FB TW IG YT VK TH
Search
MORE FROM OUR CHANNELS

Wrestlezone
FB TW IG YT VK TH

Easton Captures UWC Gold; Patterson Victorious

Mike Easton stands alone inside the Ultimate Warrior Challenge.

One of the top prospects on the East Coast, Easton submitted EliteXC veteran Justin Robbins in the UWC “Man ‘O’ War” main event and captured the promotion’s vacant bantamweight championship on Saturday at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va.

Advertisement
Composed and focused, Easton (6-1) stalked Robbins for the better part of two rounds and battered the H.I.T. Squad bantamweight with leg kicks before grounding him in the third. From there, he softened up Robbins with ground-and-pound and waited for an opening, ultimately finishing his adversary with a nasty guillotine choke 4:44 into round three.

“It feels great [to be a champion],” Easton said. “We prepared to go all five rounds. That’s my best submission. I’ve done it 5,000 times [in training].”

A late replacement for one-time World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Chase Beebe, Robbins (9-7-1) made the fight competitive but never legitimately threatened Easton. Taking the fight on short notice, he was unable to withstand Easton’s attack on the ground.

“On my feet, I felt fine,” Robbins said. “When it hit the ground, I started feeling a little fatigued.”

International Fight League veteran Jamal Patterson made swift work of Antwain Britt, as he locked in a guillotine choke for the tapout 44 seconds into round one in the co-main event. The heavy-handed Britt landed a couple of heavy shots on Patterson, but the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and Renzo Gracie protégé refused to be denied.

“I give Antwain a lot of credit,” Patterson said. “He caught me, but I’m used to getting punched in the face. Today was my day. I got him in a guillotine. That’s my hold. If you leave something out there, I’m going to take it.”

Patterson scored with a trip takedown, and when Britt left his thick neck exposed, the constriction began. Britt (6-2) held out for a short time but had no choice but to wave the white flag, as his three-fight winning streak was snapped. Patterson (5-2) has posted three wins in four fights, losing only to Vladimir Matyushenko in that span. Do more lucrative opportunities await?

“I’d love to fight in the UFC,” Patterson said. “Right now, the thing I need to do is get better every day.”

In the first flyweight bout in UWC history, John Dodson utilized superior wrestling, solid striking and textbook lateral movement en route to a unanimous decision victory against newcomer Jose Villirisco. Scores were 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.

Villirisco (0-1) walked down Dodson for much of the fight but could not stop takedowns and lacked the power he needed to take out the Jackson’s Submission Fighting product. A 24-year-old Ring of Fire veteran, Dodson (7-4) clamped down on Villirisco in the third round, scoring multiple takedowns and delivering crisp combinations to the head.

Afterward, Dodson hinted at a potential jump to the WEC, which recently instituted a 125-pound weight class.

“This is my natural weight,” Dodson said. “This is my chance. I’m going to take it.”

Finally, Lloyd Irvin protégé Ronald Stalling weathered two powerful takedowns from former Green Bay Packers running back Herbert Goodman and landed a pair of crippling knees -- one to the body and another to head -- that finished the match with four seconds remaining in the first round.

Goodman (8-5) put Stalling on his back twice and pecked away with ground-and-pound before he made the fatal mistake of allowing the superior striker to stand with 16 seconds to go in the opening period. Seconds later, he was motionless on the mat. Stalling (5-3) has won three of his past four fights.

“I knew the time was low, and I had to hurry up and get it over with,” Stalling said. “I knew he was strong, and I didn’t want to take it to three rounds with him.”

Other Bouts
Marcus Foran vs. Richie Hightower -- No Contest (Illegal Elbows) R2
Cody Donovan def. John Doyle -- TKO (Punches) 2:33 R1
Iman Achhal def. Felice Herrig -- Split Decision (29-28 all)
Kyle Baker def. Levon Maynard -- TKO (Punches) 2:57 R2
Kris McCray def. Manny Okorie -- Tapout (Rear-Naked Choke) 4:51 R1

Sherdog.com originally reported the Jamal Patterson-Antwain Britt light heavyweight bout as a title fight. The match was, in fact, a non-title match. This story was corrected at 7:49 p.m. ET on Feb. 23.
Related Articles

Subscribe to our Newsletter

* indicates required
Latest News

POLL

Which UFC contender is most likely to rise to a first-time divisional champion in 2025?

FIGHT FINDER


FIGHTER OF THE WEEK

Georges St. Pierre

TOP TRENDING FIGHTERS


+ FIND MORE