Andre Fialho. Just beautiful.
Watch this.
#XMMA pic.twitter.com/vysz81frka—
ShayMyName (@ImShannonTho)
January 31, 2021
James
Vick saw the return of Xtreme MMA as a launching point
for his own career comeback, but Andre
Fialho had something to say about it.
The promotion, which put on seven events in Canada between 2007 and
2009, returned after more a decade on Saturday at the Palm Beach
Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. For its first-ever
event in the United States, XMMA brought a card jam-packed with
familiar names from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator MMA and other top-tier promotions, none more
familiar than Vick, a former UFC lightweight contender.
In the welterweight main event of XMMA 8, Vick took on Bellator and
Professional Fighters League veteran Andre
Fialho. The matchup represented a chance at redemption for both
men, as “The Texecutioner” had been inactive since exiting the UFC
on a four-fight losing streak in late 2019, while Fialho was on a
three-fight skid of his own. Five inches taller and with a slight
reach advantage, Vick appeared to win a close first round and was
holding his own in the second when, about 90 seconds into the
round, Fialho rocked him with a looping left, then sent his
mouthpiece flying with a right. He would not get it back. Fialho
stalked the hurt Texan, landing over 20 more punches — including at
least a half-dozen flush uppercuts to the jaw — before referee
Andrew
Glenn waved the fight off for a standing TKO at 2:21 of Round
2. While the fight had been stopped on the feet, Vick, bleeding
badly from the mouth and nose, immediately laid down on the canvas
and was attended to by the cageside physician.
With the vicious finish, Fialho (11-4) snaps the aforementioned
three-fight losing streak, while picking up the biggest win of his
career, at least in terms of name value. Vick (13-6) has now lost
five straight, four by KO or TKO, three of those in the first
round.
“Cisco” Rivera Punches out Lilley
Fighting for the first time in nearly five years, 39-year-old UFC
veteran Francisco
Rivera faced Ryan Lilley
in a 140-pound catchweight bout in the co-main event. While both
men are habitual bantamweights, Lilley, who stepped up on short
notice, missed even the catchweight by five pounds, leading to a
de facto featherweight bout. Once the fight started, Rivera
applied constant pressure, moving forward and stinging Lilley with
low kicks and punching combinations. Lilley, who came out swinging
and attempting to draw Rivera into a slugfest, tired quickly. Late
in Round 1, Rivera threw a flurry of punches to the body of Lilley,
setting up a right hook to the ear that sent the Californian
crashing to the canvas. Rivera dove in with more punches, but
referee Russ Greenberg was already rushing in to stop the fight.
The official finish came at 4:03, getting Rivera (12-7, 1 NC) back
on track after the three-fight slide that ended his UFC run in
2016. Lilley, who had been inactive himself since November 2019,
falls to 10-7.
Bochniak Outlasts Uruguai
Fighting for the first time since exiting the UFC on three straight
losses in October 2019, Kyle
Bochniak took on Caio
Rocha Uruguai in a featherweight attraction that ended up being
the best fight of the night. In a fast-paced, back-and-forth battle
conducted almost entirely on the feet, Bochniak’s endurance made
the difference, as he pulled ahead of the flagging Uruguai after
getting the worse of a frenetic first round. After a rousing 15
minutes, Bochniak prevailed by unanimous 29-28 scores. The victory
sets “Crash” (9-5) back on the winning path and perhaps a second
look from a top-tier promotion, while Uruguai (7-4) has now lost
three straight; all in Florida, the other two under the Titan FC
banner.
Curtis Finishes Stewart Late
Chris
Curtis put his disastrous 2019 PFL run further in the rear view
on Saturday, as he dragged UFC and Dana White’s Contender Series vet Kyle
Stewart into deep waters in their middleweight main card
matchup. Both fighters seemed to believe that the clash would come
down to Curtis’ boxing against Stewart’s broader skill set, and it
played out that way. The first round was competitive, but Curtis’
improved takedown defense led Stewart to expend copious amounts of
energy trying to bring the fight to the floor. By the end of the
second round, Stewart looked completely exhausted, plodding around
on rubbery legs as Curtis calmly circled and touched him with jabs
and one-twos. Stewart came out gamely for the final round but there
was nothing left in the tank. Curtis landed several clean straight
lefts that wobbled the MMA Lab product, but it was a right hand
that caught him unaware and sent him face-first to the canvas. No
follow-up was necessary, and the TKO came officially at 1:41 of
Round 3. Curtis (23-8) has now won two straight since his
season-ending loss to Ray Cooper
III in the 2019 PFL playoffs; Stewart (13-4) sees his modest
two-fight win streak come to an end.
Golm Chokes Out Hebert
In the main card opener, former UFC heavyweight Marcelo
Golm was simply too big, too experienced and too skilled for
Brandon
Hebert. However, the nearly 4-to-1 underdog Hebert made it
interesting, coming roaring back late in the first round to likely
steal the round from the Brazilian. Golm’s strategy of stifling the
striker with clinches and takedowns worked for much of the round,
but Hebert succeeded in shucking him off late in the round and
stinging him with big punch combinations. The second round, though,
was all Golm, as Hebert—who had never been past Round 1 as a
professional—came out looking tired. Golm secured a takedown with
ease, framed an arm-triangle choke and stepped over to finish.
Hebert was tapping instantly, and referee Glenn let him out of the
fight at 1 minute, 17 seconds. The 28-year-old Golm (8-3) has now
won two straight since exiting the UFC with three consecutive
losses. Hebert, who turned pro less than two years ago, falls to
2-2.
Prelims: Kyle Noblitt Upsets Jack May
In the featured preliminary bout, Jack May
dropped a split decision to Glory MMA & Fitness export Kyle
Noblitt. The 39-year-old May, a well-traveled veteran of over a
dozen promotions including the UFC, Bellator and PFL, was expected
to defeat Noblitt, who stepped up on one day’s notice to face him.
However, Noblitt made the most of his opportunity, using superior
wrestling to ground the 6-foot-8 May repeatedly. After three
rounds, Noblitt prevailed via 30-27, 30-27 and 28-29 scores. The
31-year-old moves to 12-2 as a professional, while May falls to
11-7 with one no-contest.
In other preliminary action, former Olympic wrestler Mahmoud
Sebie Fawzy ground-and-pounded Jarell
Murry for a TKO win at 1:52 of Round 1 in their welterweight
matchup; Tyler Ray put
Austin
Jones completely out with an arm-triangle choke in just 1
minute, 45 seconds of their welterweight bout; and Charlie
Radtke outgrappled Geralbert
Castillo on his way to a unanimous decision in the lightweight
opener.