Sergio “The Phenom” Pettis vs Chris “The Greek Assassin” Kelades
Round 1:
Quick punches were exchanged in the opening minute and Pettis connected with an overhand right. He flurried with punches and finished with a leg kick. A hard right hand and another leg kick landed for Pettis, and he fought off a takedown attempt. Pettis caught a body kick and swept out Kelades’s back leg. He briefly struck from top position before standing back up. 10-9 Pettis.
Round 2:
Kelades tripped Pettis in round two and Pettis attacked with a triangle choke from his back. Kelades escaped and passed to half-guard, but Pettis swept and took top position. Kelades scrambled up to his feet, but ate a series of punches along the way. He maintained his grip on Pettis and threw knees to the thigh. Pettis broke free and landed crisp counterpunches as Kelades pressed forward. Kelades cracked him with a right hand and Pettis responded with a head kick. He finished the round with a combination. 10-9 Pettis.
Round 3:
Pettis took Kelades down into half-guard in the final round and he landed short strikes on the ground until Kelades battled back to his feet. Time was called to replace Pettis’s mouthpiece and he pressed forward in search of a takedown after the restart. Kelades defended with elbow strikes to the temples and Pettis broke free. Kelades walked forward and clinched again, but Pettis trapped him in a front choke. He tried to take Kelades down, but Kelades jumped into a Peruvian Necktie just before time expired. Close final round. 10-9 Pettis.
Winner: Sergio Pettis by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 14-2-0.
Danny “Hot Chocolate” Roberts vs Dominique “Non-Stop Action Packed” Steele
Round 1:
Steele dropped Roberts with an early one-two, but Roberts recovered and tried for a triangle choke from his back. Steele slammed his way free and moved to side control. He struck from the top until Roberts initiated a scramble and worked back to his feet. A big left hand wobbled Steele and he tried for a takedown. Roberts stuffed it and the fighters traded knees in close. Steele slammed Roberts down to the mat and struck from the top. Roberts stood and ate a hard knee before time expired. 10-9 Steele.
Round 2:
Steele caught a kick and worked for a takedown in the second round. Roberts stayed on his feet and broke free from a clinch. Steele threw knees to the body and Roberts punched over the top. He stunned Steele with a body kick and two quick hooks. Steele countered with more knees and the fighters traded punches. Roberts got the better of the exchange and he connected with a front kick soon after. The fatigued fighters continued to throw punches and Roberts failed badly with a takedown attempt. Steele took his back, but Roberts stood before the bell. 10-9 Roberts.
Round 3:
Roberts hurt Steele with a left cross in round three, but Steele recovered and took him down. Roberts threw elbows to the temple and used the cage to work back to his feet. He punched to the body and Steele slowed down. Roberts sprawled out to defend against a takedown attempt and he landed more elbows to Steele’s temple. The fighters were stood up and Roberts threw front kicks and punches. Steele answered with a knee and a big right hand. Both men landed powerful hooks and Steele worked for a takedown. He landed two knees to the face in the final seconds. Close round. 10-9 Roberts, barely.
Winner: Danny Roberts by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 13-1-0.
Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza vs Juliana “Ju Thai” Lima
Round 1:
Esparza punched her way into a clinch in the opening minute and she fought off a takedown attempt from Lima. The fighters clinched against the cage and Lima landed knees and two big right hands. Esparza shot in for a takedown and Lima countered with a triangle choke attempt. Esparza passed to half-guard, but Lima defended well and got back to full guard. She kicked Esparza off and landed three solid upkicks. Esparza dropped back down into Lima’s half-guard, but Lima regained full guard again and scored with more upkicks as Esparza stood. Esparza finished strong with ground and pound. 10-9 Lima by a very slim margin.
Round 2:
Esparza caught a kick and slammed Lima down to the mat in round two. She moved to half-guard and landed a series of short right hands to Lima’s face. Lima kicked her off and landed an upkick, but Esparza returned to her guard and threw more strikes from the top. Esparza began to bleed from the nose, but she slammed Lima down and kept her there until Lima used a heel hook attempt to sweep. The fighters stood and Lima scored a very brief takedown. 10-9 Esparza.
