It was the fourth first-round submission win from as many fights for Tobin who trains at the PUMMA gym on the Gold Coast, while Landy drops to 1-1 (1 no-contest).
After capturing the XFC Middleweight Amateur title at the last XFC event, Ben Quarmby returned to make his debut against Muay-Thai veteran Chris Johnstone.
Johnstone started the fight with an early leg-kick as Quarmby returned with a small flurry of punches before landing a leg-kick of his own. Quarmby quickly got the fight to the ground, where he locked up the kimura to get the tap only 1:00 into the fight. Quarmby has already shown interest in taking on former Olympic Judoka Ferrid Kheder in an upcoming fight.
American Charlie Alaniz put on an impressive performance when he knocked out Brisbane based Jarrett Owen in a flyweight bout. Alaniz was introduced as a two-time junior college wrestling champion and his wrestling credential showed early as he got the early take-down. Juarez worked his way back to his feet, however Alaniz again got the fight back on the canvas. Off his back, Juarez locked-up a tight armbar however Alaniz slammed Juarez, and with the slam knocking him out. A further two-punches landed from Alaniz as the referee halted the fight. The stoppage came at 1:02 of the opening round.
Raj Singh stepped up on late notice and proved no match for Jason Preece who dominated on route to a unanimous decision win. Singh did have his moments, especially in the first-round where the Corporate Gym fighter locked up a tight guillotine. Preece though remained calm and worked his way out of the submission. As the fight went on, Preece took control of the fight where he dominated a large portion of the fight from the mount position where he unloaded with punches. Singh stayed just active enough for the fight not to get stopped, but in the end the verdict was unanimous as Preece walked away with the win 30-26 on all three judges cards. (The verdict was announced as 30-27, however XFC has confirmed that should have been 30-26)
In what was awarded fight of the night, Matt Holding held on a strong start by Pati Lemai to defeat him in an amateur rules bout. Lemain started with strong early take downs, however Holding reversed and finished the round in mount landing short strikes. In the second round, Holding landed a punch that put Lemai off-balance however as he rushed in Lemai secured the take-down. From there Lemain transitioned to mount position however Holding utilised the cage to reverse the bout and finished the round getting the back of Lemai. In the third-round, Lemai connects with a lead left-hook but a kick allowed Holding to get the take-down. From there Holding positioned to mount, took the back and was able to secure the rear-naked choke submission for the win. The win came at 1:20 of the third-round.
Tim Marshall got the early take-down but was swept by his opponent Darren Habben in a amateur bantamweight contest. From his back though, Marshall stayed active off his back. He wrapped up a triangle submission and Habben tried to punch his way out of it, before attempting a last slam, however succumb to the submission at 2:40 of the opening round.
In a Welterweight bout between Tom Cox and Brad Earnshaw, it was Cox who got the early take-down, catching a Earnshaw’s kick and getting the fight to the ground. Earnshaw though worked his way back to his feet as the two fighters exchanged. Cox landed a nice combination of punches and finished it off with a slam. From there Cox worked inside half-guard before he progressed to mount. The Integrated MMA Brisbane fighter unloaded as Earnshaw turned. Cox continued with his punches and the referee chose to stop the fight at 2:08
Earlier in the night, Luke Hoffman dropped his opponent David Caruthers with a hook, before unloading with hammer-fists on the ground to get the 1:44 second-round stoppage, while Riley Mallett wrestled Luke Thorngaard to the ground where he quickly took the back, unloaded with punches and got the first-round stoppage at 1:22. 15-year old Auryn Parmley impressed on route to a first round stoppage over Aiden Hart. A Tae-Kwon-Do practitioner, Parmley showed great composure to avoid the take-down early, control the fight on the feet and finishing the fight with an axe kick before the referee halted the contest. The win came at 1:59.
Zac Bennett bounced back from a loss at XFC 17 to submit his opponent Kyle Griffiths in the first-round. Bennett secured the armbar from his back and flipped Griffiths over where he was forced to tap. The ending came at 2:01. Nix Agulto came out relaxed and showed the composure of a seasoned fighter as he knocked down Phil Hedges with punches early in the first-round. The finish came at 46-seconds. In the opening fight, Harley Taylor outworked Johnie Walker to take the unanimous decision 30-27 on all three judges card.
Official Results (Pro):
- Michael Tobin def Shannan Landy via sub (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 2:06 – XFC Bantamweight Title
- Ben Quarmby def Chris Johnstone via sub (Kimura), Rd 1, 1:00
- Charlie Alaniz def Jarrett Owen via KO (Slam & Punches), Rd 1, 1:02
- Adrian Rodriguez def Mark Small via Sub (Guillotine), Rd 1, 4:46
- Jason Preece def Raj Singh via Decision (Unanimous – 30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
- Matt Holding def Pati Lemai via Sub (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 3, 1:20
- Tim Marshall def Darren Habben via Sub (Triangle Choke), Rd 1, 2:40
- Tom Cox def Brad Earnshaw via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 2:08
- Luke Hoffman def David Caruthers via KO (Punch), Rd 2, 1:44
- Riley Mallett def Luke Thorngaard via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 1:22
- Auryn Parmley def Aiden Hart via TKO (Kick), Rd 1, 1:59
- Zac Bennett def Kyle Griffiths via Sub (Armbar), Rd 1, 2:01
- Nix Agulto def Phil Hedges via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 0:46
- Harley Taylor def Johnie Walker via Decision (Unanimous – 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)