Hi fight fans, I’m Shawn M. Smith and Inside Fights is live from Tampa, Florida’s USF Sundome for XFC 24: Collision Course. Tonight’s card will begin at 9 PM ET on AXS TV, so tune in live for all the MMA action!
Gilbert Burgos vs. Jason Gladey
Round 1 –
Jabs from each fighter lead to a shot from Burgos. Burgos in the guard and hammering away at the body of Gladey. Solid ground and pound fro Burgos on the mat and Gladey begins to work for a triangle. Burgos steers clear and gets back to his feet. Burgos dives back into Gladey’s guard and is working for position. The ref steps in and stands them up after a period of inaction. Good combinations thrown by Gladey, but they don’t connect. Burgos shoots for a takedown, Gladey fights it off for a moment, but is slammed to the mat. The round ends with Burgos on top. 10-9 Burgos
Round 2 –
Right-left from Burgos connects twice. Combinations seem to be the lesson that was imparted by Burgos’ corner at the intermission. Gladey is down to the mat with Burgos on top. Gladey keeps working for armlocks on the bottom and almost pulls off an armbar. It was tight, but Burgos slips out. Long punches from Burgos. Burgos back to his feet and he’s kicking the legs of Gladey as the round ends. 10-9 Burgos
Round 3 –
Body shot from Gladey. Gladey shoots for a takedown, but Burgos muscles through quickly and takes top position. Hammerfists to the face of Gladey as he works for an armbar. Burgos back to his feet and kicking the legs of Gladey. The ref stands Gladey back up and he shoots for a takedown right away. Gladey gets it, but Burgos is holding him in and preventing him from landing any strikes. 10-9 Gladey and 29-28 Burgos.
Winner: Gilbert Burgos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Ken Crowder vs. Jason Ignacek
Round 1 –
Ignacek with an early left. Crowder shoots for a takedown, but it’s stuffed. Another takedown attempt by Crowder and he’s got Ignacek pressed hard against the cage. Reversal of positions, but Crowder scrambles away. Crowder grabs a single and lifts Ignacek into the air. Ignacek is active with punches and elbows from the bottom, using them to getting to the wall and walk back to his feet. Crowder sticks his neck out there and almost gets caught with a guillotine, but he gets free. Big right from Crowder followed by a left kick to the body from Ignacek. Crowder shoots in and grabs Ignacek, scooping him up and carrying him across the cage. Long punches from Crowder. The round ends with Crowder in top position. 10-9 Crowder
Round 2 –
Another big scoop slam from Crowder…who drives Ignacek up and THROUGH THE REFEREE. The ref recovers quickly, but Ignacek is still fighting to get back to his feet. Big punches in the high guard from Ignacek. Crowder gets caught in a tight triangle choke out of nowhere and is put to sleep.
Winner: Jason Ignacek by submission (R2, triangle choke, 1:03)
Patrick Williams vs. Gabe Maldonado
Round 1 –
Williams shoots for a takedown, but Maldonado fights it off. Body kick from Maldonado. As Williams circles away, Maldonado leans in for a big shot and is cracked with a right and is out. Williams steps over him and lands one blow, but the ref stops the fight.
Winner: Patrick Williams by TKO (R1, punches, 0:50)
Nick Smith vs. Ladarious Jackson
Round 1 –
Jackson slides across the mat and shoots in, getting an early takedown. Elbows from top position for Jackson. Jackson in high guard, raining down blows. Smith barely avoids being pounded out. Good ground and pound from Jackson. The ref stands both fighters up after a prolonged period of grappling. On the restart, Jackson immediately shoot for the takedown and gets it again. 10-9 Jackson
Round 2 –
Jackson shoots in, but Smith ends up with on Jackson’s back, elbowing the shoulder area, llooking to pop an arm free for a shoulder lock. Crucifix from Smith and he goes to rain down elbows from the back, but Jackson spins free into side control. Jackson knees Smith to the body. There’s a stoppage as Smith takes a punch to the face and something happens that pulls the doctor into the cage. On the in-house replay, we see that Jackson kneed Smith to the head while he was grounded. He looks to be unable to continue and this one is over.
Winner: Nick Smith by DQ via doctor stoppage (R2, illegal knee, 2:38)
John Cofer vs. Chad Livingston
Round 1 –
Livingston with an early right. Left hand is countered by a jab from Cofer. Body kick from Livingston. High kick is blocked by Livingston. Kick to the body of Livingston. High kick from Cofer is blocked. Inside leg kick lands clean for Cofer. Good combination from Livingston. Takedown from Cover into halfguard. Cofer tries to land shots from high guard as the round expires. 10-9 Cofer
Round 2 –
Jab lands from Cofer. Long period of circling before that. Livingston looks marked up on the bridge of his nose a bit. Side kick to the body from Cofer. Livingston kicks the legs out from under Cofer but he recovers quickly. Cofer and Livingston clinch up and Cofer goes knee but ends up on his back. Cofer slides over and takes the legs of Livingston and begins looking for a heel hook. He doesn’t get it and both fighters end up on their feet. Livingston shoots for a takedown to end the round but it Cofer is able to avoid it and the round ends with him against the fence. 10-9 Cofer
Round 3 –
Accidental kick to the cup to start round 3. Livingston took it hard and is immediately leaning over. Not a fun sight. On the restart, Cofer catches Livingston with a series of lefts and rights. Side kick to the body from Cofer. Big left to the body from Cofer. Livingston changes levels and drops Cofer to his back. Cofer locks Livingston up and Livingston slams him down to try and pop free to get open to do some damage. The ref ends up standing the two fighters up due to the stalling tactics, obviously to Cofer’s advantage. Superman punch from Cofer lands. Livingston goes for a low kick and Cofer goes for a takedown. He gets the double leg to end the round and finishes the final stanza on top. 10-9 Livingston and 29-28 Cofer
Winner: John Cofer by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Main Card (Live on AXS TV)
Shah Bobonis vs. Deivison Ribeiro
Round 1 –
Jab from Ribeiro early. High kick from Ribeiro is block and Bobonis counters with a big right hand to the body. Single leg takedown from Bobonis but Ribeiro is back up quickly. Accidental cup shot causes a brief stoppage in action. Left hand, right leg kick combination connects for Ribeiro. Good striking and movement from both fighters as Ribeiro leads with a headkick. Body shot from Shah. Both men clinch up momentarily, but separate after they circle around the fence. Outside leg kick from Ribeiro lands flush. Left hand misses over the top from Ribeiro. Bobonis misses a charging knee. Spinning backfist is slipped by Ribeiro. Both men are driven to the mat by a Ribeiro taken as the round ends. 10-9 Ribeiro.
