CES MMA 39 results: Wilfredo Santiago Jr. earns highlight-reel finish over Chuck O'Neil

On a card with several questionable calls by the judges, Wilfredo Santiago Jr. left absolutely nothing to chance in his main-event showdown with Chuck O'Neil at CES MMA 39, which took place Friday at Plymouth Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Mass., and aired on AXS TV.

Santiago Jr. (7-3) came out aggressive from the outset of the middleweight bout and pressured O’Neil (17-9) to his back foot with forward movement. A couple of striking exchanges later, Santiago came over the top with a perfectly-placed right hand that landed square on the chin of O’Neil and instantly dropped him to the canvas. Santiago Jr. landed one extra follow-up shot on his downed opponent, ending the fight just 41 seconds after it began.

“I’ve seen that he stays wide (with his stance),” Santiago Jr. said in his post-fight interview. “He throws punches but he also stays wide. When he throws a punch he doesn’t block himself too good so I kept on baiting him and he finally took it. That overhand, I’ve been working it so much with (Mike) Winkeljohn.”

Santiago Jr.’s victory marked his fourth consecutive first-round stoppage. He hasn’t lost since February 2013. O’Neil, meanwhile, was finished by strikes for just the second time in his nearly 11-year career.

Bermudez beats Almeida by controversial decision

Manny Bermudez (8-0) stayed undefeated with the help of the judges when he picked up a somewhat controversial split decision victory over Saul Almeida (18-8) in the featherweight co-main event.

Bermudez came much closer to finishing the fight throughout the three rounds, locking in several tight submissions which Almeida was forced to furiously fend off. However, when Bermudez wasn’t working for the submission, he was being outpaced and outscored by Almeida.

Ultimately the fight likely came down to whether the judges granted more credit to Bermudez near-stoppages or Almeida’s work in the gaps between. Two of the three apparently felt the former, because Bermudez was handed the victory by scores of 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28.

Barrett brothers earned mixed results

Fighting on the same card for the fourth time in their careers, brothers Peter Barrett (7-0) and Max Barrett (3-1) failed to accomplish their goal of both winning their respective fights.

Younger brother Max opened the night for the siblings when he lost a somewhat competitive fight to Dan Dubuque (4-1). Although it was clear Dubuque won two of the three rounds, one judge scored the bantamweight bout for Barrett. The other two had it right, though, giving Dubuque the split decision win by scores of 28-29, 30-27 and 29-28.

Just minutes later Peter entered the cage, but he didn’t let the disappointment of Max’s loss distract him from the task at hand. He came out on fire against Jeremy Davis (3-1), attacking with strikes from distance, the clinch and on the ground. He mixed in some submission attempts, as well, but couldn’t get in the finish inside the first round.

Peter was determined to stop the fight in the second, though, and that’s exactly what happened. After a pair of slapping body kicks, Barrett loaded up on a power-shot that connected clean to the liver of Davis, immediately dropping him to the canvas to end the featherweight fight at 1:55 of Round 2.

Haley wins with leg-cracking submission

Kevin Haley (6-3) inflicted some serious damage on Mike Rodriguez (5-2) leg in their middleweight bout, and it only took him 68 seconds to do so.

The action spilled to the ground early in the first round and Haley immediately went to work. He attacked the legs of Rodriguez with submissions, and within seconds had his opponent in a gruesome toe hold which he twisted until Rodriguez tapped out after an audible cracking sound came from around the ankle and foot area.

Haley became the first to stop Rodriguez inside the distance, extending his current winning streak to three fights.

Complete CES MMA 39 results include:

MAIN CARD

• Wilfredo Santiago Jr. def. Chuck O’Neil via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:41
• Manny Bermudez def. Saul Almeida via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Peter Barrett vs. Jeremy Davis via TKO (body kick) – Round 2, 1:55
• Kevin Haley def. Mike Rodriguez via submission (toe hold) – Round 1, 1:08
• Micah Terrill def. Bobby Flynn via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:10
• Dan Dubuque def. Max Barrett via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• Josh Ricci def. Remo Cardarelli via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Connor Barry def. Anthony Giachina via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:13

For more on CES MMA 39, check out the MMA Events section of the site.