Yoshiyuki Yoshida must have knocked something loose.

War Machine, the man formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver, stopped EliteXC veteran Mikey Gomez on third-round strikes in the featured bout at Xtreme Fighting Championships 9 “Evolution” on Saturday at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. The end came 19 seconds into round three.

The victory was Machine’s fifth in a row, all of them finishes, since he was left unconscious by a Yoshida anaconda choke at UFC 83 in May 2008. A product of Season 6 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, the 28-year-old vagabond has competed inside a different organization in each of his five bouts since departing from the UFC.

Meanwhile, Pablo Alfonso submitted the previously unbeaten Jason Goodall 2:40 into the fourth round to capture the XFC bantamweight championship. The 27-year-old Miami, Fla., native has now delivered four of his five professional victories by submission.

Finally, one-time XFC featherweight title challenger Bruce Connors rebounded nicely from his first career defeat, as he blasted through Tim Snyder in a first-round technical knockout. A United States Marine who served as a sniper scout in Kosovo and Afghanistan, Connors has finished all seven of his victories by knockout, TKO or submission.

Noble Outpoints Carter

Derrick Noble defeated fellow UFC veteran Shonie Carter by unanimous decision in the Vendetta Fighting Championship “A Night of Vengeance” main event on Saturday at the Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino in Oranjestad, Aruba. Scores were 30-27 across the board.

Rooted at the same Minnesota Martial Arts Academy as UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and former lightweight king Sean Sherk, Noble has won three of his last four fights. The 31-year-old has defeated a number of high-profile opponents, including welterweight destroyer Thiago Alves in 2003.

One of the sport’s ultimate journeymen, Carter saw his three-fight winning streak come to an end. Put back on the map by his appearance on Season 4 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” he remains a fixture on UFC highlight reels with his spinning back fist knockout of Matt Serra in May 2001.

Shooto: Yoshioka Submits Abe

Hiroaki Yoshioka recorded his first victory in more than seven years, as he submitted Hiroyuki Abe with a guillotine choke in the Shooto “Kitazawa Shooto 2009 Vol. 2” headliner on Friday at the Kitazawa Town Hall in Tokyo. Abe met his end 3:08 into round two.

The win was Yoshioka’s first since a July 2002 decision against Ichaku Murata. The 35-year-old Paraestra Tokyo representative has spent his entire 17-fight career inside the Shooto promotion. Abe entered the match on a two-bout winning streak.

Meanwhile, Toshimichi Akagi broke a four-fight winless drought when he knocked out Hiroharu Matsufuji in 39 seconds. A left hook ended Matsufuji’s evening in little more than half a minute.