UFC castaway Rich Clementi suffered a broken collarbone in a technical knockout defeat to Kyle Jensen in the main event at Ultimate Cage Fighting Challenge “Rumble on the Rivers” on Saturday at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.
Though the bittersweet victory did not come in the manner in which he had hoped, Jensen (39-10-2) remained unbeaten in 10 fights since his submission defeat to world-ranked Carlos Condit at WEC 25 in January 2007. All but one of his 39 career wins have come by knockout, TKO or submission.
Meanwhile, American Top Team representative Micah Miller stormed past EliteXC veteran JC Pennington, as he scored a second-round submission by rear-naked choke. Still only 22, Miller (12-3, 1 NC), having cut his teeth in Dream and the WEC, has posted three wins in four appearances. By comparison, Pennington (19-7-1) has dropped two of three and four of his past six.
Other winners at “Rumble on the Rivers” included Phil Davis and Paul Bradley, two of the top prospects in the sport.
Davis -- a 2008 national wrestling champion and four-time All-American at Penn State University -- thrashed David Baggett, as he scored with an early takedown, hammered away at him with strikes and eventually cinched a neck crank for the tapout 3:37 into the first round. Undefeated in four fights, the 24-year-old Davis has finished the last three of his foes inside one round and figures to land with a major MMA promotion sooner rather than later.
Bradley, bucked from “The Ultimate Fighter 7” cast because of a skin disorder, delivered a unanimous decision victory against Leonardo Pecahana. A two-time All-American wrestler at the University of Iowa, Bradley (11-1) rebounded nicely from his decision loss to Mike Pierce in April.
Finally, Carlton Haselrig was victimized by Shawn Jorden, who secured back control on the ground and battered the former NFL player with strikes from behind until the match was stopped. The 43-year-old Haserlig (3-2), an All-Pro with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992, has lost two of his last three fights.
Padilla Captures RITC Crown
Adam Padilla scored a controversial victory against Vince Lucero to capture the Rage in the Cage super heavyweight championship in the featured bout at RITC 129 on Saturday in Globe, Ariz. The fight ended on a referee stoppage with Lucero stuck in a guillotine choke, though he remained conscious and did not tap out.
A tentative rematch between the two was scheduled for RITC 132 on Aug. 1.
Padilla (4-2) has rattled off three consecutive victories, all of them through use of the guillotine choke. A Palace Fighting Championship and International Fight League journeyman, Lucero (19-16-1) has lost seven of his last 10 fights.
UFC veteran Drew Fickett was scheduled to face Shannon Ritch in the original main event but failed his pre-fight physical. The 29-year-old Fickett has lost four consecutive matches.
Marx Extends Winning Streak
Travis Marx won his fourth fight in a row, as he submitted Angelo Duarte with a rear-naked choke in the opening round of their main event at Jeremy Horn’s Elite Fight Night 9 on Thursday at the Davis Conference Center in Layton, Utah. The end came 4:31 into round one.
Marx (14-1), a Utah Highway Patrol officer and former collegiate wrestler, has finished three of his last four opponents.