Outside Source
The Bellator MMA and World Series of Fighting alum dazzled in his Legacy Fighting Alliance debut, as he submitted Rodriguez with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their LFA 52 headliner on Friday at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton, Texas. Rodriguez (13-5) raised the white flag 4:47 into Round 1, the defeat snapping his run of eight straight victories.
Gutierrez (12-3-1) executed a takedown, maintained his composure despite being reversed and freed himself from an attempted kimura. The Factory X standout assumed top position, applied his ground-and-pound and made a slick transition to Rodriguez’s back. Gutierrez then snaked his arms in place, closed off potential avenues for escape and elicited the tapout.
In the co-main event, Jimmy Flick dispatched C.J. Hamilton with a second-round arm-triangle choke. Flick (11-4) sealed the deal 4:09 into Round 2, having secured back-to-back victories for the first time since 2012. The bout was contested at a 130-pound catchweight.
Hamilton (13-7) kept the Oklahoman off-balance with punching bursts and lateral movement before staggering him with a partially blocked head kick. Flick withstood the impact, returned to full strength and sprang his trap. He struck for a takedown in the second round, achieved full mount twice and locked in the arm-triangle choke.
Flick, 28, has delivered nine of his 11 professional wins by submission.
Meanwhile, Xtreme Couture prospect Punahele Soriano submitted Jhonoven Pati with a rear-naked choke in their featured middleweight clash. Pati (3-3) conceded defeat 3:36 into Round 1.
Soriano (5-0) buckled his counterpart with a counter left hand, executed a beautiful throw and withstood a frenetic exchange before shifting gears. The unbeaten Hawaiian floored Pati with a straight left, attacked with ground-and-pound and advanced to the back. Soriano then flattened out “The Samoan Savage” and cinched the rear-naked choke, drawing out the tap after a brief but futile struggle.
The 25-year-old Soriano has finished all five of his opponents inside one round.
Elsewhere, Team Takedown’s Vernon Lewis put away Jeremy Hardy with a volley of knees and punches in the third round of their heavyweight showcase. Hardy (6-5) succumbed to blows 51 seconds into Round 3, his modest two-fight winning streak a thing of the past.
Lewis (7-3) overcame some serious adversity. Hardy overwhelmed him with takedowns, ground-and-pound and positional control for much of the first round before piling up points with punch-kick combinations in the second. His efforts went unrewarded. Lewis blasted him with a liver kick in the third, pursued him as he retreated and cut loose with knees and punches along the fence until referee Jon Schorle had seen enough.
The 34-year-old Lewis has rattled off six wins in seven appearances.
In other action, Itzel Esquivel (4-2) was awarded a unanimous verdict over Crystal Vanessa Demopoulos across three rounds at 115 pounds, earning 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 marks from the cageside judges; Armando Villarreal (4-1) took a unanimous decision from Jose Johnson (4-3) in a three-round bantamweight battle, drawing 29-28 scores across the board; Hailey Cowan (1-1) cut down Sha Whittington (0-3) with knees and punches 69 seconds into the first round of their women’s flyweight confrontation; Desiree Yanez (2-1) knocked out Fatima Mallett (1-3) with punches 2:11 into the first round of their women’s strawweight affair; and David Miramontes (4-3) submitted Robert Casper (1-3) with a rear-naked choke 2:00 into the first round of their flyweight encounter.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
