The fight of the night was a huge war of wills between fan favorite Andy Maccarone and very late replacement Cisco Lopez, who was signed on a day's notice according to promoter Tedd Williams. Maccarone was originally slated to fight Tim Clements, but Clements could not compete due to an injury sustained in training. The fight opened with a lighting fast exchange that saw Lopez slam Maccarone to the canvas, following with a leg lock attempt that Andy was able to roll out of.
After both fighters got back to their feet, Maccarone was able to use his superb striking to land some great body knees from the clinch. After breaking away from the clinch, Andy nailed Lopez with a hard leg kick, only to catch a right to the jaw that sent him reeling into the cage. Lopez used this opportunity to ground the fight once again, where he quickly passed the guard into the mounted position.
After just barely missing an armbar attempt, Lopez moved to Maccarone's back and attempted a rear-choke. Andy managed to slickly reverse the position, exposing Lopez's arm and securing the arm bar for the win.
The crowd was on their feet from start to finish, concluding with a standing ovation as Andy Maccarone was declared the winner by submission at 4:45 round one. Promoter Williams is granting Cisco Lopez an immediate rematch based upon his performance on such short notice. The rematch should be an absolute barn burner, so try and catch it live if you're in the area.