Round 2 –
Three punch combination lands from Ribeiro. Right body kick from Deivison Ribeiro, followed by a spinning back kick that just misses. A push kick from Ribeiro puts Bobonis on the fence. A big strike puts Shah Bobonis on the mat and Ribeiro swarms for the kill. Bobonis, however, recovers. Body shot from Bobonis lands flush. Ribeiro misses a spinning backfist of his own. Takedown by Ribeiro, but Bobonis is able to work back to his feet. Headkick is blocked by Bobonis. Both fighters spend the last minute of the fight throwing techniques that miss wildly. 10-9 Ribeiro
Round 3 –
Single leg takedown is unsuccessful for Bobonis. Bob and weave and both fighters miss one another with big hooks by a matter of inches. Left hook misses for Ribeiro. Spinning backfist partially connects for Bobonis. Bobonis misses a punch and eats a kick to the chest. Ribeiro rocks Bobonis with two big shots to the chin. Left Hook from Bobonis lands flush on the chin of Ribeiro, but his chin is tucked tight and he walks through it. Bobonis glances at the clock and sees that he has only a minute left to work. Ribeiro is fighting him off with jabs and they are left striking as the round, and fight, end. 10-9 Ribeiro and 30-27 Ribeiro
Winner: Deivison Ribeiro by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Cortney Casey vs. Kelly Warren
Round 1 –
Inside leg kick from Casey. High kick from Casey, who is making her pro debut tonight. Left hook lands clean for Casey and Warren is backed against the fence. Casey is grinding her opponent into the cage. Warren is able to get away briefly, but is eating strikes for her effort. Casey pushes her against the fence and takes Warren’s back while standing. Casey fights it off for a minute, but has to tap while on her feet, giving Cortney Casey her first professional victory.
Winner: Cortney Casey by submission (R1, rear naked choke, 3:33)
Kevin Forant vs. Eric Reynolds
Round 1 –
“The Master of Cool” Forant shoots for a takedown and gets Reynolds to his knee. Reynolds flips out and gets on top of Forant. Piledriver from Reynolds! A serious piledriver onto the mat. Forant is alright and throws a headkick that is blocked. From the thai clinch, big knee to the jaw of Forant, but he powers through and gets Reynolds to his backside. On the way back to his feet, Forant leaves his neck in there and gets caught in a modified guillotine/slick arm triangle and he’s now the number one contender for the lightweight title.
Winner: Eric Reynolds by submission (R1, arm triangle, 4:13)
Dave Courchaine vs. Luis Santos
Round 1 –
High left kick from “Sapo” Santos puts Courchaine down immediately. He follows up on the grounded Courchaine with long strikes that he cannot deal with. The fight is stopped quick-like. He was not defending himself well, that’s for sure.
Winner: Luis “Sapo” Santos by TKO (R1, strikes, 0:10)
Reggie Pena vs. Ricky Rainey
Round 1 –
Pena comes across the ring and immediately locks up with Rainey. Rainey wins control over and ends up in half guard. Rainey gets to mount, but Pena rolls away from the position, giving up his back. Pena is able to to secure a wrist and fight his way back to his feet. Big knees to the head from Rainey. Pena is against the fence and eating big shots but working through them. As he spins away from one last hook, he eats a HUGE kick to the jaw and crumples to the mat. Two follow-ups later and it’s fundamental.
Winner: Ricky Rainey by TKO (R1, strikes, 4:33)
XFC Lightweight Championship
John Mahlow vs. Scott Holtzman
Round 1 –
High kick from Mahlow is checked early, Mahlow leads into a takedown attempt, but Holtzman pops up. Judo throw attempt by Holtzman, but Mahlow avoids it and they remain on their feet. In the clinch against the fence, Holtzman and Mahlow take turns with big knees to the legs. Holtzman backs away and comes forward with a spinning back elbow that barely misses. Holtzman catches a knee and gets the takedown. Nice ground and pound from Holtzman. He steps out and comes back in with a long punch into guard as the round ends. 10-9 Holtzman
Round 2 –
High kick from Holtzman leads to a slip, but Mahlow can’t capitalize as he falls to the mat. Holtzman jumps into his guard. Stacked high, Mahlow eats strikes from Holtzman, who is opened up by one of the strikes. Ground and pound on the mat. Holtzman smells blood, literally, and goes for the finish as he flattens Mahlow out on his stomach and pounds him out for the victory.
Winner and NEW XFC Lightweight Champion Scott Holtzman by TKO (R2, punches, 2:53)
