“Atomic” Alonzo Menifield vs Fabio “The Water Buffalo” Cherant
Round 1:
Cherant countered an early clinch with a standing guillotine choke, but Menifield slammed him down into side control. Cherant did not let go of the guillotine and that allowed Menifield to trap him in a shoulder choke from the top. Cherant held on initially, but he was eventually forced to tap out.
Winner: Alonzo Menifield by Submission (Shoulder Choke) at 1:11 of round one. He improves to 10-2-0.
Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs Jared “Nite Train” Gooden
Round 1:
Both men landed jabs throughout the opening minute and Nurmagomedov’s right eye reddened as Gooden continued to target it with more jabs. Time was called when Gooden was poked in the eye, but the fight continued and Nurmagomedov landed a hard one-two. Gooden circled away and Nurmagomedov landed a body kick. Another kick to the body and a knee scored for Nurmagomedov, who mixed up his punches well to the head and body. 10-9 Nurmagomedov.
Round 2:
Nurmagomedov controlled the striking exchanges with his jab in the second round and a frustrated Gooden struggled to land anything until he finally connected with a one-two near the midway point in the round. Nurmagomedov fired back with a hard kick to the body and Gooden moved away to his right. Nurmagomedov landed a knee and two right hands that backed Gooden up once more. Gooden landed a solid leg kick late in the round, but Nurmagomedov remained the aggressor with jabs and two body kicks before the bell. 10-9 Nurmagomedov.
Round 3:
Nurmagomedov took Gooden’s back and briefly took him down in the final round. Gooden returned to his feet and tried for a guillotine choke as Nurmagomedov clinched. Nurmagomedov got him down into side control and Gooden fought his way back to full guard, then attacked the top of Nurmagomedov’s head with elbows. Nurmagomedov passed to half-guard and he looked to set up a shoulder choke from the top. Gooden defended and both men landed right hands to the body throughout the final minute. 10-9 Nurmagomedov.
Winner: Abubakar Nurmagomedov by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 16-3-1.
Michał “Lord” Oleksiejczuk vs Modestas “The Baltic Gladiator” Bukauskas
Round 1:
Oleksiejczuk stuffed two takedowns and he pressed the action early on with lead right hooks and straight lefts. Bukauskas eventually hurt him with a counter right hook and he closed in with more punches as Oleksiejczuk backed up and recovered. The fighters separated and Oleksiejczuk landed an overhand left. He followed with a left-right combo in close and Bukauskas responded with a straight right. Oleksiejczuk landed an overhand left late in the round, but he was backed up by a spinning back kick to the body before the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Bukauskas by a slim margin.
Round 2:
In the second round, Oleksiejczuk remained the aggressor and he continued to pressure Bukauskas with lead right hooks and left hands. He continued to get the better of the boxing exchanges throughout the first half of the round until Bukauskas began to score with counter right hands. He followed with a one-two and picked up the pace considerably in the final 30 seconds. A lengthy combination of looping hooks landed for Bukauskas as Oleksiejczuk backpedalled before the bell. Another close round. 10-9 Bukauskas, again due to the late offence.
Round 3:
Bukauskas landed a one-two and an uppercut in the opening minute of round three. Oleksiejczuk pressed forward with a pair of lead right hooks, but he ate an uppercut from a retreating Bukauskas. Oleksiejczuk clinched and landed short left hands to the body until Bukauskas pushed him away. Oleksiejczuk continued to move forward and he landed a right-left combo that was answered by a right hook and a spinning back kick from Bukauskas. Seconds later, Bukauskas snapped Oleksiejczuk’s head back with two right hands, but Oleksiejczuk responded with a left hook and he hurt Bukauskas with a follow-up hook to the liver. Bukauskas recovered as Oleksiejczuk pursued him with more punches, and the fight ended with an exchange against the cage. Very close fight. 10-9 Oleksiejczuk.
Winner: Michał Oleksiejczuk by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 15-4-0, 1 NC.
Omar Antonio “Venezuelan Fighter” Morales Ferrer vs “Sugar” Shane Young
Round 1:
Action was sparse in the opening two minutes as Young circled to his right and each fighter landed occasional leg kicks. Young closed the distance and Morales landed a hard knee to his jaw. Young clinched, but Morales clinched and suplexed him down to the ground. Young stood back up and a battle for position followed against the cage. Morales landed knees to Young’s body and he followed with an uppercut. Both men landed elbows over the top just before the bell. 10-9 Morales.
Round 2:
Young secured a takedown early in the second round, but he lost the position after dropping back for a leglock and Morales stood back up. He jabbed and kept his distance until Young shot in for a takedown. Morales stuffed it and he just missed with a knee as Young ducked his head. Morales landed two jabs and a leg kick as Young circled to his right. More jabs and a hard right cross landed for Morales late in the round, who jumped in with a knee to the body in the final seconds. 10-9 Morales.
Round 3:
Morales opened the final round with leg kicks until Young clinched with him against the cage. Morales reversed the clinch and used a body lock takedown to get Young down into side control. Young battled back to his feet and Morales greeted him with a leg kick and a right hand. As the fight entered its final two minutes, Morales landed more stiff jabs and leg kicks. He followed with an overhand right and Young lunged forward with a lead left hook. Morales grazed with a head kick late in the fight and Young chased after him with looping punches until the end of the fight. 10-9 Morales.
Winner: Omar Antonio Morales Ferrer by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 11-1-0.
Marc-André “Power Bar” Barriault vs Abu “Gladiator” Azaitar
Round 1:
After an early striking exchange, the fighters clinched against the cage and time was called when Azaitar was kneed in the groin. The fight resumed and Azaitar landed an overhand right and a front kick to the body. He clinched and landed right hands and a knee to the body before backing away. Both men landed hooks and this time Barriault held Azaitar against the cage. The fighters battled for position and Azaitar landed three knees to Barriault’s chest. In the final minute, Azaitar landed leg kicks and overhand rights, and he attacked Barriault’s body late in the round. 10-9 Azaitar.
Round 2:
Azaitar opened the second round with more leg kicks and right hands. Barriault landed two leg kicks and a hard right uppercut, but Azaitar was unfazed and he hurt Barriault with a counter right hook in an exchange against the cage. A wobbly Barriault clinched and he tried for a takedown, but Azaitar reversed on the way down and the fighters stood back up. Punches were exchanged as a fatigued Azaitar slowed down, and Barriault began to land right hooks at will. He backed Azaitar up to the cage and scored with more right hands late in the close round. 10-9 Barriault due to the late rally.
Round 3:
An exhausted Azaitar struggled to move in the final round as Barriault landed punches early on and Azaitar’s mouthpiece fell out. He bent over to pick it up, without a timeout being called, and was battered by more punches from Barriault. Azaitar fell to his back and Barriault struck from the top. Time was called to replace Azaitar’s mouthpiece and Barriault continued his assault from the top after the restart. He mounted Azaitar and rained down punches and elbows until Azaitar rolled to his side. Barriault stood up, then dropped back down into side control and returned to mount. He landed more punches and Azaitar bled heavily from his face. Barriault alternated between back control and mounted while landing punches to Azaitar’s face. With seconds to go, referee Jerin Valel finally waved off the fight as Barriault blasted Azaitar with a final salvo.
Winner: Marc-André Barriault by TKO (Punches) at 4:56 of round three. He improves to 12-4-0, 1 NC.