LFA 85
Vanessa Demopoulos def. Sam Hughes
In the main event of the evening, women’s flyweight title was on the line as Sam Hughes faced off with Vanessa Demopoulos The majority of the fighters spent on the feet with Sam Hughes being a step ahead. At the end of the second round, Demopoulos landed an illegal upkick and although Hughes didn’t seem overly hurt the referee took a point. This put Demopoulos in a difficult position as she likely needed a stoppage to leave the cage with the belt and that’s exactly what she did. The finish came in the fourth round after Demopoulos was able to lock in a reverse triangle in a scramble and choke Hughes out. With such a rare finish you have to think that the UFC will have their eyes on the Jiu-Jitsu ace and at least offer her an opportunity on DWCS. Sam Hughes also put up a solid performance despite coming up short and can take a lot of positives from this fight.
Kevin Natividad def. Kyle Estrada
Estrada’s low kicks were the story of the first round as he was able to take advantage of Natividad’s wide stance and disrupt his rhythm. However, as the fight went on Natividad started to find his range and land some heavy headshots. The finish came in the second round as Natividad landed a short right on Estrada’s chin and put him out. With this win, Natividad has put himself in pole position to get the next title shot at bantamweight.
Jordan Leavitt def. Leivon Lewis
In a battle of undefeated prospects, Jordan Leavitt’s submission prowess proved too much for Leivon Lewis. Lewis started the fight strong and was able to stuff Leavitt’s attempts to take the fight to the ground whilst doing damage in the clinch. However, Leavitt’s dedication to taking the fight to the ground paid off in the second round as he was able to lock in an anaconda choke for the tap. A great win for Leavitt who might find himself competing on this season of DWCS for a chance to earn a UFC contract.
Lux Fight League 9
Marco Beltran def. David Mendoza
The bantamweight title fight ended being one of the best fights of the week. Mendoza started strong with heavy pressure and takedowns attempts, he was able to win the first couple of rounds and looked well on his way to victory. However, Marco Beltran leaned on his UFC experience and was able to change the tide. He started to catch Mendoza coming in and was able to secure takedowns of his own. In the championship rounds, the UFC veteran looked like the fresher man and was able to find a Von Fleux choke from mount. I think this was the kind of fight where both men saw their stock go up and we will perhaps see a rematch soon.