Palaszewski, Martin take home XFO hardware
Dec 6, 2004
LAKEMOOR, Ill. -- A perfect right hand from Bart Palaszewski gave the
21-year-old ownership of the first-ever Xtreme Fighting
Organization championship belt Friday night at XFO 4 near
Chicago.
Meanwhile, Terry Martin landed some big right hands of his own en route to being selected Fighter of the Night with his victory over Team Quest standout Chael Sonnen.
And, although he didn't win a belt or trophy, Roger Huerta also stood out with
his quick upset victory over Japanese star Naoyuki Kotani.
"It was super night of fights," said co-promoter Jeff Curran. "There were so many things that went well... and the fighters did a great job. There were a lot of outstanding performances tonight."
Palaszewski's right landed squarely on the chin of Vigil Strzelecki only 51 seconds into their lightweight championship bout. Strzelecki was knocked out immediately and fell face-first to the mat.
Martin, now 7-0, used a big right hand to turn his battle with former Olympic wrestling alternate Sonnen in his favor late in the first round. Martin landed a couple more big shots before Sonnen's corner ruled he could not come out for the third round. Later it was learned Sonnen suffered a separated rib in the first round.
Huerta, now 14-1-1, found himself battling out of a knee-bar, then heel hook by ZST champion Kotani. However, Huerta was able to maneuver himself into a striking position and landed a series of big blows to Kotani's head. Huerta then got top position and pounded away until the referee stepped in to halt the fight at 1:29 of the first round.
In a women's bout, Tara LaRosa recovered from a day-long trip that included airplane motion sickness to beat Alisa Cantwell by armbar. LaRosa is now 5-1, while Cantwell dropped to 6-2.
Hiroaki Kotani, the older brother of Naoyuki, also suffered a loss. Canada's Alex Gasson won mainly a striking battle by unanimous decision after three rounds.
In another interesting fight, Tyrell Roberts... the 20-year-old son of UFC veteran Andre Roberts... improved to 6-0 with a TKO victory over Charles Trice at 2:46 of the first round.
Official results:
Tyrell Roberts def. Charles Trice, ref stoppage due to strikes, 2:46 Rd. 1
Nick Thompson def. Darren Heinz, guillotine choke, :19 Rd. 1
Jay Estrada def. Sonny Leong, keylock, 3:54 Rd. 1
Alex Gasson def. Hiroaki Kotani, unanimous dec. 3 rds (15:00)
Clay Guida def. Vito Woods, guillotine choke, 1:19 Rd. 2 (4:19)
Gabe Lemley def. Kenny Jewell, armbar, 1:28 Rd. 2 (4:28)
Tara LaRosa def. Alisa Cantwell, armbar, 2:45 Rd. 1
Jason Guida def. Mark Wallen, unanimous dec. 3 rds (15:00)
Terry Martin def. Chael Sonnen, verbal sub after 2 rds (10:00)
Roger Huerta def. Naoyuki Kotani, ref stoppage due to strikes, 1:29 Rd. 1
XFO lightweight championship
Bart Palaszewski def. Virgil Strzelecki, knockout, :51 Rd. 1.
Meanwhile, Terry Martin landed some big right hands of his own en route to being selected Fighter of the Night with his victory over Team Quest standout Chael Sonnen.
Advertisement
"It was super night of fights," said co-promoter Jeff Curran. "There were so many things that went well... and the fighters did a great job. There were a lot of outstanding performances tonight."
A near sellout crowd was looking for excitement and the fighters
delivered.
Palaszewski's right landed squarely on the chin of Vigil Strzelecki only 51 seconds into their lightweight championship bout. Strzelecki was knocked out immediately and fell face-first to the mat.
Martin, now 7-0, used a big right hand to turn his battle with former Olympic wrestling alternate Sonnen in his favor late in the first round. Martin landed a couple more big shots before Sonnen's corner ruled he could not come out for the third round. Later it was learned Sonnen suffered a separated rib in the first round.
Huerta, now 14-1-1, found himself battling out of a knee-bar, then heel hook by ZST champion Kotani. However, Huerta was able to maneuver himself into a striking position and landed a series of big blows to Kotani's head. Huerta then got top position and pounded away until the referee stepped in to halt the fight at 1:29 of the first round.
In a women's bout, Tara LaRosa recovered from a day-long trip that included airplane motion sickness to beat Alisa Cantwell by armbar. LaRosa is now 5-1, while Cantwell dropped to 6-2.
Hiroaki Kotani, the older brother of Naoyuki, also suffered a loss. Canada's Alex Gasson won mainly a striking battle by unanimous decision after three rounds.
In another interesting fight, Tyrell Roberts... the 20-year-old son of UFC veteran Andre Roberts... improved to 6-0 with a TKO victory over Charles Trice at 2:46 of the first round.
Official results:
Tyrell Roberts def. Charles Trice, ref stoppage due to strikes, 2:46 Rd. 1
Nick Thompson def. Darren Heinz, guillotine choke, :19 Rd. 1
Jay Estrada def. Sonny Leong, keylock, 3:54 Rd. 1
Alex Gasson def. Hiroaki Kotani, unanimous dec. 3 rds (15:00)
Clay Guida def. Vito Woods, guillotine choke, 1:19 Rd. 2 (4:19)
Gabe Lemley def. Kenny Jewell, armbar, 1:28 Rd. 2 (4:28)
Tara LaRosa def. Alisa Cantwell, armbar, 2:45 Rd. 1
Jason Guida def. Mark Wallen, unanimous dec. 3 rds (15:00)
Terry Martin def. Chael Sonnen, verbal sub after 2 rds (10:00)
Roger Huerta def. Naoyuki Kotani, ref stoppage due to strikes, 1:29 Rd. 1
XFO lightweight championship
Bart Palaszewski def. Virgil Strzelecki, knockout, :51 Rd. 1.
