Impact MMA fighter Adrian Rodriguez (pictured) looked to be in danger early on in his bout against Taylor Harvey before turning the tide and submitted Harvey to capture the XFC featherweight title.
The bout headlined the Xtreme Fighting Championships 19 card held at the Mansfield Tavern, south of Brisbane on Saturday night which had a mixture of amateur and professional bouts on the night.
A credentialed Muaythai fighter Harvey recently made the transition to mixed martial arts and was looking to make a statement with a win over Rodriguez.
Harvey started the fight hard early leg kicks, as Rodriguez went in for a takedown. Harvey defended and the fighters clinched against the cage with Harvey unloading with shots from there. As they separated Harvey continued coming forward throwing big shots. Rodriguez stood his ground and returned fire before securing a successful takedown. Harvey though didn’t stay on his back long as he was able to reverse the bout. Harvey chose to stay on top instead of standing up and it ended up being his downfall as Rodriguez was able to lock up the armbar to get the tap.
The finish came at 2:50 of the opening round as both fighters showed opposite emotions, Rodriguez ecstatic with the win but Harvey furious with himself for getting caught. With the win, Rodriguez claims the vacant XFC featherweight belt.
Commonwealth games boxer Dane Mulivai was making his long awaited debut in mixed martial arts as he came up against the experienced Jay Cobain.
Mulivai came into the cage wearing a Gi along with a white belt and made his intentions clear early on as he was able to side-step and stuff the early takedown attempts from Cobain and in return land some punches on his feet. When Cobain did get the fight to the ground, Mulivai showed good scrambling to return back to his feet however Cobain again got the fight down to the ground in the last bit of the first round.
It was much the same in the second round, with Cobain looking at taking it to the ground and Mulivai looking for that knockout punch. Cobain did get the fight to the ground and this time despite Mulivai’s best attempts at getting back up on his feet, Cobain was able to neutralise him there landing short strikes. Referee Cameron Quinn warned Cobain for more action before deeming that there was not enough action happening and standing the fight up. Cobain’s face showed that he was frustrated with the stand-up. Mulivai connected with more punches and was able to step out of they way of a Cobain takedown. He landed a big punch that dropped Cobain. Some further punches and referee Cameron Quinn halted the fight at 3:49 of the second round.
With the win, Mulivai remains undefeated as a professional which includes three boxing fights and a Combat8 bout.
Cobain has shown his frustration on social media for the stand-ups that occurred and the stoppage at the end of the fight. Mulivai has returned shots and is open for a rematch.
In a battle for the number on contender position in the XFC bantamweight division, Shantaram Maharaj defeated Mark Brady in a competitive fight. Fighting out of the Five Rings Dojo, Maharaj got the better of the early exchange as both fighters showed solid technical boxing. Maharaj in particular though started landing the straight left. In the second round, Maharaj landed a big right to knock down Brady. He followed his opponent to the ground and some further shots forced the referee to stop the fight. Brady was hanging on to the ankle of Maharaj but as he stood up after the finish was clearly rocked.
The end came only 30 seconds into the second round. With the win, Maharaj earns himself a shot at current XFC bantamweight title holder Michael Tobin which is expected to take place in November.
In the only other professional bout on the card, Tom Cox and Lawrence Cunado put on a short but action packed clash in the welterweight division. It was an absolute brawl from the outset. Cunado got the better early exchange but Cox stayed composed and began get to the better of punches as Cunado edged him to brawl. Cox obliged as he landed two flush punches to finish the contest only 1:10 into the fight.
Headlining the amateur fights on the card contested with three minute rounds was Taekwondo exponent Kyle Parmley who had a much harder outing this time than his mixed martial arts debut back at XFC 17. He took on Advanced MMA fighter Ash Vallance and as expected Parmley started the fight throwing flashy kicks. An axe kick from Parmley allowed Vallance to take the fight to the ground but Parmley showed his developing ground game as he reversed and got mount before Vallance escaped back to his feet. There he was able to land a pair of suplexes to finish the round. Vallance started to find his shots in the second round as Parmley began to use his hands more and dropping in for underhooks as Vallance came forward. Vallance finished the round strong but in the third a high knee from Parmley knocked out Vallance cold. Parmley scored the KO win, 1:43 into the third round to capture the vacant XFC amateur welterweight title.
Integrated fighter Nix Agulto overcame numerous submission attempts including rear-naked choke and armbar attempts that looked to be on for his opponent Tim Marshall from The Cage Training Centre. Agulto though stayed tough and had dominating positions of his own on the ground as well as getting the better of his opponent on their feet. After five rounds of action, Agulto was awarded the unanimous decision to capture the XFC amateur bantamweight title.
In a rematch of a bout first contested at XFC 17 back in November last year, 16 year-old Five Rings Dojo fighter Jayden Eynaud was looking at proving that the first fight win was not a fluke as he faced Zac Bennett again, this time for the XFC amateur bantamweight title. Bennett stayed game and in the fight, but Eynaud kept the pressure on constantly taking the back of his opponent but not being able to find that finishing submission. Early in the third round, Eynaud landed a knee to the body while on the ground which forced Bennett to submit. Earlier in the fight Bennett had injured his knee and was revealed post fight that he had suffered a broken rib. The youngster Eynaud captures the vacant XFC title.
Jonas Rasmussen fought for his charity Hope For Haiti when he faced Evan Creek in this special charity fight. Rasmussen quickly wrestled the fight to the ground where he stayed nice and composed, unloading with punches from the top position. Creek had no answer and struggled to escape as Rasmussen increased the tempo of shots. As cuts opened up on blood poured out of the nose of Creek and the punishment continued, the referee Cade Brown decided to stop the contest only 1:50 into the fight. Rasmussen donated his fight purse to the charity and an auction held on the night also raised a further $5,600 for the charity which attempts to help a country suffering from poverty.
XFC Featherweight Title:
- Adrian Rodriguez def Taylor Harvey via Submission (Armbar), Rd 1, 2:50
Fight Results (Pro:)
- Dane Mulivai def Jay Cobain via TKO (Punches), Rd 2, 3:49 or 4:49
- Shantaram Maharaj def Mark Brady via KO (Punches), Rd 2, 0:30
- Tom Cox def Lawrence Cunado via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 1:10
Home For Haiti Charity Fight (Amateur)
- Jonas Rasmussen def Evan Creek via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 1:50
Fight Results (Amateur)
- Kyle Parmley def Ash Vallance via KO (Knee), Rd 3, 1:43
- Nix Agulto def Tim Marshall via Decision (Unanimous)
- Jayden Eynaud def Zac Bennett via Submission (Knee to body), Rd 3, 0:55
- Scott Thorburn def Alberto Ortiz via KO (Head Kick), Rd 1, 0:32
- Gavin Hain def Jim McMullen via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 1:25
- Craig Jack def Ian McLachlan via Decision (Unanimous)
- Joel Gritt def Brendan Smith via Decision (Unanimous)
- Morgan Scott def Blayde Hemmings via Decision (Unanimous)
- Justin Wood def Danny Monda via Submission (Rear Naked-Choke), Rd 1, 0:56
