Jacobi Jones Slices, Dices Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani in Gory LFA 158 Headliner

Jacobi Jones spilled blood and a lot of it.

The Factory X rep laid claim to the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight championship, as he dispatched Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani with punches and elbows in the second round of their LFA 158 headliner on Friday at Gila River Resorts and Casinos’ Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona. Jones (6-1, 6-1 LFA) brought it to a close 2:18 into Round 2.

Lebosnoyani (5-2, 4-1 LFA) applied maximum pressure but could not force his counterpart to break. Jones dodged a bullet in the first round, escaped an armbar from the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and tore open multiple cuts with elbow-laced ground-and-pound. Lebosnoyani pressed forward in Round 2, where he was met with a picture-perfect knee strike that appeared to lengthen one of the lacerations. Blood poured from the wound, covered both participants and painted various parts of the canvas. Jones moved into top position near the base of the fence, uncorking punches and elbows until the job was done.

The setback was Lebosnoyani’s first since Nov. 15, 2019.

Meanwhile, unbeaten MMA Lab prospect An Ho called upon fluid stance switches, blinding spinning attacks and surprising takedowns paired with damaging ground-and-pound, as he cruised to a unanimous decision over Edwin De Los Santos in the flyweight co-main event. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Ho (4-0, 4-0 LFA).

It was a rough night at the office for De Los Santos (2-2, 0-1 LFA). Ho kept him off-balance in standup exchanges and swooped in for takedowns at opportune times. The 22-year-old achieved full mount in the second round, progressed to the back and opened a gash on the side of De Los Santos’ head with a slashing elbow strike. Ho stretched his lead in Round 3 and punctuated his performance with a beautiful wheel kick to the face in the waning moments.

De Los Santos, 29, has lost back-to-back bouts.

Further down the card, Xtreme Couture’s Braden Pagaoa cut down Humberto Duarte with punches in the second round of their flyweight showcase. Duarte (5-3, 0-1 LFA) checked out 47 seconds into Round 2, his four-fight winning streak have run its course.

Pagaoa (4-1, 4-1 LFA) marched down the Apex MMA export from the start, operated behind an educated jab and unleashed vicious hooks to the body. Duarte exploited a brief opening late in the first round and eventually powered into top position, but his failure to make real headway came back to haunt him. Early in Round 2, Pagaoa cracked him with a left hook to the body and floored him with a sweeping right hook upstairs. So exquisite was the combination that no follow-up shots were necessary.

The 25-year-old Pagaoa has rattled off three straight victories.

In other action, Ivan Tena (6-1, 1-0 LFA) was awarded a unanimous decision against Riley Wiseman (2-2, 1-2 LFA) in a three-round featherweight scrap; Eric McConico (6-2-1, 1-0 LFA) captured a unanimous verdict over Kevem Felipe (6-6, 1-1 LFA) in a three-round catchweight tilt at 190 pounds; Chance Ikei (1-0, 1-0 LFA) took a unanimous decision from Joe Stafford (0-2, 0-2 LFA) in a three-round flyweight affair; and Tyler Jones (1-0, 1-0 LFA) put away Alex Martinez (0-1, 0-1 LFA) with punches 1:43 into the first round of their lightweight clash; and an accidental kick to the groin from Cedric Katambwa (3-0, 3-0 LFA) resulted in a no contest with Austin Wourms (5-5, 2-1 LFA) when the latter could not continue 53 seconds into the first round of their lightweight confrontation.