Late Friday night, Titan Fighting Championship made it’s debut on the CBS Sports Network with Titan FC 27, and the event was capped off by a lightweight bout that saw Ultimate Fighter season sixteen finalist Mike Ricci putting away Jorge Gurgel with a barrage of elbows in the first round.
Ricci defended an early flurry of strikes from Gurgel by taking him down with an double-leg takedown.
From that point forward, Mike Ricci worked from the guard of Gurgel, picking his shots, until he found the finish by connecting with hard left elbow after hard left elbow.
The win was Ricci’s (9-4) first finish since an April 2011 bout against Jesse Ronson. Gurgel’s (14-10) latest outing followed the recent trend of his career. Gurgel has now lost five of his last six fights.
Riddle taps Kuiper out in the second
Despite slightly over a year being the amount of the time since Matt Riddle last fought, he showed little signs of ring rust in a fight against a fellow UFC alumn in Michael Kuiper that ended with Riddle eliciting a tap with a guillotine choke in the second frame.
Following a first frame where both middleweights had their moments in the wrestling department and a second round that started off with a Matt Riddle takedown, Riddle secured a guillotine choke in the second as Kuiper attempted to get back up from his back.
With the victory, Riddle (8-3-2) extended his unbeaten streak to five, and the loss was the third consecutive time that Kuiper (12-4) tapped out to a guillotine choke.
Holobaugh wins an entertaining decision
Having undoubtedly won the first two rounds in his fun lightweight fight against Eric Marriott, Canadian Kurt Holobaugh was awarded a unanimous decision.
Holobaugh dominated Marriott in the first round, controlling him with significant strikes, submission attempts, and dominant positioning. The second round was more close, although Holobaugh clearly got the better of the grappling exchanges. Eric Marriott turned the tables in the third period when he knocked Holobaugh with a powerful right. Marriott maintained the advantage through the rest of the round, but it wasn’t enough to earn the decision.
Holobaugh (10-2) is still undefeated in fights that haven’t taken place inside the UFC or Strikeforce, while Marriott (22-8) once again, flaunted his inability to be finished. In all eight of his losses, Marriott has made it to the judges’ scorecards.
The complete Titan FC 27 results are below.
Main Card
Mike Ricci def. Jorge Gurgel via TKO (elbows) – Round 1, 3:57
Matt Riddle def. Michael Kuiper via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:29
Kurt Holobaugh def. Eric Marriott via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Kevin Croom def. Bryan Goldsby via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Anthony Gutierrez def. Charlie DuBray via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, :59
Preliminary Card
Kalvin Hackney def. Justin Robbins via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:12
Bill Friday def. Ken Porter via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 4:28
Hannah Zeciri def. Florina Meatu-Moeller via unanimous decision
Josh Reed def. Jordan Casterline via TKO (punches) – Round 2, :42
Aaron Goldfield def. Fernando Andrade via unanimous decision