Photo Credit: Fury FC
If cancer couldn’t stop Kolton
Englund, best of luck to anything or anyone else between him
and a shot at regaining the Fury FC lightweight title.
In the main event of Fury FC 48 on Sunday, “The White Assassin”
scored a third-round knockout of Alec
Williams, his third straight win since returning in March from
the health issues that had kept him on the shelf since 2019.
Englund took control of the cage from the start, stalking Williams
around the perimeter of the cage and tagging him with heavy punch
combinations. Williams worked hard for takedowns in the second
round, but failed to secure any, and Englund nearly finished the
fight late in the round, dropping Williams with punches and teeing
off as referee Jeff
Rexroad looked on closely. Williams survived to hear the bell,
but Englund picked right back up where he left off in Round 3. The
end came at 4:34 of the round, as Williams wilted under a pair of
huge hooks to the head.
That brutal performance elevates Englund to 9-3 as a professional
and earns him a shot at the Fury lightweight title currently held
by Le’ville
Simpson. In defeat, Williams falls to 7-3.
Mowles Strangles Ishihara
In the co-main event, longtime Legacy Fighting Alliance bantamweight standout
Levi
Mowles made quick work of UFC veteran Teruto
Ishihara, taking his back and choking him all the way to sleep
in half a round. Ishihara kept things interesting in the early
going, landing a question-mark kick to the head and several hard
body punches. Once the two men clinched, however, it was all
one-way traffic, as Mowles easily took Ishihara’s back standing,
hopped up and locked on a body triangle from back mount. Mowles
then cinched up a tight rear-naked choke, leading to the
unfortunate final finishing sequence. Ishihara fought the choke,
reddened and then appeared to lose consciousness for several
seconds before referee Rob Alexander intervened.
Controversial stoppage aside, the completely dominant grappling
display earned Mowles (15-4, 2-0 Fury FC) his fifth straight win.
Mirroring Mowles’ rise, the free-falling Ishihara has now lost five
in a row, including the three-fight skid that led to his UFC
release.
Pogosjan Thumps Altum
Arut
Pogosjan made an impressive Fury FC debut, dropping Josh Altum
with a big left hand and finishing with ground strikes in their
main card lightweight matchup. Altum, stepping up a weight class on
short notice, experienced success in some wild early exchanges,
going for a flying scissors takedown, working hard to bring the
fight to the ground and even scoring a flash knockdown. However,
Pogosjan quickly began to impose his greater size and sharper
strikes, rocking Altum with punches to the head and body. Late in
the first round, Pogosjan landed the left that dropped Altum, and a
few standing-to-ground right hands sealed the deal at 4 minutes, 50
seconds. The win sends the Colorado-based Armenian to 8-3, while
Altum falls to 4-2 (1-1 Fury FC).
Villareal Outduels Silva
Randy
Villarreal notched his second straight win in the Fury cage,
taking a unanimous decision over former Fury flyweight champ and
two-time Dana White’s Contender Series veteran Jacob Silva.
Villareal’s rangy southpaw kickboxing seemed to frustrate the
shorter Silva, and Villarreal struck for several well-timed
takedowns as well. Silva threatened with a second-round guillotine,
but Villarreal defended well and was able to take top position for
most of the rest of the round, moving to Silva’s back and
threatening with a neck crank. Silva made things interesting in the
final frame, ending up on top after a blown takedown by Villarreal,
working from within the taller man’s guard, and landing a couple of
hard shots late. It wasn’t enough in the end, as Villarreal
prevailed by unanimous 29-28 scores to raise his career tally to
11-12 (2-0 Fury FC). Silva has hit a rough patch, as he is now 1-4
in his last five, dating back to his Contender Series
appearances.
