Heavy-Handed Muin Gafurov Finishes Herbeth Reis de Sousa in LFA 134 Headliner

Muin Gafurov only needs one.

The Dana White’s Contender Series alum made a successful Legacy Fighting Alliance debut, as he blew away Herbeth Reis de Sousa with punches in the second round of their LFA 134 headliner on Friday at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton, Texas. Reis de Sousa (15-2, 0-1 LFA) met his end 1:56 into Round 2.

Gafurov (17-4, 1-0 LFA) stayed calm under duress. Reis de Sousa was dogged in his pursuit of takedowns but more often than not came away empty-handed. Gafurov decked the Constrictor Team representative with a right hook late in the first round, pounced with follow-up punches and advanced to the back before time expired. The Kaizen MMA product reversed position out of a Reis de Sousa takedown in the middle stanza, returned to his feet, floated into open space and uncorked a devastating overhand right. The Brazilian crashed to the canvas and did what he could to defend himself with Gafurov in hot pursuit. However, a few more standing-to-ground shots to the head had Reis de Sousa teetering on the brink of consciousness and forced referee Joel Ojeda to act.

The setback snapped Reis de Sousa’s five-fight winning streak.

Meanwhile, McSweeney Martial Arts export Milko Tucto leaned on an indomitable competitive spirit in claiming a split decision over former Titan Fighting Championship titleholder Olivier Murad in the three-round co-main event at 145 pounds. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards, two of them siding with Tucto (6-3, 1-0 LFA).

Murad (6-1, 0-1 LFA) handled his business in a dominant first round, where he sprawled out of attempted takedowns, threatened with a brabo choke and punished the Peruvian in the clinch with foot stomps, knees and other close-range strikes. Tucto bent but did not break. He responded in the second and third rounds, as he got his takedown game in gear, frustrated the previously unbeaten Murad and largely dictated the narrative. By the time it was over, Tucto had piled up nearly six minutes of control time.

Finally, former LSU defensive end Jakori Savage submitted Taylor Escamilla with an armbar in the first round of their heavyweight showcase. Escamilla (1-1, 0-1 LFA) bowed out 2:42 into Round 1.

The imposing 6-foot-6 Savage (2-0, 2-0 LFA) weathered some early adversity, withstood considerable punishment and eventually isolated his counterpart’s left arm as they engaged one another on the ground. Already in the belly-down position, he bent the limb beyond its bounds and accepted Escamilla’s surrender.

In other action, Joseph Camacho (3-0, 1-0 LFA) took a unanimous decision from Alden Coria (5-2, 3-2 LFA), drawing 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 marks from the cageside judges; Shane Sobnosky (5-2, 2-0 LFA) forced a corner stoppage from Jared McLoughlin (6-3, 1-1 LFA) in between the first and second rounds of their middleweight scrap; Jordan Harris (3-0, 1-0 LFA) laid claim to a unanimous decision—30-27, 30-27, 30-27—over Kevin Fernandez (3-1, 2-1 LFA) in their three-round flyweight encounter; Tanner Marlow (4-0, 1-0 LFA) took care of Joel Guzman (2-1, 0-1 LFA) with punches 2:10 into the second round of their light heavyweight pairing; and Mateo Gonzalez (3-0, 1-0 LFA) was awarded a technical knockout against Cody Rondeau (1-1, 0-1 LFA) when he prompted a doctor stoppage 3:06 into the second round of their bantamweight tilt.