PFL Challenger Series 4 Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Round 1

Kicking off the PFL Challenger Series 4 card which features
lightweights, Charles Decca (4-2-1) battles Jose Aguayo (5-2).
Referee Josh Rutgers will work the first fight of the night. Aguayo
has a weird stance from which he throws an overhand right and it
knocks Decca down, though it’s mostly from him being off-balance.
Decca tries to get it back with his own punches, but Aguayo dodges.
Decca does score with a leg kick though and Aguayo appears a little
hurt. Decca scores another one. They clinch and Aguayo tosses Decca
into the cage. They resume in the center of the cage and Decca
lands a fancy switch kick to Aguayo’s head. He then lands another
leg kick and clinches, getting an easy pick-up and slam. Decca is
now in the half-guard, throwing the occasional left hand. After a
while, he starts scoring with right hands to the body, though none
are especially hard. Aguayo isn’t doing much from the bottom,
either in terms of getting back up or throwing up submissions.
Decca postures up though, and Aguayo tries to throw some upkicks,
though none land flush. Decca continues working with short left
hands. Decca briefly gets to side-control but Aguayo gets back to
half-guard. Aguayo finally goes for a heel hook, but it doesn’t
work. Aguayo tries to get up when Decca loses his base, but Decca
easily pushes Aguayo back down. He postures all the way up to his
feet, but Aguayo doesn’t score with upkicks, though Decca’s punch
from the standing position misses, too. Decca gets back to the
half-guard as Aguayo throws up a very loose triangle. Decca easily
gets out of it and scores with a few right hands. Aguayo slaps
Decca’s head off his back. Decca now enters the full guard and
throws a few more arm punches as the round ends.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Decca
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Decca
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Decca

Round 2

Aguayo begins the stanza with a punch that mostly misses and Decca
throws a leg kick that partially lands. Decca wades forward
precitably but Aguayo’s punch is mostly blocked. Decca scores with
another nice leg kick and they appear to be hurting Aguayo. Decca
now throws a body kick but it’s caught. Aguayo, however, is unable
to convert it into a takedown. Decca paws with his punches and eats
a 1-2 from Aguayo, though it’s not enough to hurt him. Decca gets a
Thai plum and lands a knee to the body. Soon after, he lands
another leg kick and this one definitely hurts Aguayo. Decca throws
more kicks, but Aguayo dodges them, including one o the head. Decca
goes back to the clinch but isn’t successful with this one, eating
a few small Aguayo punches. Aguayo lands more punches at range.
Still, it’s another Decca leg kick that has the most impact. Aguayo
throws a 1-2 and Decca ducks under, but Aguayo lands a front kick
to the body soon after and then a jab. Decca is only having success
with leg kicks in the striking, if it wasn’t obvious. Decca
partially lands a leg kick and then eats another 1-2 from Aguayo.
Decca throws a very telegraphed left hook and eats a right cross to
the head. However, none of Aguayo’s punches are hard. Decca misses
another wild left hook and eats another straight right from Aguayo.
Decca partially lands another leg kick, but they’re slower and less
powerful than they were earlier in the round. Aguayo partially gets
another 1-2 through and Decca touches him with another leg kick.
Aguayo lands another 1-2 as the round ends.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Aguayo
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Aguayo
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Aguayo

Round 3

Decca begins the round with what else? A leg kick, and this one has
some power on it. Aguayo tries a kick, but it’s bent at the knees,
slow, and easily blocked. They exchange punches in the pocket and
while it’s even, Decca lands one of his first punches of the fight
with a right hook. Decca then scores another leg kick that leaves
Aguayo in very obvious pain. Decca now lands a jab and Aguayo
throws a right hand over the top. Decca goes for a wild shot and
while Aguayo initially ends up on top, Decca keeps wrestling and
puts Aguayo on his back. Decca is now in the half-guard. He peppers
Aguayo with short punches, who seems resigned to his fate, who
repeatedly slaps Decca in the head. Decca tries to posture up and
does land a few right hands before coming back down on top of
Aguayo. Aguayo spins like he is looking for a submission but
doesn’t throw anything up. Aguayo has 90 seconds left but he
doesn’t appear to feel much urgency. He looks for a possible armbar
but Decca is wise to it and simply cuts the angle. Decca throws a
few right hands to the body now as Aguayo is against the cage. He
could easily wall-walk back up, but instead is content to be on his
back. An armbar attempt allows Aguayo to spin to the other side,
but Decca gets him in a wrestling ride and starts ripping knees to
the side of Aguayo’s body again and again. The round ends, with a
clear victory for Decca.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Decca (29-28 Decca)
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Decca (29-28 Decca)
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Decca (29-28 Decca)