Round 3:
Esparza took Lima back down in the final round and she threw short punches and elbows from the top. Lima kicked her off and bloodied her nose with another upkick. Esparza drove forward and took Lima down again. Lima scrambled up and Esparza cracked her with a right hook. She took Lima down into side control and threw knees to the body. Lima used an inverted triangle choke to sweep into top position, which led to Esparza attempting an inverted triangle of her own. Lima worked for an arm-triangle choke until the final bell. 10-9 Esparza.
Winner: Carla Esparza by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 11-3-0.
James “The Texecutioner” Vick vs Glaico “Nego” França Moreira
Round 1:
França landed a big right hand to begin the fight and he took Vick down into half-guard. Vick regained full guard and used the cage to get back to his feet. França scored another takedown and he prevented Vick from scrambling back up. Vick eventually managed to escape to his feet and the fighters were separated. França was poked in the eye, but it went undetected and Vick flurried with punches. He kept the pressure on until França took him down into full guard. 10-9 França, in spite of Vick’s late rally.
Round 2:
Vick jabbed in round two and he cracked França with left and right hooks. França stunned him with a spinning backfist and took Vick down into guard. Vick stood up and threw a grazing head kick. He followed with a knee to the body and picked França apart with punches. Vick shrugged off a takedown attempt and continued to outstrike França on the feet. He landed jabs and a spinning back kick to the body before the bell. 10-9 Vick.
Round 3:
The final round began with Vick landing more stiff jabs as França struggled to find his range. He missed with a spinning backfist and failed in his pursuit of a takedown. Vick landed more jabs and França responded with leg kicks. A jumping switch knee scored for Vick and he followed with a one-two, but França snapped his head back with an overhand right. He threw more leg kicks, but Vick answered with a front kick to the face. 10-9 Vick.
Winner: James Vick by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-0-0.
Walt “The Big Ticket” Harris vs Cody “The Freight Train” East
Round 1:
Power punches were exchanged early on and East countered a jab with a right hand. More big punches were exchanged and East landed a kick to the body. He rushed in with a combination and time was called after he kicked Harris in the groin. Action eventually resumed and Harris landed a body kick that set off an exchange of heavy punches. Both men landed repeatedly, but neither one appeared to be wobbled. Harris dropped East with a vicious hook seconds later and he unloaded with punches and elbows. Two final diving left hands finished East and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Walt Harris by TKO (Punches) at 4:18 of round one. He improves to 8-4-0.
Marcos Rogério “Pezao” de Lima vs Clint “Headbussa” Hester
Round 1:
Both men landed big right hooks at the same time and Hester fell to the mat. De Lima settled into his guard and used punches to set up a move to mount. More punches scored for de Lima and he continued to batter Hester with strikes even after Hester got back to half-guard. De Lima hurt Hester with punches and elbows, then locked on an arm-triangle choke for the tapout win.
Winner: Marcos Rogério de Lima by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 4:35 of round one. He improves to 14-3-1.
Kevin “The Motown Phenom” Lee vs Efrain “Hecho en México” Escudero
Round 1:
Lee landed one-twos and body kicks early in the fight and he kept Escudero at bay with jabs. Escudero attempted a takedown and Lee defended by landing a knee to the body and two overhand rights. Both men secured brief takedowns and Lee held Escudero against the cage. The fighters separated and Escudero countered Lee’s punches with a series of hooks and an uppercut. Lee retreated and Escudero took him down. The fight returned to the feet and Lee fought off a takedown by landing elbows to Escudero’s temple. Close round. 10-9 Lee.
Round 2:
The fighters traded strikes on the feet in the second round and Escudero briefly took Lee down. He landed a knee after Lee returned to his feet and followed with elbows in a clinch. Escudero jabbed and he worked his way into another clinch soon after. The fighters separated and Lee landed punch-kick combos. Escudero fired back with a right hand and both men landed jabs before the bell. 10-9 Escudero.
Round 3:
Time was called early in the final round after Lee was kicked in the groin. Action resumed and Escudero backed Lee up with punches. Lee countered with a takedown into half-guard and he landed punches and hammerfists from the top. Escudero tried to counter with a guillotine choke, but Lee escaped and he attempted a guillotine of his own. Escudero pulled his head out and attacked with a heel hook. Lee dropped punches from Escudero’s guard until the end of the fight. 10-9 Lee.
Winner: Kevin Lee by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-2-0.