Featherweight, Vojto Barborík (12-1)
Vojto Barborik had a bit of a tough start in the fight as he couldn’t find his distance and did get taken down. He did eventually get a takedown himself and transitioned to the back in a scramble. From there he was like glue as he eventually secured the RNC finish.
Grade: C
Flyweight, Nate Smith (6-0)
Nate Smith fought a very tough fighter in Sean Stebbins and had a very good fight. Round one was back and forth on the mat as both had their moments. Both were working their backside off, battling for every position and providing some fun scrambles. The way Smith stayed so calm and tactically defended tough positions was very impressive. Round two he quickly got the nice trip takedown. He got into the mount and had Stebbins’ arm trapped and the ground and pound sent the ref in.
Grade: A+
Light-heavyweight, Alex Polizzi (6-0)
In a fight for the LFA 205-pound title, Alex Polizzi took on another good prospect in Jamal Pogues. Pogues was winning the exchanges on the feet but the D1 wrestling of Polizzi was just too much. He secured many takedowns throughout the fight and along the way transitioned well while showing good submission defense. Pogues was the one actively searching for submissions but it was Alex that ended the fight with a nasty heel hook.
Grade: A
Featherweight, Dennis Buzukia (4-1)
This was one hell of a fight as toughness and heart were put on display throughout three rounds. Dennis Buzukia’s opponent was Tim Dooling and I will say he did not fight like a 9-6 fighter here. Dooling had success early with the jab and had his moments in all three rounds. As the fight went on Buzukia got better and better. Buzukia obviously had the heavier hands and had more weapons busting up the face of Dooling. Everything just added up on Dooling as the one-two, bodywork, and elbows from Buzukia resulted in his decision win.
Lightweight, Genaro Valdéz (5-0)
It was all Genaro Valdez in this fight as he cruised to a first-round finish. He landed some good shots with the right hand to get into the clinch. Valde secured two takedowns and on top he passed from side control to mount. He landed big active ground and pound while in the mount until the ref stepped in for the TKO stoppage.
Grade: C+
Bantamweight, Luis Rodríguez (11-1)
In round one, Luis Rodriguez and his opponent went back and forth. It was Rodriguez getting taken down, and he was in bad spots getting his back taken. Rodriguez though was able to just turn into his opponent and get top position. Round two, Rodriguez opened up with a beautiful flyng switch knee. That hurt his opponent bad and Rodriguez was able to get the takedown and finish with the RNC.
Grade: C+
Flyweight, Azamat Kerefov (13-0)
ACA/ACB has already produced a great flyweight champ in Askar Askarov who is tearing it up in the UFC right now. Now the new ACA flyweight champ Azamat Kerefov has proven to be the next Russian flyweight star. Kerefov fought another good fighter in Mansur Khatuev handing him his first loss. Kerefov fought very well through the course of five rounds. He found home with a lot of strikes including the head kick and the straight left. He was winning the exchanges on the feet with his accuracy and timing. In the later rounds he used his wrestling getting a few takedowns including a very nice foot sweep. Kerefov even showed good dirty boxing in the clinch.
Grade: A+
Welterweight, Ali Bagov (29-9)
Ali Bagov fought a good fighter in Adam Townsend and dominated him for three rounds. Bagov worked his keister off in this fight as he got multiple takedowns but had to work really hard for them. While Townsend did not go away easy, he didn’t deal well with the pressure. Bagov controlled the position for a while and in the clinch stayed busy. In round two and three he was teeing off on Townsend with a barrage of punches.
Grade: B+
Bantamweight, Abdul-Rakhman Dudaev (24-5)
Abdul-Rakham Dudaev possibly lost round three getting taken down a few times but round one and two was all him. He looked really good in this fight with good feints setting up some big moments in blitzes. Dudaev has awesome footwork and that’s why he was able to slip and counter and pick his shot. His flow of strikes was very good as he threw a spinning wheel kick at the end of combinations. In round two, Dudaev landed a very nice spinning elbow that was set up perfectly.
Grade: B-
Flyweight, Maycon Silva (15-3)
Maycon Silva fought a good fighter and a very dangerous one in Goga Shamatava. Silva was aggressive cutting off the cage and chasing Goga down. Silva would land some good kicks and retreat and fire back. He dropped Goga with a right hand and the Brazilian was in his jiu-jitsu realm. Goga did reverse positions on top but off his back Silva was too much and the fight resumed back on the feet. Goga shot for his own takedown but Silva locked in a tight arm-in guillotine for the submission win.
Grade: B