The Official Result

Charles Decca def. Jose Aguayo via Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)

Round 1

Next up is Antonio Caruso (8-1) meeting Anthony Romero (11-1). Will
their fighting ability be as similar as their first names and
records? Referee Larry Folsom will oversee the confrontation.
Caruso begins with a series of jabs, though Romero evades. Caruso
scores with a leg kick but his head kick is blocked. Caruso scores
with a second leg kick, but Romero gives him a receipt with a hard
one of his own. Caruso throws some solid punches but Romero evades
well with head movement. Romero lands an uppercut to the body,
though Caruso springs out of the way soon after. Romero scores with
a clean jab right to the face, the best of the fight thus far. He
then lands another leg kick and then partially gets an overhand
right through. He then lands another hard leg kick. He then throws
a hard body kick but Caruso mostly blocks it. Caruso throws a kick
and Romero goes for a takedown. Caruso defends the initial attempt
but Romero chain-wrestles and gets him down. Caruso uses the cage
to wall-walk back up and while Romero keeps the pressure on, he
disentangles himself. However, Caruso pushes too hard and Romero
hits him with a beautiful whizzer, ending up on top. Caruso begins
building his best, and despite Romero going for an ankle pick,
stands back up. Romero then lifts him up from the waist and gets a
mat return. However, Caruso gets right back up and spins off the
cage, as they are back at range. Romero blocks a body kick. Caruso
throws a few overhand rights and the second one gets through. Now
it’s Caruso wrestling but yet again, he gets hit with a huge
whizzer and in the ensuing scramble, Romero is on top. Caruso again
tries to build his base but Romero is all over his back. He manages
to get Caruso back to the mat with 30 seconds left. Romero takes
Caruso’s back with both hooks in and then locks in a body triangle.
He tries for the RNC, but with 10 seconds left, he is out of time.
Very impressive stanza by Romero.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Romero
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Romero
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Romero

Round 2

Caruso misses a leg kick to begin the round. He misses some
follow-up punches while Romero scores with a leg kick. Caruso
grapples but is pushed off. However, he almost lands a head kick on
the break. Romero lands a nice right hand that causes Caruso to go
back. Caruso throws again and Romero evades nicely, countering with
another right hand. Caruso lands a jab, though, and is having
success. He just barely dodges a Romero right hand. Caruso throws a
jab and then an overhand right that Romero manages to duck under.
Romero is evading Caruso’s punches nicely, and finding his own
spots. Caruso misses a few jabs but also dodges Romero’s big right
cross. Romero with a nice jab that touches Caruso. Caruso, however,
comes forward and lands a nice right hook at the end. Romero blocks
a body kick and suddenly lands a HUGE 1-2 with a monster right
cross that badly hurts Caruso, who stumbles back awkwardly against
the cage. Romero is merciless, trailing Caruso to the floor and
pounds him with hammerfist and punche after punch after hammerfist.
Caruso is eating an incredible number of punches but somehow
manages to survive, trying to get up against the cage. Romero tries
to lock in a rear-naked choke but Caruso grabs the cage and gets
out. The referee immediately notices and docks Caruso a point on
top of a round where he was dominated. They resume in the center
with a little over a minute left. Before long, Caruso lands another
huge right hook that hurts Caruso, though he stays on his feet.
Caruso, however, is tough and briefly takes Romero down. Romero
gets up, though Caruso lands a few short punches. Caruso is now
throwing very tired punches as Romero stalks his prey. Caruso
misses 1-2 after 1-2. The round ends fairly peacefully, though.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-7 Romero
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-8 Romero
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-7 Romero

