamamoto tapped out. Huge comeback win for Lee after a poor start to the round.
Winner: Vaughan Lee by Submission (Armbar) at 4:29 of round one. He improves to 12-7-1.
Riki Fukuda vs Steve “The Robot” Cantwell
Round 1:
Cantwell landed a head kick very early in the fight, but Fukuda scored a takedown and punched from the top. Cantwell looked to set up an armbar, but Fukuda postured up and landed some hard punches. Cantwell again tried to lock up Fukuda’s arm, but Fukuda had none of it and punished him with punches and elbows. Fukuda stood and Cantwell used the opportunity to scramble up. He landed a knee and circled away.
Cantwell began to land leg kicks and Fukuda answered back with a one-two. A right cross and a lead left hook scored for Cantwell and he stuffed a takedown. Cantwell defended against another takedown attempt and landed a knee and a grazing head kick. Fukuda landed a combination and followed with a left hook. A Superman Punch came up short for Cantwell and Fukuda landed a knee. Fukuda threw leg kicks and Cantwell responded with kicks to the head and body. 10-9 Fukuda.
Round 2:
The second round began with an exchange of kicks to the legs and body. Fukuda took Cantwell down, but fell into a guillotine choke. Cantwell tried to adjust the choke to apply more pressure, but lost the position. He stood up and Fukuda followed. Cantwell landed knees and both fighters threw punches over the top. Fukuda landed uppercuts and looked for a takedown. Cantwell stayed up and connected with a lead left hook. Fukuda answered with one of his own and a body kick.
Fukuda put the pressure on with punches that backed Cantwell up to the cage. Cantwell clinched and tried to land knees, but Fukuda scored with punch after punch. Spinning elbows missed for Cantwell, but he escaped the clinch. More uppercuts landed for Fukuda, who remained the aggressor. He jabbed and countered a head kick with a big uppercut. Time was called after Cantwell was kicked in the groin. Action resumed and Cantwell took Fukuda down. Fukuda stood with Cantwell on his back. 10-9 Fukuda.
Round 3:
Fukuda landed the first punches of round three and he continued to target Cantwell’s lead leg with a variety of kicks. Cantwell attempted a pair of head kicks, but Fukuda blocked them and mixed up his strikes with punches and leg kicks. Fukuda jabbed and backed Cantwell up with a nice right hand. He dropped levels for a takedown and got Cantwell down. Cantwell tried for a triangle choke and an armbar from the bottom.
Cantwell switched to a gogoplata, but Fukuda escaped to back control. Cantwell rolled over and Fukuda wound up on top in side control. The fighters stood and Fukuda landed leg kicks and uppercuts. A big flurry to the head and body scored for Fukuda and he hurt Cantwell with three liver kicks. Fukuda swarmed with punches, but an exhausted Cantwell managed to circle away. More body kicks hurt Cantwell and the bell sounded to end the fight. 10-9 Fukuda.
Winner: Riki Fukuda by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 18-5-0.
Chris “Kamikaze” Cariaso vs Takeya Mizugaki
Round 1:
Punches were exchanged early on and both fighters threw head kicks. Mizugaki landed a nice combination in close, but Cariaso countered with three punches over the top. Cariaso easily shrugged off a takedown attempt and landed a one-two. Mizugaki got Cariaso down soon after, however, and began to land strikes from the top.
Cariaso countered with an omoplata attempt and Mizugaki had to scramble to escape. Mizugaki wound up in Cariaso’s guard again and pressed Cariaso up against the cage. He landed short strikes, but Cariaso remained active from the bottom with punches and elbows. Mizugaki managed to sneak in a pair of elbows in the final seconds. Close round. 10-9 Mizugaki.
Round 2:
Mizugaki opened the second round with a combination, but Cariaso fired back with kicks to the upper body and a short counter right hook. Mizugaki landed punches and backed Cariaso up to the cage. Cariaso reversed the clinch and tried for a takedown, but Mizugaki tripped him to the mat.
Mizugaki punched with his left hand, then stood and dove in with more power punches. Cariaso tried to set up a sweep from the bottom and got it, but Mizugaki scrambled up to his feet. Both fighters landed left hands just before the bell. 10-9 Mizugaki.
Round 3:
Cariaso landed a head kick to start the final round and Mizugaki countered with a clinch. Both fighters landed knees to the body and Cariaso reversed the clinch. He got Mizugaki down to a knee, but Mizugaki stood up. Cariaso flurried with punches and backed away. The fighters clinched soon after and more knees were exchanged. Cariaso landed a short elbow in close.
Mizugaki ducked under a one-two from Cariaso, who threw a head kick a second later. Cariaso fell and Mizugaki dove into his guard. Mizugaki stayed active with punches from the top to avoid a standup, but Cariaso defended well from his back and prevented Mizugaki from landing anything damaging. Mizugaki very briefly passed to half-guard, but Cariaso stood and landed a combination. 10-9 Mizugaki.
Winner: Chris Cariaso by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 13-3-0.
Issei Tamura vs Tiequan “The Wolf” Zhang
Round 1:
Tamura scored with lunging hooks right away that backed Zhang up, but Zhang dropped Tamura to a knee with a counter hook of his own. The fighters exchanged big punches and this time it was Tamura who sent Zhang to the mat. He dove into Zhang’s guard and landed big left hooks from the top. Tamura continued to score with punches as Zhang held on from the bottom and looked for a keylock.
The fighters were eventually stood up and Zhang countered a takedown with a guillotine choke. Tamura passed to half-guard to escape danger and pressed Zhang up against the cage. Tamura postured up with punches, but had to fight off an arm-triangle choke from Zhang. Tamura kept busy with short strikes until the end of the opening round. 10-9 Tamura.
Round 2:
The second round began slowly as the fighters cautiously circled until Tamura landed a devastating right hand that sent Zhang crashing to the mat. Tamura landed two more punches before referee Herb Dean could rescue the fallen Zhang.
Winner: Issei Tamura by KO (Punch) at 0:32 of round two. He improves to 7-2-0.