Another hometown fighter had a bit more successful showing as Poppies Martinez continued his winning streak with a submission win over AJ Weiman. It wasn't an easy win as Martinez was dropped with a punch early in the fight only to see referee Cecil Peoples intervene. It looked like Peoples was ready to stop the match but changed his mind when he saw the downed fighter recover enough to get back to his feet.
Whether he was out or not is unclear but what is clear is that a referee should not be pulling another fighter away unless he is stopping the bout. It was an apparent mistake that ended up costing Weiman as not long after the restart, Martinez was able to secure a rear naked choke that officially ended the match at 2:01 of the 1st round.