Round 3

Caruso comes forward aggressively, but a series of jabs and right
hooks all miss. He clinches again and for a third time, Romero
counters with a fantastic whizzer, slamming Caruso to his back.
Romero postures up and Caruso uses it to get back. Suddenly, Caruso
lands a nice short right hook and a left uppercut! Romero exits but
Caruso had his best sequence of the fight. Romero lands a nice knee
to the body from in close. Now Caruso swings with a very tired
overhand right, as he may be spent. Caruso keeps throwing, but his
punches are now very visibly slow and weak. Caruso clinches but
Romero has no problems pancake sprawling. Romero spins and takes
the back. Soon he gets both hooks in and while he is too high,
Caruso is too tired to take advantage. Romero is now working for a
rear-naked choke. Caruso works to undo the body triangle and
incredibly, he gets out and is now on top! Romero elevates with
butterfly hooks and then uses another whizzer to reverse position!
Now Romero lands a nice knee to the body. With 2 minutes left,
Romero drapes himself on Caruso’s back again and starts attacking
with a rear-naked choke. Romero has another body triangle and he
lands short punches as Caruso, horribly exhausted, continues
defending and fighting. Caruso hand-fights to prevent the choke as
he eats short punches. Romero doesn’t give up on the choke, but
with 30 seconds left, it appears that Caruso will survive. Romero
lands more short punches as the fight expires as Caruso reverses at
the very, very end. A fun fight and highly impressive performance
by Anthony Romero.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Romero (30-25 Romero)
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Romero (30-26 Romero)
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Romero (30-25 Romero)

The Official Result

Anthony Romero def. Antonio Caruso via Unanimous Decision (30-26,
30-26, 30-26)

Round 1

In what is technically the co-main, undefeated Manoel Sousa (9-0)
faces fellow Brazilian Paolo Henrique Laia (14-5). Referee Josh
Rutgers will keep them honest. Laia begins with a nice front kick,
though the quick Sousa darts out of range. Sousa is showing some
fantastic and fast movement around the cage to begin the fight.
Laia throws a leg kick and despite being monstrously tall for the
lightweight division, avoids it. Sousa comes forward with nice
punches and lands several hard body punches and then a nice right
hand upstairs. Laia changes levels to clinch but Sousa gets the
better of it and works on a possible arm. In the scramble, Laia
gets out and while Sousa is briefly on top, they stand up against
the cage with Laia throwing knees to the body and shoulders to the
head, taking advantage of his massive height advantage. Sousa lands
a few knees to the body himself, but Laia is more effective with
his own and having success with shoulders to the head. Sousa turns
Laia around and manages to lift Laia and drop him to the canvas.
Sousa is too high on top and Laia sweeps. However, Sousa is looking
for a submission and latches on to an armbar. However, Laia is in a
good position and soon gets out, being back on top. Sousa is
pivoting on his butt, though. Laia pushes Sousa down and lands a
few small punches. Laia now opens up with some nice hammerfists.
HOwever, Laia postures out and Sousa locks in a big heel hook. Laia
acts like it doesn’t hurt but when he stands up and tries to get
away, Sousa forces him back down to the canvas. Laia finally gets
out but Sousa uses it to get on top himself. Laia throws up a
triangle, but Sousa gets out and is now in the moount. Laia regains
half-guard, though. They continue scrambling as time expires, with
Sousa on top. Very close round.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Sousa
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Sousa
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Sousa

Round 2

Sousa throws a jab and big overhand right, but the tall Laia is out
of range. However, he then nails Laia with another overhand right
and uses it to work for a takedown against the cage. Laia defends
for a while, landing some punches to the head but Sousa soon brings
him down. Sousa is working in the half-guard, landing a few
punches, though Laia is throwing punches off his own back. Laia
manages to post up and gets back to his feet. Now Laia is pushing
Sousa against the cage. Laia forces matters and they scramble, with
Sousa spinning for another armbar. Laia stays calm, but Sousa
appears to roll him over and get it. However, Laia is ridiculously
long and neatly spins out, as the crowd appreciatvely claps. Laia
is now in side control and lands several solid knees to the body.
Laia adds a few short hammerfists as well, as Sousa is staying on
the bottom. Laia willingly goes back to half-guard and lands a few
more hammerfists. Laia postures up and lands some short punches
now. Sousa tries a kimura lock again but does nothing with it.
However, in North-South, Sousa hits a beautiful sweep. He now goes
for a kimura and Laia again spins out nicely. However, Sousa may
have a possible armbar with a little over a minute left. Still,
Laia is not concerned and gets out of it and is again on top. His
arm is still trapped but in no danger of getting it extended. Laia
stacks up Sousa nicely as Sousa lands a few hammerfists off his
back. Sousa keeps going for it but it’s not there as Laia fully
spins out with 6 seconds left. Entertaining scrambles and
submission attempts!

