PRAZERES vs FABINSKI
Brazilian welterweight Michel Prazeres made it eight wins in a row in Fight Night Argentina action at Arena Parque Roca in Buenos Aires Saturday night, impressively finishing Poland’s Bartosz Fabinski via first-round submission.
An intense staredown preceded the matchup, and as soon as the two were waved in to fight, they fought, with a right hand dropping Fabinski in the opening ten seconds. The Brazilian went all-in for the finish, and while Fabinski was able to recover from the initial barrage, Prazeres was relentless in his assault, with a guillotine choke ending matters just 1:02 into the bout.
With the win, Belem’s Prazeres improves to 26-2. Warsaw’s Fabinski falls to 14-3.
PANTOJA vs SASAKI
In a meeting of flyweight contenders, Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja scored an impressive first-round submission victory over Japan’s Ulka Sasaki.
After the two traded blows to start the bout, the two found their way to the mat, with Pantoja looking for a submission from his back. Sasaki got out of trouble, but Pantoja put him back into it as he took his foe’s back against the fence. A rear naked choke followed, and Sasaki was forced to tap out. The official time of the finish was 2:18 of round one.
With the win, the No. 9-ranked Pantoja moves to 20-3. The No. 14-ranked Sasaki falls to 21-6-2.
ARNETT vs BANDENAY
In his third trip to the Octagon, Austin Arnett finally broke into the win column, as he scored a come from behind decision victory over Peru’s Humberto Bandenay.
Scores were 29-28 and 29-27 twice for Arnett, who improves to 16-5. Bandenay falls to 14-6 with 1 NC.
Bandenay was the aggressor throughout much of the first round, and he used a body kick to put Arnett on the defensive late in the frame. Arnett also went back to his corner with a cut over his right eye, adding to his woes.
But in the next two rounds, Arnett showed his poise under pressure, as he steadily worked his way back into the fight and took it over, nearly halting the tired Bandenay with ground strikes in the closing seconds of the bout.
STAROPOLI vs ALDANA
Welterweights Laureano Staropoli and Hector Aldana left it all in the Octagon in their three-rounder, with Argentina’s Staropoli emerging victorious over Mexico’s Aldana via unanimous decision.
The judges saw it 29-28 and 30-27 twice for La Plata’s Staropoli, who improves to 8-1. Mexicali’s Aldana falls to 4-3.
Both fighters were throwing bombs as soon as the bout commenced, and after several heated exchanges, Aldana emerged with a nasty cut over his left eye and Staropoli was sporting a knot on the right side of his forehead. That didn’t stop the two from trading, but as the fight progressed, Staropoli pulled ahead as Aldana wasn’t able to stop the incoming fire due to the worsening of the cut. The gritty Mexican made it to the final horn, but it was Staropoli’s night.
PINEDO vs POWELL
Peru’s Jesus Pinedo made a successful Octagon debut in Buenos Aires, as he won a three-round unanimous decision over Devin Powell in a lightweight bout.
Despite Powell (9-4) having the edge in Octagon experience, it was Pinedo (16-4-1) who fought like the old pro, dealing with the high workrate of the New Englander with ease as he got in his own shots on the feet. It was on the mat where Pinedo pulled ahead, though, as he took advantage every time he was able to put the off-balance Powell down, using his ground strikes to sail to victory by scores of 30-27 across the board.
NARIMANI vs DOS SANTOS
British featherweight Nad Narimani put in a workmanlike three rounds en route to a shutout decision victory over gutsy newcomer Anderson dos Santos.
Scores were 30-27 across the board for Bristol’s Nad Narimani, now 12-2. Sao Paulo’s dos Santos falls to 20-7.
Narimani established his striking attack from the start, with his power shots immediately getting dos Santos’ attention. As the fight progressed, Narimani mixed in a couple takedowns to keep his foe guessing, and while dos Santos stayed engaged throughout and landed some big shots in the second frame, he wasn’t able to turn the tide enough to take over and get the win.
