Cooper Bombs Arden at PureCombat
VISALIA, Calif. -- Living up to the event he headlined, Brett Cooper (Pictures) successfully defended his
welterweight title with a second-round knockout against
hard-hitting challenger Dusty
'The Rooster" Arden (Pictures) on Friday for PureCombat "Bombs
Away" at the Visalia Convention Center.
Cooper's kicks fended off a slow-starting Arden, whose punches seemed to bounce off the champion's arms until the pair began to throw down in the opening round's final 30 seconds. Cooper found Arden's chin and dropped him to one knee with a punch, but Arden was able to grab onto his opponent and make it out of the round.
Starting the second set right where they left off, both fighters swung for the fences and again the champion found his mark, sending Arden to the canvas with a lightning-fast punch only 39 seconds in. This time, Arden did not rise.
Rematching a draw from a previous PureCombat card, Hector Alatorre (Pictures) battled with fellow local favorite Elvis Franco (Pictures) in a bout not unlike its predecessor. Alatorre displayed crisp boxing and was able to secure takedowns and a guillotine choke attempt, much like in his first outing with Franco. Alatorre seemed well on his way to winning the second round as well, until Franco applied his own guillotine choke to the coax the tapout at 3:36.
In a flyweight battle between Jesse Bowen (Pictures) and Daniel Pinedo (Pictures), Bowen capitalized on a scramble with an armbar attempt, then flowed into a triangle choke. Pinedo picked Bowen up and slammed him, but the hold only tightened. Pinedo tapped out 1:40 into the first round.
Central Valley veterans David Granados (Pictures) and Brandon Miller (Pictures) began the main card action in a bantamweight bout. Sporting a .500 record, the always-game Granados has accrued losses against some of the Golden State's best standouts, including WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber (Pictures) and former PFC titleholder Shawn Bias (Pictures). Miller's only blemish has been to Granados, but Granados did his best to ensure Miller would not exact his revenge.
Granado's crisp straight punches cut Miller and swelled his right eye shut. Miller survived the doctor's scrutiny in the first round, but by the second stanza the physician recommended to referee Marco Rosales that the bout we halted.
In a great back-and-forth battle, Joe Chaidez (Pictures) and Zach Trammel exchanged leather and impressed the Visalia crowd. Trammel managed more damage though, and was rewarded the unanimous decision.
Lightweight Jared Papazian also earned a unanimous decision over Josh Chavez with a consistent left counterpunch, while Houston Smith spoiled Eli Moreno (Pictures)'s hopes of a hometown win with a rear-naked choke only 40 seconds in.
Joe Moreles and Raul Rodriguez waged their war mostly on the ground, with Morales garnering the unanimous decision, while Robert Trujillo stopped George Albanez with a TKO victory at 2:15 into round two of the night's opener.
PureCombat "Bombs Away"
June 7
Visalia Convention Center
Visalia, Calif.
PureCombat Welterweight Championship
Brett Cooper (Pictures) def. Dustin Arden - KO 0:39 R2
Elvis Franco (Pictures) def. Hector Alatorre (Pictures) - Submission (Guillotine Choke) 3:36 R2
Jesse Bowen (Pictures) def. Daniel Pinedo (Pictures) - Submission (Triangle Choke) 1:40 R1
David Granados (Pictures) def. Brandon Miller (Pictures) - TKO (Doctor Stoppage) 2:17 R2
Zach Trammel def. Joe Chaidez (Pictures) - Unanimous Decision
Jared Papazian def. Josh Chavez - Unanimous Decision
Houston Smith def. Eli Moreno (Pictures) -Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 0:40 R1
Joe Moreles def. Raul Rodriguez - Unanimous Decision
Robert Trujillo def. George Albanez - TKO (Strikes) 2:15 R2
Cooper's kicks fended off a slow-starting Arden, whose punches seemed to bounce off the champion's arms until the pair began to throw down in the opening round's final 30 seconds. Cooper found Arden's chin and dropped him to one knee with a punch, but Arden was able to grab onto his opponent and make it out of the round.
Starting the second set right where they left off, both fighters swung for the fences and again the champion found his mark, sending Arden to the canvas with a lightning-fast punch only 39 seconds in. This time, Arden did not rise.
Rematching a draw from a previous PureCombat card, Hector Alatorre (Pictures) battled with fellow local favorite Elvis Franco (Pictures) in a bout not unlike its predecessor. Alatorre displayed crisp boxing and was able to secure takedowns and a guillotine choke attempt, much like in his first outing with Franco. Alatorre seemed well on his way to winning the second round as well, until Franco applied his own guillotine choke to the coax the tapout at 3:36.
In a flyweight battle between Jesse Bowen (Pictures) and Daniel Pinedo (Pictures), Bowen capitalized on a scramble with an armbar attempt, then flowed into a triangle choke. Pinedo picked Bowen up and slammed him, but the hold only tightened. Pinedo tapped out 1:40 into the first round.
Central Valley veterans David Granados (Pictures) and Brandon Miller (Pictures) began the main card action in a bantamweight bout. Sporting a .500 record, the always-game Granados has accrued losses against some of the Golden State's best standouts, including WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber (Pictures) and former PFC titleholder Shawn Bias (Pictures). Miller's only blemish has been to Granados, but Granados did his best to ensure Miller would not exact his revenge.
Granado's crisp straight punches cut Miller and swelled his right eye shut. Miller survived the doctor's scrutiny in the first round, but by the second stanza the physician recommended to referee Marco Rosales that the bout we halted.
In a great back-and-forth battle, Joe Chaidez (Pictures) and Zach Trammel exchanged leather and impressed the Visalia crowd. Trammel managed more damage though, and was rewarded the unanimous decision.
Lightweight Jared Papazian also earned a unanimous decision over Josh Chavez with a consistent left counterpunch, while Houston Smith spoiled Eli Moreno (Pictures)'s hopes of a hometown win with a rear-naked choke only 40 seconds in.
Joe Moreles and Raul Rodriguez waged their war mostly on the ground, with Morales garnering the unanimous decision, while Robert Trujillo stopped George Albanez with a TKO victory at 2:15 into round two of the night's opener.
PureCombat "Bombs Away"
June 7
Visalia Convention Center
Visalia, Calif.
PureCombat Welterweight Championship
Brett Cooper (Pictures) def. Dustin Arden - KO 0:39 R2
Elvis Franco (Pictures) def. Hector Alatorre (Pictures) - Submission (Guillotine Choke) 3:36 R2
Jesse Bowen (Pictures) def. Daniel Pinedo (Pictures) - Submission (Triangle Choke) 1:40 R1
David Granados (Pictures) def. Brandon Miller (Pictures) - TKO (Doctor Stoppage) 2:17 R2
Zach Trammel def. Joe Chaidez (Pictures) - Unanimous Decision
Jared Papazian def. Josh Chavez - Unanimous Decision
Houston Smith def. Eli Moreno (Pictures) -Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 0:40 R1
Joe Moreles def. Raul Rodriguez - Unanimous Decision
Robert Trujillo def. George Albanez - TKO (Strikes) 2:15 R2
