Desmond Green destroyed former bantamweight king Miguel Torres
at Titan FC 31. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Desmond
Green made his intentions known in
Titan Fighting Championship. The 25-year-old
Tristar Gym representative knocked out former World Extreme
Cagefighting champion Miguel
Torres with a knee strike, right uppercut and follow-up
hammerfists in the
Titan FC 31 main event on Friday at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa,
Fla. Green (13-3) brought it to a decisive close 46 seconds into
round one, as he improved to 4-1 in his past five appearances.
Backed up to the fence, Torres (43-8) ducked for cover. In his
haste, he put himself in harm’s way, ran into a knee from Green,
ate a right uppercut and fell to the canvas in a dazed state. “The
Predator” pounced with opportunistic hammerfists that left Torres
unconscious. The Carlson Gracie protégé had never before been
finished so quickly. Green’s performance helped those in attendance
forget about the original headliner -- a five-round welterweight
title fight that was cancelled when champion Mike Ricci
failed to make weight and challenger Yoshiyuki
Yoshida subsequently withdrew. In the light heavyweight co-main
event, Deep veteran Ken
Hasegawa kept his undefeated record intact with a unanimous
decision over Matt
Thompson All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28
for Hasegawa (9-0-1). Outside of a brief third-round punching burst
and attempted triangle-armbar, Thompson (19-10) was never much of a
factor. Hasegawa was the superior fighter in all phases, as he
piled up points with takedowns, ground-and-pound and clubbing
overhands with both fists. After a puzzling referee restart --
Hasegawa was in side control at the time -- late in the third
round, Thompson had the Japanese judoka reeling with straight
punches for a brief moment, but the finish he needed was not in the
cards. Hasegawa returned to a dominant position and resumed his
attack with elbows and punches from above. The defeat halted
Thompson’s five-fight winning streak. Meanwhile, Hayder
Hassan stopped onetime Gladiator Challenge champion Felipe
Portela with a crushing right hook and follow-up hammerfists in
the first round of their welterweight showcase. Portela (8-2)
succumbed to the blows 3:23 into round one. Hassan (6-1) was in
control from start to finish. The powerfully built American Top
Team export punched in combination behind a stiff jab and mixed in
thudding leg kicks when the opportunity presented itself. With his
back to the cage, Hassan lured the Blackzilians representative into
an exchange, cracked him with a right hook and then forced referee
John
Hosegood to act. The 32-year-old Hassan has won four fights in
a row, three of them finishes. Elsewhere, American Top Team’s
Sirwan
Kakai submitted the previously unbeaten Joe Barajas
with a third-round rear-naked choke in a featured encounter at 135
pounds. Kakai (11-2) finished it 4:30 into round three, as he won
for the 11th time in 12 outings. Barajas (10-1) enjoyed some early
success but lacked the firepower necessary to give his counterpart
pause. Kakai turned the tide with repeated leg kicks and wore down
the Team Xplode MMA prospect with variety in the standup. Counter
left hooks, standing elbows in the clinch and close-quarters knees
all found the mark. In the third round, Kakai answered a takedown
from the Californian by wheeling to his back and sliding into
position for the choke. He then cut off all escape routes, forcing
Barajas to tap. Finally, Grudge Training Center’s Tyler
Stinson paired stinging counter left hands with chopping leg
kicks, as he eked out a split decision over Jose
Figueroa in a welterweight showcase. All three cageside judges
scored it 29-28, two of them siding with Stinson (28-10). Figueroa
(13-7), who operates out of an American Top Team affiliate in
Orlando, had the Bellator MMA veteran reeling more than once but
never fully capitalized. Stinson was the aggressor throughout,
particularly in the second and third rounds, as his commitment to
leg kicks proved increasingly profitable. Figueroa’s mobility grew
more and more compromised, the snap in his punches less and less
crisp. Stinson, 28, has rattled off five wins in six appearances.
In preliminary action, former M-1 Global champion Kenny
Garner (14-7) took a unanimous verdict from Scott
Barrett (15-5) in their 15-minute heavyweight duel, sweeping
the scorecards with 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 marks; American Top
Team’s Steve
Montgomery (8-2) knocked out Brock
Jardine (9-5) with a knee strike 26 seconds into the second
round of their welterweight scrap; Michael
Graves (4-0) submitted Rafael
Souza (6-3) with a rear-naked choke 2:37 into round two of
their clash at 170 pounds; Mike Bruno
(12-7) walked away with a unanimous decision in his three-round
lightweight tilt with Kamrin
Naville (7-8), earning 29-28 scores from all three judges; and
William
Sizemore (1-0) submitted Matt Wagy
(3-3) with a guillotine choke 50 seconds into the third round of
their bantamweight affair.
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