Elzea Ices Ruiz with Buzzer-Beater Head Kick
Joey
Elzea put a stamp on a fast-paced flyweight battle, lamping
Ramiro
Ruiz Castillo with a beautiful left head kick with just five
seconds to go on the clock. The fight up to that point had been
closely contested, with both men inflicting damage on the feet and
Ruiz experiencing some success landing takedowns. If anything, Ruiz
appeared to have the momentum heading into the final round, as the
cageside doctor examined Elzea’s badly swollen right eye closely
before allowing him to head back out. The 31-year-old native of
Washington state capitalized on the opportunity, nailing Ruiz with
a completely unblocked head kick in the waning seconds. Ruiz
dropped instantly and referee Jeff
Rexroad dove in for the stoppage, staving off any further
punishment. With the sensational win, Elzea puts his first career
loss in the rear view and moves to 7-1 overall, while Ruiz falls to
5-4 (2-2 Fury FC).
Walker Outlasts Eiland
Josh
Walker and Jonathan
Eiland were near mirror images of one another — other than the
14-year age gap — as they engaged in a wild three-round
bantamweight scrap marked by furious exchanges on the feet and
grueling, scramble-heavy wrestling sequences. The 23-year-old
Walker took the first round, striking for takedowns and spending
the bulk of the five minutes in superior positions on the ground.
The 37-year-old Eiland came roaring back in the second, taking
advantage of an early slip by Walker to nail him with a
standing-to-ground punch and get the better of a back-and-forth
five minutes. Walker came back strong in the third, and was
rewarded by the judges with unanimous 29-28 scorecards. With the
win, W4R Training Center export Walker moves to 4-0 in his
professional career; Eiland falls to 4-3.
Adams Manhandles, Throttles Lunsford
Former UFC heavyweight Juan Adams
put on an absolute clinic in wrestling and top control, throwing
Eric
Lunsford all around the cage before locking up a rear-naked
choke for the finish. The former NCAA wrestler didn’t even have to
shoot for a takedown, as Lunsford slipped on a kick early and Adams
was able to capitalize. From there, everything was academic: a few
mat returns — including a pair of resounding slams — and relentless
ground punches softened up Lunsford. By the time Adams slapped on
the choke for the tap at 3:27 of Round 1, it felt a bit like an act
of mercy. With the completely dominant performance, his second
straight win since his UFC release, Adams moved to 7-3 and earned a
shot at the Fury heavyweight belt currently owned by Richard
Odoms; Lunsford falls to 5-3 in defeat.
Del Valle Dominates Mercado
In the main card opener, Yadier Del
Valle handed Aric
Mercado his first professional loss, winning by a unanimous
decision that was far more one-sided than the final scores
indicated. Del Valle got out to a fast start, dropping Mercado with
punches within the first minute, then diving into top position,
where he spent the remainder of the round threatening with ground
strikes and submission attempts. The second round offered more of
the same, as Del Valle struck for a takedown early, moved quickly
to the back and worked for a rear-naked choke on the taller man.
Mercado fought off the choke, but Del Valle cinched up a body
triangle from back mount and spent the balance of the round
throwing short strikes and working for the choke. The final frame
was more competitive only in the sense that Mercado managed to keep
Del Valle in his guard for more of the round, avoiding most of the
ground strikes and submission attempts that had characterized the
first two rounds.
While the first two rounds could easily have been scored 10-8, the
judges awarded the fight to Del Valle by unanimous 30-27
scorecards. With the dominant win, the 24-year-old Cuban-American
prospect moves to 3-0 as a professional, while Mercado falls to 3-1
in defeat.
Prelims: Mooney Taps Out Black
On the all-professional Fury 48 undercard, Matthew
Mooney (6-2) tapped Alex Black
(11-7) with a rare figure-four ankle lock in their lightweight
contest; Christian
Strong (1-1) defeated Cameron
Smotherman (2-2) by unanimous decision in a bantamweight
matchup; Jonathan
Davis needed just 20 seconds to put Mason
Iacobellis to sleep with a guillotine choke in their 130-pound
catchweight fight; Santiago
Guzman (3-2) took a unanimous decision over David Armas
(9-19) at welterweight; and Justice
Torres (2-0) pounded out Cristian
Lopez (0-1) in the featherweight opener.