Arlington, TX – Another exciting night of MMA action was on tap Saturday night as Xtreme Knockout held XKO 12 at The Gym in Arlington, TX.
XKO Welterweight Main Event
Roy Spoon (6-3) TKO RD 2 Anthony “Mad Dog” Macias (23-15)
Time of Stoppage: 3:26 in round two
Anthony Macias is no stranger to the fight game. The former UFC and PRIDE veteran has been in the sport of MMA for decades. However, at this stage if his career he simply has too many miles on his odometer and younger, hungrier fighters seem eager to chomp at the bit to get him in the cage. Dallas’ Roy Spoon is one such fighter and in their main event welterweight battle it became evident that Macias’ best days may be behind him. Though, Macias was not one to go out so easily and during the opening round he nearly secured the victory after getting Spoon in a guillotine choke that would have ended the night of most fighters.
Macias again looked like he may pull out the upset in the second round as he caught Spoon in a deep kneebar. Spoon’s perseverance paid off though as he was again able to slip out of submissions hold that would have been too much to overcome for most fighters. Spoon would soon find himself in further trouble as he was docked a point by the referee for hitting behind the head. Macias seemed rattled by the illegal shots. After Macias made it clear that he could not continue as a result of the blow the fight was waived off. It’s unclear if Macias was angling for a DQ victory but the referee awarded the TKO victory.
XKO Lightweight Co-Main Event
James Vick (4-0) UD Chris Pecero (4-3)
Scores: 28-28, 30-27, 30-27
When this fight was announced knowledgeable fight fans knew that this would be a fight of attrition. Just like the script called for both Vick and Pecero engaged in a grueling back and forth battle that was close a contested bout as you will ever see. It seemed that for each punch of kick landed by one fighter, the other fighter would retort with a counter attack. It was as nip and tuck a battle as you will ever see but in the end Vick landed the harder shots in greater number and that earned him the deserved victory. With the win Vick moves into the number one contendership and will be next in line to challenge XKO lightweight champion Chris Jones.
XKO Middleweight Fight
Christopher “Kano” Gregoire (9-3) TKO RD 1 (Strikes) Brandon McDowell (32-34)
Time of Stoppage: 4:02 in round one
Though Brandon McDowell is one of the most experienced MMA fighters in the game right now he had the unfortunate experience of running into a wrecking ball of a fighter in “Kano” Gregoire. Gregoire was in control throughout the whole fight as he held top control and simply rained down punches and elbows until McDowell’s head resembled a basketball bouncing off the ground. Mercifully, the referee stopped the fight.
XKO Heavyweight Fight
Jeremiah O’Neal (12-20) TKO RD 1 (Strikes) Kelly Rundle (2-2)
Time of Stoppage: 2:21 Round 1
Despite being a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist, 49 year old Kelley Rundle was unable to stem the charges of Jeremiah O’Neal. After a few sweeps on the ground O’Neal was able to posture up and take Rundle’s back. The resulting ground and pound was simply too much for Rundle to endure.
XKO Welterweight Fight
Hayward Charles (2-2) SUB RD 2 (Guillotine) Michael Craycraft (2-3)
Time of Submission: 0:23 round two.
Though Hayward Charles is widely considered one of the premier grapplers in the DFW Metroplex against Michael Craycraft he ran into a buzz saw of tenacity. Things started out fast as Hayward immediately went for a flying triangle seconds into the fight. Craycraft was able to slip the submission attempt and while on the ground unleashed a barrage of punches that looked to have Charles in trouble. However, Charles was able to sweep the position and enjoyed some vicious ground and pound of his own dishing to close out the round.
Hayward fought with renewed vigor in the second and wobbled Craycraft with a picture-perfect left hook seconds into the round. From there the fight was over as Charles jumped and pulled guard and from there was able to slip in a vice like guillotine to end the fight.
XKO 140 lbs Catchweight Fight
Nelson Salas (2-0) SUB RD 1 (Rear Naked Choke) Mike Sierra (4-5)
Time of Submission: 1:59 in round one
In a battle between two of North Texas’ brightest prospects, Nelson Salas and Mike Sierra waged a brutal, albeit quick battle. Salas started things off with some crippling leg kicks at the start of the round. However, Sierra was able to defend most of them and when Salas shot in for a takedown, Sierra caught him in a tight standing guillotine. Salas was able to power through the submission and after taking the fight to the ground, where both fighters exchanged vicious punches, Salas was able to take his opponent’s back for the rear naked choke submission.
XKO Lightweight Fight
Donnie Bell (1-0) SUB RD 2 (Rear Naked Choke) Burt McDonald (1-2)
Time of Submission: 1:02 round two.
For the first half of this fight Donnie Bell seemed in control. Using a clinch and ground control, Bell was able to apply smothering pressure over the course of the early moments. However, Bell was penalized a point in th round for repeated blows to the back of McDonald’s head. However, despite being docked a point the round appeared to clearly be won by Bell.
McDonald came out looking to trade on the feet in the second round and managed to clip Bell with a clean hook. Bell then immediately shot in a secured a double leg takedown and from there was able to slip in a rear naked choke to seal the victory.
XKO Middleweight Fight
Andrew Parker (1-0) UD Dustin Adams (0-1)
Scores: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
A spirited contest between two pro debuting fighters turned into a full-fledged slugfest as Dustin Adams and Andrew Parker waged a full scale war against each other. Early on it looked like Parker was going to make some noise as he power slammed Adams on his back with enough force to rattle the whole cage. However, Adams was able to survive Parker’s early onslaught to rally back and crush him with a hard hook. Parker would not go out that easy and rallied back to wobble Adams at the end of the round.
The war continued into the second round as Adams again floored Parker with a hook and followed up with some ground and pound that almost had the referee stopping the fight. Parker would survive the early onslaught to continue battling back even though Adams would continue to wobble Parker with vicious punches.
Both fighters entered the third round absolutely gassed but with the fight hanging in the balance with this round neither would give in to defeat. After a quick takedown after some submissions attempts that Adams was able to fend off Parker got full mount and unleashed a barrage of punches and elbows to the head of Adams. Though Parker was relentless he was clearly battling fatigue and though he sliced up Adams with some sharp elbows he was unable to put his opponent away. Though in the end he was awarded the victory by the judges.
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