Saturday night marked a culmination of sorts for Arlington based MMA promotion Xtreme Knockout. For a little over five years the promotion, headed by the brothers Thomas and Chris Bussey along with their father Mike, have worked tirelessly to not only grow their promotion but elevate the MMA scene in North Texas behind fan-friendly fights and a fight atmosphere that can best be described as a massive block party.
This brings us to Saturday night in what will go down in history as XKO 26. XKO has left their home confines of the XKO Arena (a massive warehouse in Arlington) before. The promotion had a pair of shows at the Dallas Convention Center in the past. But this event, XKO 26, stood out as it was the premier of the promotion’s first fight card at the brand spanking new music venue, Gas Monkey Live.
A massive concert venue with the most ridiculously loud sound system one can imagine, Gas Monkey Live (which coincidently was founded by “Fast ‘N Loud” star Richard Rawlings and company) presented an opportunity for the trust behind XKO to take their promotion and production to the next level. And while a number patrons were visibly irate about the limited sight lines of the standing room general admission tickets, the fact that XKO 26 was sell out speaks volumes to the popularity of the promotion here in North Texas.
FIGHT RESULTS
XKO may have tapped into a breakout star in the likes of undefeated welterweight Kevin “The Trailblazer” Holland. The loquacious young man who fights out of Team Lutter in Fort Worth is quickly becoming a polarizing figure among local fight fans. You either love him and his uncanny fighting ability, or loath him for his perceived cockiness. In any event, you cannot front on his results inside the cage. Saturday night he was paired with, arguably, just as bright a young talent in Victor Reyna. Reyna is a hulking welterweight who had amassed a 5-1 record by beating some of the brightest talent in the region. Many, including myself, view Reyna as a sure-fire UFC prospect.
Early on it appeared that Reyna’s strength and wrestling would be too much for Holland. Holland tried to keep the fight on the outside where his speed and length would be a problem but Reyna simply would muscle in and work Holland’s body while in the clinch. Holland seemed out of sorts but toward the middle of the round it seemed the tide was beginning to turn. Then, in a flash the fight was over. Reyna shot in for a takedown and ended up with his head primed for a guillotine. Holland recognized this immediately and methodically went about sinking it in and securing the tap.
The time of the submission was 3:44 in the first round.
In a battle of heavyweights San Antonio’s Allen Nelson gutted out tight spilt decision over Michael Saunders. This fight had fireworks going from the opening bell as both massive men swapped leather to the delight of the crowd. However, an accidental eye poke on Saunders halted the action in the first round momentarily as Saunders tried to regain his vision. After pleading with the doctors to continue the fight resumed with Saunders eager to trade with Nelson. It was a closely contested battle, one that saw both fighters dropped to the canvas. However, in the end two of the three judges scored the bout in Allen’s favor.
Scores were 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29.
Grappler and wrestling standout Jarrod Trotter looked sensational in his professional MMA debut. The young fighter who trains with the renown Bruno Bastos out in Midland wasted no time in taking his opponent Mike Bueno down to the mat. Though, it was not without incident as Bueno managed to clip Trotter coming in on occasion. However, Trotter’s grappling was too much and he utilized that control to methodically ground and pound Bueno over the course of the fight until he eventually sunk in the rear naked choke to finish the fight in the third round.
The official time of the submission was 2:53 in the third round.
Eliazar “El Oso” Rodriguez saw his return to fighting a triumphant occasion as he managed to stop touted local prospect Stephen Banaszak. Banaszak is a wizard with his array of kicks but Rodriguez had done his due diligence and was able to catch-and-counter to great success. A blistering hook from Rodriguez dropped Banaszak and after a follow up flurry on the ground the fight was waived off.
The official time of the stoppage was 1:46 in the opening round.
Julius Holmes looked mighty impressive in stopping Jesse Palmer in their undercard bout. Palmer started off the contest strong behind some hard kicks and some good defense. However, it was short lived as Holmes used his exemplary wrestling to take the fight to the ground. Despite being on the defensive due to Holmes smothering style, Palmer almost latched on to an inverted armbar but Holmes was able to fight off the submission. As the action headed into the second round, Holmes again established control with a quick takedown and from top position was able to rain down a flurry of punches that prompted the referee to waive off the bout.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:12 in the second round.
Isaiah Gutierrez handed Alonzo Jordan his first loss as a professional in a spirited bout that saw Gutierrez in trouble early on. Jordan is as tough as they come and his relentless pressure almost got Gutierrez knocked out. But give credit to Gutierrez who was able to rally back to earn the close split decision victory.
Scores were 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29.
Jose Soto was able to rebound from a brutal KO loss at XKO 25 to gut out a close split decision victory over Ulyses Aguila. The fight was fought mostly in the clinch but it was Soto’s activity that seemed to sway the judges.
Scores were 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29.
Randell Kennedy wasted little time in submitting the ultra-tough Tim Roman in the first round of their bout. Once Kennedy got the fight to the ground he was able to slap on the triangle that forced the Roman tap.
The time of the submission was 2:06 in the opening round.
Kelvin Martinez had a tremendously successful professional debut stopping exciting prospect Federico Oliveira seconds into the opening round. A blistering punch put Oliveira on the canvas and Martinez wasted no time in jumping on his wounded opponent prompting the referee to call a halt to the contest.
The time of the stoppage was 0:56 in the opening round.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
