Alex Polizzi Rolls Jamal Pogues into Heel Hook to Capture Vacant LFA Light Heavyweight Title
The new @LFAFighting light heavyweight champ! #LFA82
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) February 22, 2020
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Alex Polizzi used his stellar wrestling prowess to capture the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance light heavyweight title, becoming the promotion’s third champ at 205 pounds in the main event of LFA 82 Friday night.
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Polizzi scored his final takedown early in the fourth and then ended the battle shortly thereafter. Polizzi latched onto Pogues’ right leg, rolled him into a textbook heel hook and forced the tap immediately. Unfortunately for the Californian, Pogues’ right knee popped violently as he was tapping and he had to be helped out of the cage; his knee likely damaged from the submission. The end came officially just 41 seconds into the fourth, allowing Polizzi to walk out of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minn., the new champ.
It took him a little bit of work to get the takedown, but once Jake Childers got it, his co-main event showdown with Nate Togbah Richardson was over. Childers (7-0) tied up the Glory veteran immediately and intelligently stay away from “The Natural’s” striking. “The Working Man” was relentless in the clinch as he tried like crazy to take the striker down, but Richardson (7-2) fought him off as long as he could. However, Childers eventually scooped his foe up and slammed him down hard. Upon impact, though, Richardson’s head bounced off the canvas and Childer’s cranium on the way down, knocking him out cold, ending the featherweight encounter 2:50 into the first.
Strawweight prospect Pauline Macias improved to 4-0 as a pro by eking past Peru’s Dana Zighelboim Grau via split decision. The two fought largely on the feet, though neither woman was able to land anything earth-shattering. However, “Pita” took Grau (1-3) down thrice, which sealed the deal on two of the three cage side judges’ scorecards. Whole one official had it 30-27 for Grau, that score was offset by the other two who scored it 29-28 for Macias.
Korey Kuppe was taken down a few times by J.P. Saint Louis, but he was never bothered by it because of his strong jiu jitsu prowess. “Too Much” landed elbows and punches from on top when he took Kuppe (8-3) down, but once he was entangled in a tight triangle midway through the second, he was doomed. “The Womanizer” unloaded an endless stream of elbows from off his back, which paved the way toward victory. Saint Louis (6-4) couldn’t escape and referee Travis Metteer had no choice but to intervene. The end to the welterweight bout came officially at 3:08 of the second.
After having a so-so start to his amateur career, flyweight Nate Smith turned things around and by the time he turned pro, he was on a roll. His success continued Friday night as he took out Sean Stebbins in the second with solid ground-and-pound. Stebbins (2-1) tried using his powerful wrestling and grappling base, but “The Savage” proved his ground game was just as strong. After thwarting a double-leg attempt from Stebbins, Smith (2-0) reversed him on his way down, landed on top and finished him off with a tidal wave of punches. The end came just 45 ticks into the second.
In the opening bout of the telecast, heavyweight Thomas Petersen was far too much for Brian Peterson to handle as he stopped him quickly in the opening round. Petersen (2-0) scored an easy takedown and patiently pounded on his foe with punches. Once Peterson (3-2) rolled over onto his belly, it was over; Petersen pounded away with punches to the head until referee Vance Swerdan stopped it at 1:52 of the frame.
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