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FIGHT ODDS

High Fives: Renaissance or Aberration?

Guy PortmanJul 23, 2018

MMA-hungry fans had plenty on which to gorge during the weekend of July 20-22. In addition to UFC Fight Night 134, there were four other notable events. Here are five of the highlights:

ARMBAR AGONY … A welterweight showdown between Erick Silva and Nick Barnes headlined Legacy Fighting Alliance 45 on Friday in California. Having dropped Silva early with a short, lead right elbow, Barnes pounced on the fallen Brazilian. Silva quickly grabbed hold of Barnes’ left arm, secured an armbar and kept torqueing, forcing his opponent to quit at the 4:43 mark of the first round. With the 13th submission win of his career, Silva improved to 20-9. Barnes slipped to 12-4.



LION KILL … In supporting LFA 45 action, Ryan Lilley and Jordan Winski faced off in a bantamweight clash. After some feeling out on the feet, Lilley connected with an overhand right, followed by a left hook-right hook combination that floored Winski. Lilley pounded on his downed counterpart until the referee dived in 2:37 into the first stanza. In victory, Lilley rose to 9-3, while Winski, now 9-2, saw his five-fight winning streak come to an end.



A NEW QUEEN … The main event at Invicta Fighting Championships 30 on Saturday took the form of an atomweight title fight between America’s Jinh Yu Frey and Finland’s Minna Grusander. Frey displayed a well-rounded game: She utilized takedowns, clinch work and some brutal ground-and-pound to earn a unanimous nod from the judges. The win moved Frey to 7-3, while Grusander fell to 6-2.



TRAIN WRECK … The M-1 Global featherweight title was up for grabs at M-1 Challenge 95 on Saturday in Ingushetia, Russia. The fight between American challenger Nate Landwehr and Russian titleholder Khamzat Dalgiev was highly entertaining from the start. In the second frame, Landwehr used a standing guillotine to force the action to the canvas. From there, he secured mount and rained heavy ground-and-pound until the referee waved off the fight 4:35 into Round 2. In becoming champion, Landwehr, aka “The Train,” upped his record to 11-2. Dalgiev dropped to 10-2.



ITALIAN STALLION … Italy’s Stefano Paterno and Iran’s Mehrdad Janzemini fought for the vacant Cage Warriors Fighting Championship welterweight strap at Cage Warriors 95 on Saturday in London. Early on, Janzemini attempted his patented heel hook submission, but the Italian defended. The finish came via a flurry of Paterno ground-and-pound from mount, which secured him the victory 3:43 into the first round. With the win, the 22-year-old Paterno moved to 12-2, while Janzemini slipped to 9-3.