Huseyn
Aliyev got a second chance at the Fury FC featherweight belt, and he made it
count.
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Aliyev defeated Andres
Quintana in an interim title bout in February but missed
weight, rendering him ineligible to win the belt. Nonetheless, the
“Azeri Warrior” showed enough in that performance to earn a shot at
lineal titleholder Nate
Richardson, and their five-round duel at Fury FC 67 on Sunday was as
hard-fought and evenly matched as any in the promotion’s history.
The early rounds were characterized by the contrast between
Richardson’s sharp jab and chopping low kicks, and Aliyev’s
crushing pressure against the cage. Aliyev made numerous takedown
attempts using a variety of judo trips and throws, but never
succeeded in bringing the fight to the ground for any appreciable
length of time. With the exception of Round 4, when Aliyev dropped
Richardson with a pair of right hooks, every round of the fight was
a battle in itself that could have been scored for either man, and
Aliyev prevailed by split scorecards of 49-46, 46-49 and 48-47. The
32-year-old Azerbaijani is now the owner of the undisputed Fury
145-pound belt and a professional record of 14-5-1; Richardson
falls to 9-4.
Van Blasts Moran
In the Fury FC 67 co-main event, a battle of two of Texas’s top
flyweight prospects ended in statement win by 20-year-old phenom
Joshua
Van, who buried Paris Moran
under an avalanche of punches against the fence early in the second
round. That is not to say the victory was an easy one; for most of
the first round, Van struggled to deal with the much larger Moran,
a former bantamweight. When the second round began, however, it was
a different story. Van shook Moran with a short right-left combo,
then followed him to the fence, where he laid on a long stream of
hooks and uppercuts that buckled Moran’s knees and spurred referee
Joe Soliz into action. The TKO win came officially at 36 seconds of
Round 2, bringing Van’s record to 6-1 with all six wins coming by
stoppage in the first two rounds. Moran’s loss—his first since
dropping to flyweight—leaves him at 7-2.
Caballero Shocks Shelton
Peter
Caballero managed the biggest upset of the night—and the
biggest win of his career—taking down “The Ultimate Fighter Season
24” semifinalist and six-time UFC veteran Eric
Shelton in Sunday’s feature fight. A tall, rangy bantamweight,
Caballero enjoyed significant advantages in height, reach and
apparent strength against former flyweight Shelton, who entered the
fight as a 4-to-1 favorite. Caballero landed takedowns in all three
rounds, including a couple of emphatic slams, took Shelton’s back
multiple times and threatened with chokes. Shelton had a few
moments, including a spinning backfist and flying knee that both
landed cleanly, but Caballero shrugged them off, and so did at
least two of the judges, as the Corpus Christi native won by
unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). The win brings
Caballero’s record to 11-5; Shelton falls to 15-8 with the
loss.
Torres Stays Undefeated against Mercado
One of Fury’s top homegrown prospects, Justice
Torres, stayed perfect as a professional with a hard-fought win
over fellow featherweight up-and-comer, Aric
Mercado. Torres, a protégé of UFC bantamweight Adrian
Yanez, put an early stamp on things by flooring Mercado with a
left hook late in the first round, then swarming with punches until
the bell. The second and third rounds were less clear-cut, as
Mercado forced Torres to defend himself from a diverse series of
submission attempts, but in the end Torres prevailed via scorecards
of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. With the win, the 24-year-old Houstonian
is now 5-0, with all five wins coming in the Fury FC cage; Mercado
drops to 6-2.
Echeverry Steamrolls Compton
Former Fury lightweight champ Nico
Echeverry left nothing to chance, using his vastly superior
wrestling and suffocating top pressure to take a dominant
three-round decision over Nick
Compton. In a rinse-and-repeat performance, Echeverry struck
for takedowns within the first minute of each round, then launched
a deliberate but relentless ground assault, advancing to mount,
side or back control by the end of the each round. Compton’s
advantages in height and reach were rendered moot, and after 15
minutes, Echeverry was awarded the win by two 30-27 scorecards and
one 30-26. The win brings Echeverry to 12-5 and puts his decision
loss to Anthony
Romero last November in the rear view; Compton goes to 13-10 in
defeat.
