In a way you have to feel for McKinney, TX based Edwin Figueroa. On one hand, he his goal of battling in the UFC’s Octagon was suddenly coming to fruition. Unfortunately, on the other hand, he was taking on touted young prospect Michael McDonald on little over a week’s notice. Not exactly the most ideal situation for a fighter entering the biggest fight of their career, but as Figueroa would soon exhibit he is nothing but a warrior.
Battling on the preliminary portion of this past Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 24 at the Key Arena in Seattle, Figueroa would soon make a name for himself to over 14,000 rabid MMA fans in attendance. While McDonald was clearly a beast to be reckoned with, Figueroa battled with him toe-to-toe throughout the 15-minute affair. Trained by the legendary Saekson Janjira, Figueroa clearly had his Muay Thai game on point but his submission defense in the second round was awe-inspiring. Things continued on into the third round with both fighters receiving a standing ovation from the crowd for their exciting exchange to close out the show.
While Figueroa has now tasted defeat for the first time in his young professional career, the sting of the loss will no doubt be soothed with the $55,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus he received from the UFC following the fight.
Johny Hendricks Victorious
Arlington-based member of Team Takedown Johny Hendricks quickly rebounded from his first professional career loss with a dominate 95-second TKO stoppage of T.J. Waldburger. Hendricks connected with two concussive left hands that put Waldburger on the mat where the referee promptly stopped the action.
Hendricks, who is coming off a loss to Rick Story back in December, earned a $55,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus for his performance.
Photo © MMAJunkie.com
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