Former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez forced Justin Howard to submit to first-round strikes at King of Kombat 7 “Judgment Day” on Saturday at the Austin Music Hall in Austin, Texas.
Meanwhile, Strikeforce veteran Nick Gonzalez defeated Dustin Neace by first-round technical knockout to capture the KOK featherweight championship. After struggling to his stool at the end of the opening period, Neace was deemed unfit to continue by the referee. The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for Gonzalez.
Maeda Wins by DQ
Former King of Pancrase and one-time World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight title challenger Yoshiro Maeda took a painful route to victory upon returning to the Deep promotion for the first time in two years.
Maeda posted his third win in four fights when Kleber Koike was disqualified for a groin strike in the Deep “Osaka Impact” main event on Sunday at Zepp Osaka in Osaka, Japan. Unable to continue 4:00 into the first round, Maeda was awarded the victory.
Involved in a “Fight of the Year” candidate with Miguel Torres in 2008, the 27-year-old Maeda has gone just 3-2 since. He was cut by the WEC following a submission loss to Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya in November.
McCall Stops UFC Veteran at ‘Rock n Rumble 3’
UFC veteran Josh Hendricks submitted to first-round strikes from Joe McCall in the featured bout at North American Allied Fight Series “Rock-N-Rumble 3” on Saturday at the Nautica Pavilion in Cleveland, Ohio. The end came 4:05 into round one.
McCall survived an early kimura attempt from Hendricks -- a knockout loser to Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 91 -- before capturing mount and battering his opponent with elbows and punches from the top.