Legacy FC 50 results: 'Cyborg' returns from lengthy layoff with decision win

Fighting for the first time in 21 months, Evangelista Santos (20-16) outstruck fellow veteran Artenas Young (10-10) en route to a clearcut decision win.

The contest served as the main event of Friday’s Legacy FC 50 event, which took place at Houston’s Arena Theater and aired on AXS TV.

“Cyborg” was the aggressor throughout, moving forward and looking to trade. Santos’ leg kicks were effective from the start and added up over time. Santos added in a dizzying variety of shots throughout, spinning and firing from all angles. Young tried to answer back, but the volume was coming from the other side.

Santos took the fight to the floor in the final round but couldn’t finish on the mat. Once they returned to the feet, Santos slowed a bit in the final minutes, but his early work had sealed the result, and he cruised to a decision win.

Blodget, Reiswerg pick up quick submissions

In the night’s co-feature, lightweight Ray Blodget (10-3) picked up an impressive win, tapping out Jared Chaffee (5-2) in the first.

Chaffee worked inside early but simply couldn’t get the fight to the floor. Blodget defended well against the fence, and a brutal knee in the clinch sent Chaffee reeling. Blodget followed, taking his wounded opponent to the floor and locking in the guillotine choke.

In lightweight action, Justin Reiswerg (9-5) was aggressive from the start, earning a quick submission win over Jonathan Harris (10-6)

Both men came out swinging to start, but Reiswerg got the best of the action, delivering a few pinpoint power punches, including one that sent Harris to the floor. Reiswerg followed to the floor, controlling the neck and stepping over to the back before locking in a painful-looking rear-naked choke and scoring the first-round win.

In a grappling-heavy catchweight bout, Rey Trujillo (19-15) and Charles Cheeks III (9-5) battled back and forth for the entirety of their three-round affair. However, it was Trujillo that earned the nod in a close contest, scoring the unanimous decision.

In featherweight action, Alex Black (9-4) improved to 8-1 in his past nine appearances with a fist-round submission win over Michael Rodriguez (6-5).

The two traded shots on the feet early, but Black quickly transitioned around to to his opponent’s back, leaping up and latching in both hooks. Rodriguez tried to strike his way out of the position, but Black patiently cinched in the hold and earned the quick finish.

In a flyweight contest, Roberto Sanchez (4-0) dominated David Acosta (2-1) for nearly three full rounds before earning a late submission.

Sanchez took the fight to the floor early and was aggressive with both strikes and submission attempts throughout the frame. Acosta showed solid defense throughout the frame, but the action was one-sided.

The trend continued in the second, and while Acosta did briefly threaten with a sweep, Sanchez again controlled almost the entirety of the round.

Sanchez’s efforts were finally rewarded in the third, as he again took the fight to the floor in the early going and advanced to mount. Acosta tried to counter by attacking the legs, and he did briefly get back to his feet, but Sanchez was eventually able to slip to the back, slam his opponent to the floor and lock in a rear-naked choke with 35 seconds left in the contest.

In the night’s first main-card matchup, heavyweight Jeremy Hardy (3-0) scored a first-round TKO finish of Dale Mitchell (6-7)

Hardy shucked off an early takedown attempt from his opponent and then avoided a near-constant barrage of power shots before scoring a big knee that changed the momentum of the fight. With his opponent stunned, Hardy blasted away with power punches until a tiring Mitchell fell to the floor and giving away a TKO finish.