Nick Chasteen Pummels Turan Hasanov in Lion Fight 26 Main Event

Phoenix-based welterweight prospect Nick Chasteen made the most of the opportunity to headline Lion Fight 26 at the last minute, pounding on Turan Hasanov en route to a sensational knockout. Chasteen used his massive reach advantage immediately and continuously cracked his foe throughout, dropping him three times in the process.

After a competitive opening round that saw the Brooklyn fighter have his moments when he got inside, Chasteen poured on the pressure in the second. After he pinned the smaller fighter in a corner after a toe-to-toe exchange, Chasteen raked him with a spinning back elbow. Hasanov crumbled to his knees and barely beat referee Dan Miragliotta’s count.

Hasanov (15-8-1) was allowed to continue and he fought back, but in the closing seconds of the stanza, he absorbed a flying knee to the china and chest, dropping him into the ropes. Again, Turan beat the count and he was saved by the bell, though his time would run out shortly thereafter.

Hasanov nailed his opponent with a right hook on the inside, but just as it landed, Chasteen (5-1) drilled him with a counter right-left, flooring him again. When Hasanov fell onto his gloves and knees, badly hurt, Miragliotta didn’t bother to count and waived it off just 25 seconds into the third.

The action inside Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. continued with the super bantamweight co-feature, where Philadelphia’s John Nofer handed Victor Saravia (4-1) his first pro defeat. Nofer (7-1) took his time in picking the North Hollywood-based fighter apart, using stinging kicks to the legs and body. In the end, Nofer won via tallies of 48-47 (twice) and 49-47; it’s his first win that was not a knockout.

Middleweight Josh Shepard (5-1) was elusive and accurate as he picked Ben Peak apart for five rounds, winning a unanimous decision. The margins of victory were 49-46 and 48-47 (twice) for the Las Vegas fighter. Peak, from Boston, fell to 10-4.

After being dropped in the first and second rounds and badly hobbled by nasty leg kicks, lightweight Julio Pena came from way behind to knock Tim Amorim out in the third. Pena, from Boston, unfurled a perfect spinning back elbow that detonated on the Philly fighter’s face, dropping him on impact. Referee Tom Sconzo waived off the bout as Amorim, whose right eye socket, and possibly cheek bone, appeared to be shattered as his eye swelled shut immediately. The vicious knockout came at 2:59 of the third, allowing Pena to rise to 4-0. Amorim dipped to 1-3.

Welterweights Pedro Gonzalez and Sean Fagan (0-2) opened the AXS TV-televised card and they tore into each other for five rounds. But it was Massachusetts’ Gonzalez (3-1) who was the better man as he won a unanimous decision over the New Yorker via tallies of 49-45 on all three official cards.