Whitney Edges Guzman in Slugfest
In a matchup of lightweights riding four- and five-fight win
streaks, Darren
Whitney kept his spotless professional record intact despite
duking it out with Santiago
Guzman to deliver one of the best fights of the evening.
Whitney and Guzman delivered three rounds of alternating momentum
shifts on the feet and some grueling dirty boxing in the clinch.
Much of the difference in the fight came down to a nasty cut
suffered early in the first round by Guzman, and Whitney’s
offensive wrestling, which allowed him to drag the action to the
ground to his own benefit several times. All three rounds were
individually close, but it was “D-Day” who prevailed by split
decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) to move to 5-0 as a professional;
“The Scorpion King” Guzman falls to 5-3.
Heffernan Catches Luna’s Neck
Fury featherweight contender Jake
Heffernan picked up a win on Sunday, tapping out Anselmo
Luis
Luna Jr. with a third-round guillotine choke. In a
grappling-heavy affair, “The Grinder” lived up to his nickname for
most of the first two rounds, as he and Luna traded takedown
attempts, sweeps and attempted guard passes. Once the final round
began, however, the finish came in a hurry. Luna immediately
dropped levels for a takedown attempt, which Heffernan countered
with a front headlock. He then dropped to his back and cinched up
the choke, closing his guard as he did so. After a brief struggle,
Luna was forced to tap at 0:17 of Round 3. The victory brings the
Gracie Barra Woodlands mainstay to 9-3 and gets him back in the win
column after his unanimous decision loss to Dimitre Ivy
at Fury FC 54 last November; Luna (17-9) sees a modest two-fight
win streak snapped in defeat.
After Mix-Up, Gomez Tops Jimenez
Carlos Jimenez def. Aaron Gomez via split
decision in the
#FuryFC67 main card opener. The hometown crowd loves it, but I
thought Gomez won.— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom)
August 14, 2022
In the main card opener, a fun, high-paced bantamweight scrap was
briefly marred by controversy—or confusion, at least—as Aaron Gomez
(4-1) appeared to have won at least two of three rounds against
Carlos
Jimenez (2-2), only to have Jimenez announced as the winner by
split decision. Gomez scored the only clean knockdown of the fight
with a first-round punch, and his armbar attempt at the end of the
second was the closest either man came to a finish on the ground.
As it turned out, the judges had in fact scored the fight in favor
of Gomez, but a mistake in tallying had caused an incorrect verdict
to be handed to the in-cage announcer. Later in the evening, the
correction was made and Gomez declared the winner by unanimous
decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Prelims: Saenz Throttles Amadeo
On the Fury FC 67 undercard: Hector
Saenz (3-0) made quick work of Soloman
Amadeo (1-3), taking him down and lining up an arm-triangle
choke at 1 minute, 22 seconds of their lightweight bout;
lightweight Mike Murphy
(7-4-1) tapped out Juan Carlos
de Leon (0-3) with a rear-naked choke at 2:32 of Round 2; Mario Moore
(1-1) stopped Jacob
Bradley Williams (0-3) with punches at 2:23 of the first round
of their heavyweight tilt; Oliver
Jiminez (1-1) defeated Jose Lemus
(0-1) with a flying knee and punches at the 3 minute, 56 second
mark of their bantamweight contest; featherweight Jordan
Plutin (3-4) handed Brandon
Meneses (1-1) his first career loss via rear-naked choke in
just 96 seconds; Xavier Kie
(2-1 amateur) defeated the debuting Jathen
George at featherweight; and in a battle of debuting amateur
lightweights, Joshua
Aleman ground-and-pounded Tyler Mora
for the stoppage at 2:14 of Round 1.