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Laia
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Sousa
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Sousa

Round 3

Laia throws a nice front kick to the face, but Sousa is still
moving very well and dodges. Sousa’s punches are a little slower
now as they mostly miss as he briefly clinches. Sousa does
partially land a nice left hook, though, as his follow-up shots
miss. However, Laia is against the cage and eats a huge overhand
right. He eats a few other big punches, but instead of staying
standing, Sousa takes the mount. Laia works back into half-guard
but Sousa locks in a very tight arm triangle with one leg trapped.
Laia beautifully pushes with his feet off the cage and spins back
to his feet. Laia wrestles to get Sousa down, but Sousa spins for
yet another armbar. Now off his back Sousa cranks a huge kimura and
he uses it to sweep into top position. He continues attacking the
arm as he is on top in half-guard. Laia looks in pain but refuses
to tap. Laia almost sweeps Sousa but Sousa stays tough and pushes
him back down. Sousa lands a few punches as Laia tries to stand and
then uses a whizzer to put Laia’s back firmly on the canvas. With
101 seconds left, there is a problem with Sousa’s glove as the
referee calls a halt to the action. They take care of it and then
resume the action. Sousa lands a few nice left hands. Yet again,
Sousa goes for another arm triangle choke. Sousa needs to get his
leg out but doesn’t do so and Laia retains full guard. Sousa lands
some nice ground-and-pound now, nailing Laia. Laia even postures to
the side, eating some big shots. Laia tries to stand but Sousa
pushes him back down into the cage. Sousa continues pounding away
with punches and a possible choke as the fight ends. An
entertaining scrap.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Sousa (29-28 Sousa)
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Sousa (30-27 Sousa)
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Sousa (30-27 Sousa)

The Official Result

Manoel Sousa def. Paulo Henrique Laia via Split Decision (29-28,
28-29, 29-28)

Round 1

In the main event, undefeated Elvin Espinoza (7-0) goes to war with
Damir Ferhatbegovic (6-2-1), nicknamed “The Bosnian Barn Cat”, who
missed weight by over a pound. Referee Larry Folsom gets the
night’s final assignment. Ferhatbegovic lands an inside leg kick to
begin the final fight. Espinoza misses a head kick. Ferhatbegovic
lands another leg kick and Espinoza’s attempted counter is blocked.
Ferhatbegovic circles and continues throwing kicks, just missing a
front kick to the body. Espinoza shoots but Ferhatbegovic stuffs
him well. However, against the cage Espinoza scores with an outside
trip. Espinoza lands in side control and tries too soon to step
over, being pushed off and allowing Ferhatbegovic to wall-walk back
up. Espinoza continues grappling and partially lands a knee to the
head. Espinoza now works against the cage landing knees to the
thighs of Ferhatbegovic. Ferhatbegovic spins off and gets back to
range. Espinonza partially lands a right jab and then clinches
again. He picks up Ferhatbegovic and gets a huge slam where he
picks up Ferhatbegovic at least five feet off the canvas before he
is brought back with authority to the ground. However, he is unable
to do much from the top and Ferhatbegovic spins out for a while,
ready to stand up. Espinoza gets him back down and give him no
space in the half-guard. However, neither is Espinoza landing much
offense. Espinoza again tries to wrench his leg free but is unable
to do so. Espinoza lands a few short left hands and hammerfists.
Ferhatbegovic takes advantage of Espinoza posturing to post and
push back up and he soon pushes Espinoza off, returning to the
center of the cage. Espinoza lands a series of jabs which
Ferhatbegovic tries to dodge with head movement, but is too slow in
doing so. A spinning backfist by Ferhatbegovic misses and he eats a
couple more jabs as the opening round ends.

Sherdog Scores

Lev Pisarsky scores the round: 10-9 Espinoza
Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Espinoza
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Espinoza

Round 2

Ferhatbegovic lands another leg kick. Espinoza clinches again and
Ferhatbegovic’s attempt to throw him ends with him on his own back
only 30 seconds into the round. Ferhatbegovic utilizes a closed
full guard now. Espinoza postures up but isn’t throwing much in the
way of punches. Ferhatbegovic tries to wall-walk but Espinoza uses
the opportunity to take his back and he has one hook in, working
for a rear-naked choke. He lands a few punches and then wrenches a
rear-naked choke, landing hard on his own back. He has it sunk in
deep and Ferhatbegovic has no choice but to tap. An impressive
submission finish!

The Official Result

Elvin Espinoza def. Damir Ferhatbegovic via Submission (Rear-Naked
Choke) at 1:53 of Round 2