Last night the XFC put on arguably one of the best shows of the year to finish off its 2012 campaign. XFC21 was headlined by former Bellator fighter Eric Reynolds and one-armed star Nick Newell treating the fans to a historic lightweight title contest. Fans were also treated to the return of UFC star Corey Hill and an unforgettable WMMA contest between Stephanie Eggink and Heather Jo Clark.
Undefeated prospect and XFC open-tryout winner Nick Newell needed barely over a minute to put a cap on this historic night with his submission victory over the tough Eric Reynolds.
The crowd erupted as Newell made his way to the cage, and you could tell everyone kind of felt like they were in a movie as the fight unfolded.
The fight started out with Newell landing a few nice kicks to the body and head of the more experienced Reynolds. They then exchanged against the cage with both men landing some powerful punches. In the blink of an eye Newell was able to take Reynolds down with a big slam that brought both men to the ground. Newell was then able to transition to the back, and sink in the choke.
What came next could have come right out of Hollywood. Reynolds then stood up as he tried to escape the choke, but Newell just tightened the choke as Reynolds was gasping for air. Reynolds then tumbled backward back down to the mat, and could no longer defend himself as he was forced to tap out to Newell. Newell jumped up off the mat to celebrate his victory and his new found championship belt. The inspirational story of Newell just got another chapter added to it. Nick Newell defeated Eric Reynolds by submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:22 of the first round to become the new XFC Lightweight Champion.
The co-main event of the evening featured Ryan Thomas who was a former Bellator/UFC vet taking on former UFC fighter Corey Hill. The fight started with Hill surprisingly shooting right for the takedown and taking Thomas to the ground. Hill stayed in his guard and worked some ground-and-pound while fighting off the sub attempts of Thomas. Thomas then quickly threw up his legs sinking in a triangle choke. Hill then picked Thomas off the ground and violently slammed him into the mat. The auditorium was shaking after the huge slam, but Thomas quickly shrugged it off and secured an arm bar. Hill was forced to tap out and the referee jumped into stop the fight. Ryan Thomas defeated Corey Hill by Submission (Arm Bar) at 2:34 of the first round.
In arguably the fight-of-the-night Heather Jo Clark took on Stephanie Eggink. The fight started almost immediately as Clark was able to land three consecutive uncontested left hooks square on the jaw of Eggink. For most of the first round Clark was able to out strike Eggink, and was able to secure a late takedown towards the end of the first round. That takedown was almost Clark’s demise has Eggink showed a very impressive ground game and almost finished Clark with an arm bar at the end of the first round.
The second round was much different then the first as Stephanie Eggink started to take over early-and-often. After a quick takedown by Heather Clark, Eggink quickly sunk in a very tight triangle and was seconds away from getting the finish. After the triangle attempt Eggink was able to get on top, and pound Clark for the final several minutes of the second round.
The third round consisted of a great boxing display by Eggink as she out boxed and outclassed Clark on the feet for the entirety of the 3rd round. Eggink showed excellent footwork throughout the entire round and by the end of the fight Clark’s face showed how great Eggink was boxing. Very fun fight and a dominant performance by Eggink. Stephanie Eggink defeated Heather Clark by Unanimous Decision 29-20 30-27 30-27
The rest of the card main card was as follows:
- Marcus Finch defeated Dustin West by knockout (strikes) at 0:46 of RD1
- Ricky Rainey defeated Donny Wallace by TKO (punches) at 1:42 of RD1
- Jarrod Card defeated Keith Richardson by submission (guillotine choke) at 0:24 of RD2
Non-Televised:
- Gerric Hayes defeated Jason Blackford by TKO (strikes) at 2:56 of RD2
- Tommy Roberts defeated Josh Phelps via TKO at 3:07 of RD1
- Jorge Medina defeated. D.J. Sidthilaw-Browning via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:36 of RD2
- Cromwell Stewart def. Zachary Hicks via split decision
Credit Lance Fischel