A trio of former UFC fighters competed on Saturday for the first time since leaving the major MMA promotion. James Vick, Francisco Rivera and Kyle Bochniak were among some of the names on XMMA’s return on Friday night at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA.
While Bochniak and Rivera were able to provide a win in their first fight back, main eventing fighter Vick had a rough night.
The return of Vick on Saturday night was not successful as he was finished in the second round by Andre Fialho. After a slow-paced first round, Vick became clearly wobbled by punches in the second round. After Vick was dropped once, got back up and then continued to consume strikes, the referee stopped the fight.
Vick was competing for the first time outside of the UFC since 2011. The former member of “The Ultimate Fighter” put together a promotional record of nine wins and five losses while with the UFC.
Vick is now on a five-fight losing streak. Four of the five losses have come due to strikes.
Fialho snapped a three-fight skid with his main event win. His previous losses came on LFA and PFL cards.
Rivera Ends Break With Stoppage Victory
Competing for the first time in over four years, Francisco Rivera caught Ryan Lilley in the second round with punches to pick up a win. A series of strikes from Rivera finished with a right hook that dropped Lilley and stopped the fight.
Rivera’s previous fight was a decision loss to Erik Perez in July of 2016 at UFC 201.
Bochniak Takes Decision Victory Over Urugai
Kyle Bochniak picked up a decision win against Caio Urugai after a three-round brawl on the feet (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28). While Urugai had a good first round, Bochniak started to connect more with his own strikes as the fight progressed.
“I had to shake the cobwebs and come back [after the first round],” said Bochniak in his post-fight interview.
Bochniak dedicated the fight to his grandfather, who he said passed away due to COVID-19.
Bochniak was competing outside of the UFC for the first time since 2016. His UFC stint concluded with a record of two wins and four losses.
Urugai is now on a three-fight losing streak that includes two previous losses in Titan FC.
2019 PFL Fighter Curtis Stops Stewart With Punches
Chris Curtis put on a strong performance that culminated with a third-round stoppage against Kyle Stewart.
After controlling the fight on the feet in previous rounds, Curtis dropped Stewart in the final round with punches.
The fight was Curtis’ second appearance since participating in the 2019 PFL season. Curtis had a record of one win and three losses while participating in a PFL season. Curtis’ previous fight was a win against Darren Smith Jr. in January of 2020.
Stewart had a two-fight win streak snapped by Curtis. The fight was Stewart’s second since his two-fight UFC run concluded in 2019.
Former UFC Fighter Golm Kicks Off Main Card With Submission Win
Former UFC fighter Marcelo Golm picked up a submission win to kick off the main card, catching Brandon Hebert in the second round with an arm triangle choke.
The win on Saturday was Golm’s second since he departed the UFC in 2019. His previous win was an victory against DJ Linderman in October.
Golm’s UFC run spanned from 2017 to 2019 and saw him earn one win and three losses.
The loss for Hebert snapped a four-fight win streak of stoppage fights.
Full Results
Main Card (9:00PM EST) (XMMA.com)
Bout 9: Andre Fialho def. James Vick via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:21)
Bout 8: Francisco Rivera def. Ryan Lilley via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:03)
Bout 7: Kyle Bochniak def. Caio Urugai via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Chris Curtis def. Kyle Stewart via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:41)
Bout 5: Marcelo Golm def. Brandon Hebert via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 2, 1:17)
Preliminary Card (6:00PM EST) (XMMA.com)
Bout 4: Kyle Noblitt def. Jack May via Decision, Split
Bout 3: Mahmoud Sebie def. Jarrell Murry via TKO, Strikes (RD 1,
Bout 2: Tyler Ray def. Austin Jones via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 1, 1:45)
Bout 1: Charles Radtke def. Geralbert Castillo via Decision, Unanimous
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