Experienced middleweight Nah-shon Burrell continued his recent run on the regional scene on Saturday night, taking a unanimous decision win over Kyle Stewart in the main event of CFFC 102.
The fight headlined a card that took place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Burrell’s victory came from his ability to notch ground control time against Stewart throughout. He scored many takedowns during the battle, but also gained advantageous positions after reversing moves from Stewart.
Stewart’s best moment was in the second round, where he nearly stopped Burrell with a choke. He mounted the back of Stewart while on the feet, keeping with the choke as they went to the ground. Burrell was able to eventually escape and take top position afterward.
Burrell is a veteran of over a decade and a large portion of his career has taken place in notable promotions like Strikeforce, Bellator and UFC.
Now with four consecutive wins on the regional scene, Burrell says he wants to get back into the UFC.
“I’m back and I’m just trying to show it with every fight,” said Burrell in his post-fight interview.
Stewart, also a former UFC fighter, was coming off a stoppage win he earned in August over John Poppie.
Ashmoz Takes Out Rizco Late In CFFC Debut
Undefeated lightweight Yanal Ashmoz won his first CFFC bout in Saturday’s co-main event, closing out a close fight against Isa Dalipaj with a third-round stoppage.
After a groin strike to Rizco forced the bout to pause just five seconds into the round, Ashmoz resumed the action by getting a takedown from the clinch position.
Ashmoz unloaded from this position with ground and pound punches for over a minute, maintaining the steady pace of shots until the fight was stopped.
The fight was close in earlier rounds. Rizco often scored takedowns in the fight, with Ashmoz reversing positions on the ground and taking control.
Ashmoz is now undefeated through six pro fights. He entered this weekend with the momentum of a recent stoppage win, defeating Armando Gjetja on a Ring of Combat card three months back.
Rizco, a veteran of CFFC, had won four of his previous five pro fights. He handed Feraris Golden Jr. a loss in July, submitting him with a rear naked choke.
Perez Bounces Back From First Loss Against Dalipaj
Jose Perez handed Isa Dalipaj his first pro loss on Saturday, taking a unanimous decision win in a featherweight bout.
Perez had Dalipaj in trouble late in the first round, locking up a rear naked choke just moments before the round ran out of time.
The submission attempt came after a dominant round on the floor for Perez, doing damage with ground and pound from full mount.
Perez continued to control Dalipaj in the second and third rounds, taking the fight down and staying in the favorable positions.
The fight put Perz back into the win column after suffering his first pro loss recently. The featherweight prospect took a sudden 11-second loss in August, losing to DeAndre Anderson.
Dalipaj was undefeated heading into Saturday. His three previous pro bouts all took place in CFFC, coming via stoppage each time.
Spann III Earns Submission Win In Pro Debut
Will Spann III capitalized on a perfect moment in his pro debut, sneaking in a guillotine choke on Ben Coyle to win via submission.
Span III started to search for the choke while Coyle secured a double leg takedown. He had the submission fully applied once they hit the ground, holding it in full guard until a tap came.
Coyle was succeeding before the takedown, connecting with strikes on the feet.
Spann III was making his pro debut. He picked up four wins as an amateur, with one of them being in CFFC two years back.
Coyle was returning after getting his first pro win in August, defeating Joe Tran within a round with punches.
Gladfelter Gets Quick Win In CFFC Debut
David Gladfelter had an explosive win in his CFFC debut, dropping Gordon Wigington early and finishing him on the ground with strikes.
Gladfelter dropped Wigington in the second minute of the fight. This knockdown came due to a knee to the head from Gladfelter in a clinch position.
Gladfelter followed up with ground and pound shots to Wigington, doing damage and causing the referee to end the fight eventually.
Gladfelter now has two wins in his rookie year as a pro. He previously fought in March, defeating Matthew Fleming on a regional card in South Carolina.
Wigington had an unsuccessful pro debut in April, as Liam Anderson submitted him at CFFC 95 in April.
Jean Uses Hard Ground and Pound For Second Pro Win
Brutal ground and pound from Thad Jean earned the welterweight prospect a first-round stoppage win against Thomas Majeski in the opening bout of Saturday’s card.
Jean did a load of damage in the opening round, taking full mount on Majeski and scoring with hard ground and pound punches.
Majeski was able to stop Jean’s ground and pound onslaught by attempting a heel hook. He eventually let the submission go, allowing him to take the fight back to a stand-up range.
The fight went back down to the ground in the final minute of the frame, allowing Jean to unload with ground and pound from half guard to cause the fight stoppage.
Jean won his pro debut in August, earning a submission victory over Sage Philippe on a CES card.
Majeski’s three previous MMA bouts had all taken place in CFFC as well. He took his first pro loss in his prior appearance, getting submitted by Jonathan Piersma in April.
The Rest of the Card
Luke Fernandez had a dominant win on the prelims, submitting Cody Lewis in the first round with a rear naked choke to become the new CFFC Amateur Light Heavyweight Champion.
Riley Palmer swept scorecards in his amateur bout, defeating Devin Maldonado to remain undefeated through three bouts.
Dymere Rappa scored his first CFFC win to open the prelims, defeating Nick Galanti via unanimous decision in an amateur fight.
Quick Results:
Main Card (8:00PM EDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 9: Nah-shon Burrell def. Kyle Stewart via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Yanal Ashmoz def. Ryan Rizco via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 2:57)
Bout 7: Jose Perez def. Isa Dalipaj via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Will Spann III def. Ben Coyle via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 1:58)
Bout 5: David Gladfelter def. Gordon Wigington via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:18)
Bout 4: Thad Jean def. Thomas Majeski via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:19)
Preliminary Card (6:00PM EDT) (Facebook / Youtube)
Bout 3: Luke Fernandez def. Cody Lewis via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:40) (CFFC Amateur Light Heavyweight Champion)
Bout 2: Riley Palmer def. Devin Maldonado via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 1: Dymere Rappa def. Nick Galanti via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
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