RIO RANCHO, N.M. -- After 112 Rage in the Cage events in Arizona, the promotion finally ventured out of the desert Saturday to New Mexico, where a combined 22 amateur and professional bouts were held at the Santa Ana Star Casino.
In front of 2,300 fans, native
Alberto Crane (Pictures) looked impressive defeating Adrian Valdez with a first-round submission at 1:35.
Crane jumped at his opponent immediately with a takedown, then transitioned from an armbar attempt to the guillotine choke, which prompted Valdez to tap out.
“It was great to get back in the win column,” said Crane. “I wanted to throw more punches and that was the plan, but when he was in position for the guillotine, I went for it and stuck it to him.”
In the co-main event, Richard Villa upset
Drew Fickett (Pictures) with a second-round TKO. Villa followed a game plan that started earlier that day at the weigh-ins.
Fickett came in over weight and had to run off two pounds, which may have taken its toll on him. Villa and his camp figured they would take full advantage of that by letting Fickett come out strong and then tire.
It was all Fickett in round one as he was able to land two good right kicks to Villa’s head followed by a takedown. Fickett hunted for the submission, but to Villa’s credit he held on to finish the round.
Round two saw Villa attack and drop Fickett to his back with a hard right, where Villa continued his onslaught with rights and left hands until he coaxed out the referee stoppage and the biggest victory of his career.
”I knew he was drained from running this morning,” said Villa. “We planned on letting him come out strong and then I’d kick it into another gear in the second. People didn’t know who I was before this fight, maybe now they’ll take notice.”
Danny Martinez (Pictures) retained his Rage in the Cage lightweight championship with a first-round submission over Felipe Chavez. Chavez looked to be in control when he took down the smaller Martinez and connected with punches and elbows, but Martinez reversed and got Chavez in a choke for the stoppage at 2:07.
Local favorite Marciano Wilson was disqualified after he had kneed Dickie Chavez to the head during a break by the referee to stand the fighters. At the time of the DQ, Wilson looked in control of the action with strikes and kicks to the head.
Rafael Freitas defeated Eric Buck with a rear-naked choke at 1:45 in the first round after both fighters had their moments in the fight. Richard Hale destroyed Jeremiah Martinez with a knockout at 1:01 of their first-round mismatch.
Quinn Mulhern submitted Blue Edwards with a triangle choke 34 seconds into the second. Last-minute replacement Eric Saavedra halted Jeff Horlacher with a choke out at 1:41 of the second round in a comeback performance.
Remaining unbeaten with a clear-cut unanimous decision over Jerome Martinez, Ryan Kelly raised his record to 6-0 by scores of 30-27 on all three judges' cards.
In women’s action, Jen Babcock halted Raechel Megahan via choke at 55 seconds of the first round. Babcock controlled the fight early when she took Megahan down and landed several strikes from the top before transitioning to the finishing move.
Richard Villa def.
Drew Fickett (Pictures) – TKO 0:34 R2
Alberto Crane (Pictures) def. Adrian Valdez – Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1:35 R1
Jen Babcock def. Raechel Megahan – Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) 0:55 R1
Danny Martinez (Pictures) def. Felipe Chavez – Submission (Guillotine Choke) 2:07 R1
Mike Valdez def. Carlos Lopez – TKO (Strikes) 0:22 R1
Dickie Chavez def. Marciano Wilson -- Disqualification (Illegal Knee) 1:35 R1*
Ryan Kelly def. Jerome Martinez – Unanimous Decision
Josh Lanier def. Josian Smith – Submission (Triangle-Armbar) 0:34 R1
Quinn Mulhern def. Blue Edwards – Submission (Triangle Choke) 0:34 R2
Travis Degroat def. Robert Montiel – TKO (Strikes) 1:02 R1
Eric Saavedra def. Jeff Horlacher – Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1:41 R2
Richard Hale def. Jeremiah Martinez - KO 1:01 R1
Rafael Freitas def. Eric Buck – Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 1:45 R1
Zack Mathews def. Mano Otero – Submission (Armbar) 1:42 R2
* Wilson was incorrectly announced the winner at the event.
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