James Head vs Papy “Makambo” Abedi
Round 1:
Head opened the fight with a body kick and a combination. Abedi replied with two kicks of his own and he took Head down soon after. Abedi landed punches and elbows from the top and eventually passed to half-guard. Head scrambled up to his feet and landed knees from a Thai clinch. The fighters exchanged power punches and both landed some solid shots. Head backed Abedi up with a right hook and two knees. He looked for a standing guillotine choke and landed more big punches that hurt Abedi, who fell to the mat. Head unloaded with punches and elbows from mount until Abedi gave up his back. Head secured a rear-naked choke and Abedi quickly tapped out.
Winner: James Head by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:33 of round one. He improves to 8-2-0.
Cyrille “The Snake” Diabate vs Tom DeBlass
Round 1:
DeBlass closed in with a left hook early on and clinched. He got Diabate down to the mat and methodically moved to half-guard. DeBlass landed short punches and elbows, then looked briefly for a leg submission. He passed to the far side and made it to side control. DeBlass landed elbows from the top and kept Diabate pinned down. Diabate attempted to push DeBlass off, but he could not. DeBlass tried to set up a Kimura late in the relatively uneventful round. 10-9 DeBlass.
Round 2:
DeBlass caught a kick and took Diabate down in round two. He moved straight to side control and looked to set up a guillotine choke from the top. Diabate defended and DeBlass landed short strikes. Diabate scrambled up to his feet and scored a takedown of his own. He postured up in DeBlass’s butterfly guard and landed punches. DeBlass used a heel hook attempt to sweep and he retook top position. From side control, DeBlass landed short elbows until Diabate got back to his feet. He took DeBlass down and landed more big punches from the top. He landed punches and elbows until the bell. 10-9 Diabate.
Round 3:
Diabate was much more active with his strikes early in the final round and he kept the fight on the feet by backing DeBlass up with kicks and a hard knee to the body. Diabate took DeBlass down and punched from the top. DeBlass eyed a heel hook from butterfly guard, but Diabate easily avoided danger and landed more strikes. DeBlass used an Achilles Lock to sweep and he took top position in Diabate’s full guard. He moved to side control, but Diabate scrambled up to his feet and kicked at DeBlass’s legs. Diabate dropped down into DeBlass’s half-guard and closed out the round with punches and elbows to the head and body. 10-9 Diabate.
Winner: Cyrille Diabate by Majority Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28) after three rounds. He improves to 18-8-1.
Francis “Limitless” Carmont vs Magnus “Jycken” Cedenblad
Round 1:
Carmont took the fight to the mat early on and worked from the top. Cedenblad attempted a pair of armlock submissions and scrambled back to his feet. Carmont backed up slowly and Cedenblad took advantage by tripping him to the ground. Cedenblad quickly moved to mount and landed punches. Carmont gave up his back and Cedenblad landed more strikes to set up rear-naked choke attempts. Carmont held on and eventually managed to spin into Cedenblad’s guard. He postured up with some solid punches and managed to pass to mount. Cedenblad swept into top position just before the bell. Close opening round. 10-9 Cedenblad.
Round 2:
Carmont took Cedenblad back down in round two and moved to mount. Cedenblad gave up his back and Carmont nearly secured a rear-naked choke. Cedenblad continued to roll to try to escape, but Carmont punished him with vicious punches from the top. Cedenblad gave up his back once more and Carmont locked on another rear-naked choke for the tapout victory.
Winner: Francis Carmont by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:42 of round two. He improves to 18-7-0.
Reza “Mad Dog” Madadi vs Yoislandi “Cuba” Izquierdo
Round 1:
Madadi countered early strikes from Izquierdo by taking him down straight into side control. Madadi worked for a guillotine choke and then a North-South Choke, but Izquierdo battled back to his feet and backed him up with punches and a flying kick to the upper body. The fighters clinched and both looked for takedowns. The referee called for a break and Izquierdo scored with a series of punches and kicks. He avoided a takedown attempt and continued to mix up his strikes with kicks and punches. A spinning back kick just missed for Izquierdo, but he landed a Superman Punch. Madadi took him down and tried for a guillotine at the bell. Close round. 10-9 Izquierdo.
Round 2:
Izquierdo opened round two with leg kicks and two to the head, but Madadi dropped levels and scored a takedown. He looked to move into a North-South Choke, but Izquierdo escaped. Madadi switched to a guillotine choke and rolled into mount. Izquierdo had nowhere to go and quickly tapped out.
Winner: Reza Madadi by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:28 of round two. He improves to 12-2-0.
Simeon “The Grin” Thoresen vs Besam Yousef
Round 1:
Yousef clinched and landed a knee and a right hook early on. He followed with a hard left hook seconds later and stuffed a takedown attempt with punches over the top. Thoresen jabbed and ducked under a left hook. He managed to get Yousef down, but not before eating a series of punches on the way. Both fighters landed punches on the ground and Yousef fired off elbows and hammerfists from the bottom.
Thoresen scored with big punches to the body from top position, but Yousef remained active off of his back. The fighters were stood up for no apparent reason and Yousef landed punches to the body. Thoresen looked to land knees from a Thai clinch, but Yousef punched free. Standing elbows scored for both fighters and Thoresen landed knees to the body as the round came to an end. Very close round. 10-9 Yousef, barely.
Round 2:
Yousef landed a left-right combo to the body and head in round two. He followed with a counter left hook and just missed with a right. Yousef avoided a takedown and unloaded with a variety of punches and kicks. Thoresen clipped him with a short counter hook and nearly secured a rear-naked choke as he dragged Yousef to the mat. Thoresen switched to mount and tried for a modified guillotine choke. When that didn’t work, he postured up and teed off with punches until Yousef gave up his back. Thoresen locked on another rear-naked choke and Yousef was forced to submit.
Winner: Simeon Thoresen by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:36 of round two. He improves to 17-2-1.
Jason “Shotgun” Young vs Eric “Little Lee” Wisely
Round 1:
The fighters exchanged kicks for much of the opening minute and Young landed a combination. He countered a spinning back kick from Wisely by taking his back and landing knees to the thighs. The referee separated the fighters and Young scored with a body kick. Wisely answered with a right hook and a kick of his own, but Young caught it and took him down. He landed punches from the top as Wisely elbowed from the bottom.
Young stood over Wisely and kicked at his legs. The fight returned to the feet and Wisely landed a pair of kicks to the ribs. Young countered a third kick with a one-two and Wisely fell to his back. Young postured up with punches and elbows from the top. Wisely again remained active from the bottom and threw elbows of his own as the round came to an end. 10-9 Young.
Round 2:
Young once again countered kicks from Wisely by taking him down in round two. He resumed striking from the top in Wisely’s guard. Young stood and both fighters kicked at the other’s legs. Young dove in with a grazing right hand and landed more punches and short elbows from the top. Wisely threw elbows from the bottom and Young was forced to stand back up once more. The referee brought Wisely back to his feet. Young promptly took Wisely back down and continued to strike from the top. Wisely attempted a triangle choke in the final seconds. 10-9 Young.
Round 3:
Wisely rushed right out with a front kick to the face and he took Young’s back early in the final round. Young spun into the clinch and Wisely landed kicks and a left hook. Young answered with a right and attempted a flying knee. He caught a kick from Wisely and tripped him to the mat. Young landed short punches to the body, then postured up with a barrage of right hands to the face. Young stood and avoided an upkick. Back on the feet, Young landed a glancing spinning hook kick and Wisely answered with a one-two. Wisely fell while throwing a kick and Young took top position before the bell. 10-9 Young.
Winner: Jason Young by Unanimous Decision (30-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-5-0.