Alfonso
Leyva looks like the real deal.
The two-time Olympic wrestler remained undefeated in his wildly
successful
Legacy Fighting Alliance debut, as he dispatched Daniel Reis
with elbows in the second round of their LFA
135 headliner on Friday at the Arizona Federal Theatre in
Phoenix. Reis (8-2, 0-1 LFA) bowed out 1:10 into Round 2, his
modest two-fight winning streak having run its course.
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Leyva (6-0, 1-0 LFA) was stoic and methodical in his approach. He
powered into top position late in the first round, unleashed his
ground-and-pound and nearly finished it in the waning seconds. Only
the bell saved Reis. The dejected Sombra Team-trained Brazilian
emerged for the middle stanza with little left in the tank. Levy
moved on top again early in Round 2 and blasted Reis with elbows
until the job was done.
Meanwhile, Pitbull Brothers rep Felipe
Bunes consolidated multiple takedowns with effective
ground-and-pound and suffocating top control, as he picked up a
split decision—30-27, 28-29, 30-27—over Wascar Cruz
in the three-round flyweight co-main event.
Cruz (12-10, 1-1 LFA) had his moments—he connected with some nasty
elbows from bottom position—but struggled to established any kind
of continuity from an offensive standpoint. Bunes (12-6, 1-1 LFA)
wowed the crowd with a few spinning attacks before he made real
gains with his work on the mat. He achieved full mount on multiple
occasions, bottled up an increasingly frustrated Cruz with his
superior topside grappling and denied the Dominican’s bids to
change course.
The 37-year-old Cruz has lost three of his last four fights.
Elsewhere, St. Charles MMA standout Lucas Clay
put away Austin
Wourms with a volley of knee strikes in the first round of
their lightweight feature. Clay (9-2, 4-1 LFA)—who missed weight
for the match by four pounds—drew the curtain 2:59 into Round 1, as
he won for the fifth time in six outings.
Wourms (5-4, 2-1 LFA) was simply out of his depth on the feet. Clay
walked through his punches, drilled him with straight left hands
and closed the distance with crisp combinations. The 26-year-old
Missourian clipped Wourms with a flying knee as the two men engaged
along the fence, followed with a knee to the body and then went
upstairs with another knee that resulted in a knockdown and
prompted referee Ryan Brueggeman to act.
The setback snapped Wourms’ three-fight winning streak.
Finally,
Team Alpha Male prospect Allan
Begosso rebounded from his first professional setback and did
so in style, as he knocked out Paris
Stanford with a flying knee in the first round of their
bantamweight showcase. Begosso (7-1-1, 3-1 LFA) brought it to a
close 45 seconds into Round 1.
Stanford (5-4, 1-1 LFA) moved to the center of the cage and tried
to keep the Brazilian at bay with kicks to the body and lead leg.
Those efforts proved unsuccessful. Begosso pushed the
Fight Ready export backward, took flight and flipped the switch
with a sensational knee strike to the head. Stanford was
unconscious before he hit the canvas.
Begosso, 26, has won six of his last seven bouts.
In other action, Jena Bishop
(3-0, 3-0 LFA) eked out a split decision—30-27, 28-29, 29-28—over
Luana
Santos (3-1, 0-1 LFA) in a three-round women’s flyweight clash;
Rafael
do Nascimento (7-1, 1-0 LFA) submitted Marcus
McGhee (4-1, 0-1 LFA) with a rear-naked choke 3:12 into the
first round of their bantamweight tilt; Maria
Henderson (1-0, 1-0 LFA)—wife of former UFC champion Benson
Henderson—submitted Melanie
McIntyre (0-1, 0-1, LFA) with a triangle keylock 1:42 into the
first round of their women’s strawweight pairing; An Ho (2-0, 2-0
LFA) knocked out Matt Barro
(0-2, 0-1 LFA) with a head kick 14 seconds into the first round of
their flyweight scrap; Cedric
Katambwa (2-0, 2-0 LFA) laid claim to a unanimous decision over
James
Hay (3-3, 0-1 LFA) in a three-round lightweight affair, drawing
30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 marks from the cageside judges; and Angel
Atoigue (1-0, 1-0 LFA) took a unanimous verdict—30-26, 30-26,
30-25—from Nick Alwag
(1-3, 0-1 LFA) in a three-round featherweight encounter.