ONTARIO, Calif. –- Vladimir Matyushenko wrestled his way to a unanimous decision over Jason Lambert in the light heavyweight main event for Clean Kill’s Call To Arms at the Citizen’s Business Bank Arena. Matyushenko took the cards with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.

In an active first round, the UFC veterans kept mostly to their shared bread-and-butter discipline, which led to some feverish pummeling scrambles for control. Both connected with strikes in their brief exchanges, but Matyushenko excelled with peppering shots in the clinch.

The determined Belarusian threw body shots and looping hooks in the second, before scooping Lambert up for the takedown. Lambert (23-10) did his best to pull off a guillotine attempt, but the pair was back on their feet in short fashion. Matyushenko (22-4) snuck in another takedown for good measure before the bell.

Lambert nailed a crucial takedown at the top of third round, and nearly took advantage with a flurry of shots that had referee Larry Landless hovering. However, Matyushenko mustered a reversal and a final takedown in the last two minutes to secure victory.

“I was holding onto my breath, trying to recuperate,” said Matyushenko of his dicey third-round moment. “I was pretty aware of time going [by]. I was kind of stalling, honestly, to see what was going to happen. I was waiting for him to make a mistake or something and reverse him and it happened.”

In the co-main attraction, Tiki Ghosn earned a unanimous decision over the equally experienced Brian Warren at middleweight with 30-27 scores all around.

Ghosn (11-7) smothered Warren (11-13-1) from the onset in the clinch, then in top position once he grounded him with handful of takedowns. Warren spent the first and second rounds defending Ghosn’s ground-and-pound advances. Ghosn then flurried on a waning Warren halfway through the second before Ghosn decided to take the fight back to the canvas.

Warren snuck in a spinning back kick to open the final round, but Ghosn never left the driver’s seat. He punished Warren later with a blistering body kick before snatching Warren’s legs out form him to finish on top.

“I came into this fight with a couple of injuries, but too many people I knew we’re coming, so I couldn’t back out,” said Ghosn. “My original game plan was to knock his head off, but he gave me his hips, so I took him down and beat him up there.”

Daniel Puder (7-0) took another swift victory in his heavyweight bout with Jeff Ford, who slipped on a high kick and landed brutally on his right shoulder at 1:23 in the first round. Referee Marcos Rosales stepped in when it was clear that Ford, who was leading with a takedown up to that point, could not continue.

Puder, who opened the round with a couple of competent high kicks himself, received a lashing from the crowd for his post-celebratory antics, demonstrating he’s still more show than substance at this juncture.

Karen Darabedyan improved to 7-1 with a technical knockout stoppage over Joe Camacho via cut between the first and second rounds. Camacho (11-14-3) was confident on his feet, but the agile Darabedyan had a few more tools in his bag, tying Camacho up on the fence and slicing him open over the right eye with a well-placed elbow. Referee Marcos Rosales halted the bout on the doctor’s recommendation.

Toby Grear convincingly handled Mike Sandez to take home a 30-27 unanimous decision. The crowd appreciated Sandez’ swing-for-the-fences mentality; he was rewarded with a knockdown in the first round, but Grear retaliated with the round’s only clean takedown. A grounded Sandez also notched two vicious upkicks as Grear closed in, but his aggressor kept coming.

Grear (7-4-1) ruled the second round, chipping away at Sandez (6-6) with low kicks and hunting the double-leg takedown when he could close the distance. By the third round, Sandez had lost a lot of his fire, allowing Grear to score with more kicks, a guillotine and a standing rear-naked choke attempt.

Afterward, Grear announced to the crowd that he’d broken his right hand in the first period –- the price for his fourth win in five outings.

Georgi Karakhanyan grinded out a unanimous decision over an equally tough Albert Rios in a well-matched featherweight contest, earning 30-27 tallies across the board. Both seemed capable in their sporadic trades and in the clinch, but it was Karakhanyan’s Greco Roman wrestling, particularly his trips, that made the difference.

On the mat, the Armenian was crafty as expected; Rios spent crucial time fending off submission attempts or trying to get off his back. Rios scored a couple of key reversals, but couldn’t launch enough of an offense to tip the judges’ cards.

Chad George (10-4) fought tooth-and-nail for a split decision nod over Alvin Cacdac (5-5), with scores of 30-27 twice and a lone 29-28 in Cacdac’s favor. Sherdog.com scored the bout 29-28 for George.

The tenacious 135-pounders exchanged head-and-arm chokes, among other submissions, in a fast-paced grappling match for the first round. They continued their turf war for the canvas into the second, with George nearly coaxing out a submission from a guillotine choke.

George reversed a Cacdac takedown that kicked off the final round, and rode Cacdac’s back with a rear-naked choke cinched to the bell for a definitive finish and his fifth straight victory.

In other bouts:

Brett Cooper def. Joe Cronin –- TKO (Cut) 1:17 R1
Matt Major def. Jaime Fletcher –- Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Jay Silva def. Reggie Orr –- TKO (Flying Knee) 1:41 R2
Sevak Magakian def. Harold Lucambio –- Submission (Kneebar) 1:59 R1
Francisco Rivera def. Johnny Gomez –- Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)