On December 7, 2013, it was another great night of fights put on by Battlefield Fight League with their 26th edition taking over the Hard Rock Casino. The card showcased some of the best Canadian west coast professional and amateur talent with 12 fights, including a number 1 welterweight contender fight and 3 amateur title fights.
Battlefield Fight League 26: The Aftermath
The main event held the next title shot in the balance for the BFL welterweight championship. BFL middleweight champion, Leo Xavier made his welterweight debut against Dejan Kajic who was coming of a KO win in Alberta last October. Early in the fight Xavier found some success with hard-fought takedowns against the fence, but was unable to keep Kajic on the mat for long. Unfortunately, the fight was brought to an unexpected ending when Kajic landed an unintentional elbow to the back of Xavier’s head while Kajic was defending a double leg against the fence. The blow dropped Xavier, and he was unable to continue. The bout was declared a technical draw. Hopefully, we will see a rematch in the future as both fighters deserve another chance to compete against each other.
Ash Mashreghi put the rest of welterweight division on notice with a big win over Stu Deleurme in the co-main event of the evening. Mashreghi’s strong sprawl nullified Deleurme’s takedown attempts. Mashreghi eventually was able to secure a top position on the ground and utilized some strong ground and pound to secure the referee stoppage in the first round.
Other notable bouts:
Third time’s the charm for Jer Kornelsen as he again challenged for the BFL amateur middleweight belt. He made quick work of reigning champion Jared Revel with a devastating right uppercut to the head that crumpled Revel to the canvas. It was a scary moment as it took some time for Revel to recover, but he was able to walk out of the cage with the aid of his corner, and later confirmed through his twitter that he was alright, but disappointed.
Oren Hanscomb captured the vacant BFL amateur featherweight title against Cleve Bentley. The fight was extremely close as one of the judges found the fight to be a draw, but the other two found the fight in the favor of Hanscomb sealing a majority decision and the belt around Hanscomb’s waist.
A disappointing end for Kirk Tse in the first BFL amateur bantamweight title fight against Craig McLean. Tse dictated the pace of the fight with constant pressure against the fence leading to several takedowns per round. However, McLean landed a punch to Tse’s face that opens up a large cut on his eyelid. The fight was called via doctor stoppage due to the cut and crowned McLean the new BFL champion.
MMASucka.com’s Top Three bouts of the night:
1. Russ McCumber def. Christian Allart- It looked like Allart was in control as he peppered McCumber with jabs that would make GSP proud, until McCumber found a nasty standing guillotine pushing Allart’s back against the fence and forcing a submission.
2. Robin Laybourn def. Justin Rodriguez- Laybourn manifested his inner heavyweight Nick Diaz as he invited Rodriguez into several back-and-forth exchanges. Laybourn laid out (pun intended) Rodriguez with a huge KO punch in the second round, about 2 minutes in.
3. Marco Viedas def. Rafael Escobar- Escobar looked great at the beginning of the fight as he controlled Viedas with precision striking. Viedas took over the fight in the second and third with strong wrestling and submission defense keeping Escobar on the losing end of a decision.
MMASucka.com’s Top Three fighters of the night:
1. Mazdak Porbolough(Titan MMA)- All within 26 seconds, Porbolough became more handsome when he ate a hematoma causing punch in the face, dished back a punch that dropped his opponent Andrew Gualini, then wins the fight with a Rear Naked Choke to begin his MMA career.
2. Cole Smith (Dynamic MMA)- Smith also wins his fight quickly and decisively with a standing guillotine that put Damon Begg to sleep at 0:48 of round 1.
3. Jayden Martin (FKP MMA)- Another dominant performance by this young athletic MMA prodigy. He locked in a tight triangle choke in the second round that gave a very tough Mohamd Kholqi no choice but to submit or go to sleep.
For full BFL 26 results, click here.
