SAN JACINTO, Calif., Aug. 5 — Joey Villasenor (pictures) wants to make a name for himself and his family by being the best fighter in the world at 185 pounds. He has been doing a pretty good job of it lately.

His unanimous decision victory over Jorge Santiago (pictures) ran his winning streak to 13 straight, leaving the Jackson’s Gaidojitsu product with an impressive 19-3 record.

What made this one different from each of his 21 other fights was the fact that this was the first professional fight in which Villasenor had been pushed to the distance.

Fighting out of the prestigious American Top Team camp, Santiago came in ready to go and stunned the KOTC middleweight champion early in the first round, sweeping Villasenor just moments after he had established top position, and rolling him into an omoplata.

However, Santiago could not keep Villasenor down. The New Mexico-based brawler made his way back to his feet and after a few exchanges the champion put the gas down and charged forward. Driving Santiago to the mat, where he delivered a salvo of thunderous strikes in a brutal offensive, Villasenor stopped his attack only because of the bell ending the first round.

A dazed and confused Santiago lay on his back, still not aware that the round had ended, defending against a non-existent foe while Villasenor was already being tended to by his corner.

Santiago regained his faculties between rounds and came back firing again in the second. The pace slowed a bit as Villasenor began to work on the legs of his resilient opponent, delivering chopping knees to the inside and outside of Santiago’s thighs. Both men landed in the numerous exchanges, with Villasenor getting the better of it throughout the round.

The third round opened with a big right high kick by Santiago that landed in a glancing fashion and was quickly shrugged off by Villasenor, who, in turn, responded with a knee that sent Santiago falling backwards to the mat.

Villasenor quickly followed his downed challenger to the mat where he was greeted by an illegal up-kick that earned Santiago a scolding from referee Herb Dean (pictures) but not a point deduction.

At Villasenor’s request, the fight was restarted in a standing position, where he quickly deposited the challenger to the mat with a body-clinch takedown and followed up with some more ground-and-pound offense.

In the closing seconds of the final round, with both fighters back on their feet, the champion once again showed the explosiveness that had become his trademark, as he unleashed another barrage of strikes that left Santiago staggered and stumbling at the final bell.

It was a unanimous decision for the defending champ as well as a valuable lesson learned.

“This fight showed that I can out-will another fighter, that I am not just a one-hit-wonder who can only win when I take my opponents out early on,” Villasenor said after the fight.

While this may not have been his most impressive victory, Villasenor seems to have taken another big step towards realizing his goal of making his family name synonymous with the greats of the MMA world.