Greg Rebello Scores 23-Second Knockout, Captures Vacant CES MMA Heavyweight Championship

Greg Rebello filled a vacancy in record time.

The Bellator MMA alum knocked out consummate journeyman Travis Wiuff in the first round of their CES MMA 48 headliner on Friday at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island, laying claim to the promotion’s vacant heavyweight championship without breaking a sweat. Wiuff (75-22) succumbed to punches 23 seconds into Round 1.

Rebello (24-8) sprawled out of a takedown from the hulking Minnesotan, snapped him down to all fours and bludgeoned him with right hands. Wiuff was defenseless against the assault, which soon included hammerfists and winging lefts that rendered him unconscious.

It marked the fastest finish of Rebello’s 32-fight career.

In the featherweight co-main event, Team Sityodtong’s Dinis Paiva pushed his run of consecutive victories to four with a one-sided unanimous decision over Kevin Barberena. All three cageside judges sided with Paiva (11-6): 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27.

Not much went right for Barberena (4-4). Paiva paired stinging straight lefts with uppercuts and hooks from his lead hand. He knocked down Barberena with one of those uppercuts in the first round and benefitted from an inadvertent eye poke in the second. The foul went unchecked by referee John English and turned Barberena into a sitting duck for the better part of two minutes. Somehow, he survived. However, his situation went from bad to worse in the third round, where Paiva fired away with body-head combinations, occasional leg kicks, punishing jabs and straight lefts. Barbarena was barely recognizable when the final bell sounded, his face mangled by the accumulation of blows.

Meanwhile, Burgess MMA rep Tim Caron walked out with his hand raised in unconventional fashion, as Timothy Woods knocked himself out on a failed throw in the first round of their middleweight showcase. Woods (7-6) hit the deck 1:23 into Round 1 and left the cage on a stretcher as a precautionary measure.

Caron (7-1) moved into the clinch, pressed the Lloyd Irvin protégé to the fence and countered his bid for a takedown with a whizzer. Woods nosedived, his forehead striking the canvas. The 41-year-old was unconscious on impact and ate a few follow-up punches from Caron before referee Kevin MacDonald could arrive on the scene.

In other action, Brian Marino was awarded a unanimous verdict over Jerome Mickle in a three-round catchweight affair at 165 pounds, drawing 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 nods on the scorecards; Shane Manley claimed a unanimous decision from Dylan Lockard in a three-round featherweight scrap, earning 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 marks from the judges; Rico DiSciullo bloodied and stopped Jamie Hernandez with punches 3:21 into the first round of their catchweight encounter at 140 pounds; Linsey Williams took out Hilarie Rose with punches 4:01 into the third round of their women’s strawweight tilt; Brandon Marotte put away Jhon Costa with punches 1:26 into the second round of their catchweight confrontation at 150 pounds; Armus Guyton knocked out Tommy Lee Davis 39 seconds into the first round of their middleweight clash; and Fabio Cherant submitted James Dysard with a guillotine choke 13 seconds into the first round of their pairing at 205 pounds.