The first ever XFC international show took place on Saturday night as the opening rounds of the expansion promotion’s lightweight and women’s flyweight tournaments began.
In the night’s main event, Brazilian lightweight Thiago Meller won in his home country in a non-tournament bout when he finished Clay French with a brutal serving of ground and pound in the first round.
After both fighters tested each other out on the feet, Meller brought French down, got his back, and went to work with a tenacious output of ground and pound strikes until the fight was called by referee Gary Copeland.
With the victory, Thiago Meller (19-5) remains unbeaten since late 2011. Clay French (19-7) was finished by strikes for just the second time in his career. The last time French fought, he won a split decision in 2011 against James Krause at Titan Fighting 19.
Vieira submits Rojo in the second
The night’s co-main event was a featherweight bout between Fernando Vieira and Marcelo Rojo, Vieira elicited a verbal submission from Rojo with an americana.
The stoppage by Gary Copeland was not without controversy as Marcelo Rojo immediately protested the stoppage and continued to show his dismay when he took of his gloves and threw them outside the cage. Rojo cooled off after that and congratulated Vieira following the official result announcement.
Fernando Vieira dominated the first round of the fight by taking Rojo down and wearing him down from the top position.
Fernando Vieira (9-2) now has won his last five bouts, while Marcelo Rojo’s (6-2) win streak of six was snapped with the loss.
Juarez wins with a late submission
In a women’s flyweight tournament bout, Silvana Juarez came from behind to force her opponent, Bianca Daimoni to submit in the third period.
Up until that point, Daimoni had clearly been gotten the better of Juarez. In the first two and a half rounds, Daimoni damaged the face of her opponent with a multitude of combinations that landed thanks to her aggressive pace. Nevertheless, with a little over a minute left in the fight, Juarez wrestled Daimoni down to the canvas, transitioned to full mount, and then locked on the fight-ending armbar.
The submission maintains Silvana Juarez’s (3-0) 100% finishing ratio. For the first time in her career, Bianca Daimoni (3-1) was in a fight that entered the third round. In her previous three bouts, she had knocked out her opponents.
Lomanto wins on the scorecards
Brazilian lightweight Gilson Lomanto advanced to the next round of the 155 pound tournament by beating Daniel Salas with a unanimous decision.
Lomanto did a fine job of controlling the fight with an active boxing game. He would score with punches in bunches on his opponent, even dropping Salas in the third round with a stiff left-right combination.
After starting his career off with back-to-back losses, Gilson Lomanto (9-2) has gone on to win nine straight, while the losing streak of Daniel Salas (12-5) was extended to 4.
Thiago Meller def. Clay French via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:39
Fernando Vieira def. Marcelo Rojo via verbal submission (americana) – Round 2, 1:35
Silvana Juarez def. Bianca Daimoni via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 4:49
Gilson Lomanto def. Daniel Salas via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)