XFC 27 took place in Muskegon, Michigan, and in the night’s main event, Deivison Ribeiro outpointed Farkhad Sharipov to win the XFC featherweight championship. All three judges scored the fight for Ribeiro. Two judges had it 50-45 for Ribeiro, while the other scored it 49-46.
Each round was fairly close as the majority of the fight played out on the feet with Ribeiro slightly getting the better of the exchanges with an array of leg kicks and hooks. Sharipov did a solid job of attacking the body of Ribeiro, but he just wasn’t able to piece together enough strikes to keep up with the pace set by his opponent.
The lone round that had some moments taking place on the ground was the second. Sharipov slammed Ribeiro to the canvas, although the Brazilian was able to get back up and land more leg kicks. In that period, Sharipov accidently connected to the eye of Ribeiro with his glove. Referee Gary Copeland ignored Ribeiro’s complaints, and let the fight continue without a halt.
Nevertheless, the illegal strike didn’t play a role in the fight’s result, as Ribeiro didn’t skip a beat in the last three frames. Sharipov wasn’t able to capitalize on a nice right he landed in the fifth round that stumbled Ribeiro.
2013 started off quite poorly for Ribeiro (25-9, 1 NC) who went 0-2 in his first two fights of the year, but he has rebounded quite nicely as his latest win helps end his year with three consecutive victories. Farkhad Sharipov’s (14-6) career theme of never being finished continued with his sixth decision loss.
O’Grady submits Reynolds with rear-naked choke
In his promotional debut, Dom O’Grady submitted XFC stalwart Eric Reynolds in the second round with a rear-naked choke.
O’Grady was able to lock up the choke as Reynolds attempted to scramble back up to his feet. With the submission latched on him, Reynolds stood up, until he dropped back down to the ground and was forced to tap out.
A close guillotine choke and some significant strikes were the highlights for Eric Reynolds in the first frame, while Dom O’Grady landed a few combinations for himself and controlled the wrestling side of things in the round.
In his last four fights, O’Grady (16-6-1) is 3-1. In 2012, he actually went 2-0 in Bellator with victories over A.J. Matthews and Nathan Gunn. Eric Reynolds (18-7) was submitted for the fourth time in his career and is 5-2 in his last seven bouts.
Courchaine knocks Trevino out in the second round
A straight right from Dave Courchaine sent Alexander Trevino down to the canvas and caused referee Gary Copeland to end the lightweight bout in the second frame.
For those that watched the first round, the finish was inevitable. Dave Courchaine was just picking apart Trevino throughout that period, knocking him down several times with his powerful right hand. Every scorecard for that round should have read 10-8 Courchaine.
This was a phenomenal performance for Dave Courchaine, who got back on the winning the track after getting knocked out in ten seconds by Luis Santos in his last fight.
Courchaine (16-6) has now won nine of his last ten contests, while Trevino (5-4) has dropped four of his last five bouts.
Townsend ends Reynolds’s night with liver kick
Dequan Townsend landed a spinning back kick to the liver of Marcus Reynolds that dropped his opponent and ended the fight in the third round.
What preceded the spectacular finish were two rounds that were anything but spectacular. Reynolds fights with a kung fu style that employs a lot of exotic footwork and movement, but it is lacking in any semblance of an offensive output. Townsend didn’t play into Reynolds’s game and decided to just pick his shots through the first two frames.
The tide turned in the third round as Marcus Reynolds circled into the punishing liver shot from Townsend that spelled the fight’s conclusion.
With the KO, Dequan Townsend (5-2) increases his KO/TKO percentage in victories to 80%. The loss puts Marcus Reynolds (9-8) in danger of his record returning to .500.
Reese chokes out Swain in third round
Three time Bellator fighter J.P Reese choked out Daniel Swain with an arm triangle choke in the third frame of their lightweight contest.
In the third round, Reese took down Swain, who is a usual customer at bantamweight, passed to side control while locking on an arm triangle submission that eventually put his opponent to sleep.
The finish came after two back-and-forth grappling heavy rounds that could have been scored either way. The trend in those periods was Reese controlling the positions while Swain attempted submissions.
This was the second submission victory in the eighteen-fight career of J.P. Reese (11-7), and Swain’s (10-3) run of four consecutive victories has been interrupted with the defeat.
Steele upsets Thomas thanks to a controversial decision
Poor judging reared it’s ugly head once again in the opening fight of the AXStv broadcast as Dominique Steele was awarded a controversial, unanimous decision over former UFC and Bellator welterweight Ryan Thomas. Two of the judges scored the fight 29-28 for Steele, while the other had it 30-27.
The story of the fight was Dominique Steele attaining the more dominant positions with his strength through takedowns and the clinch, but he did little with it. Thomas landed significantly more strikes when the fight played out on the feet, and he was able to threaten Steele with submissions.
While the 29-28 scorecards were head scratching, the 30-27 score makes absolutely no sense. Even if you were scoring the round purely on wrestling, Thomas was able to secure more takedowns and spend more time in superior positions.
With the victory, Steele (8-4) has won his second straight fight after losing three in a row. Thomas’s (17-8) five fight winning streak is snapped as a result of the loss.
Main Card (AXStv)
Deivison Ribeiro def. Farkhad Sharipov via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 50-45)
Dom O’ Grady def. Eric Reynolds via submission (rear-naked choke) –Round 2, 1:42
Dave Courchaine def. Alexander Trevino via KO (punch) – Round 2, :47
Dequan Townsend def. Marcus Reynolds via KO (liver kick) – Round 3, 2:52
J.P. Reese def. Daniel Swain via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 3, 3:37
Dominique Steele def. Ryan Thomas via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)