RFA 46 results: Jordan Johnson becomes RFA's final light heavyweight champ

Jordan Johnson will forever be known as RFA’s final light heavyweight champion after taking a dominant unanimous decision over LeMarcus Tucker in the main event of RFA 46.

RFA 46 took place at Branson Convention Center in Branson, Mo. The event aired on AXS TV. It was the promotion’s final event before 2017’s merger with Legacy FC to become LFA.

Johnson (6-0) controlled the entire fight against Tucker (5-2), utilizing his strong wrestling game to score takedown after takedown and control the action on the ground.

The only moment of drama in the fight came when Johnson landed a series of illegal shots to the back of Tucker’s head, leading to a point deduction. It was the third point deduction in six fights.

Round after round, Johnson quickly put the fight on the floor and prevented Tucker from any moment of solid offense. Tucker had no answer for the positioning on the floor, nor could he defend from being put in the clinch and tackled to the floor.

In the end, the scorecards read 49-44, 49-45 and 49-45, all for Johnson, who became light heavyweight champion and remained undefeated in his professional career.

Nakashima grinds out win over Hill

In the welterweight co-main event between James Nakashima (6-0) and Desmond Hill (8-4), Nakashima appeared to break Hill early with heavy leg kicks early before scoring a quick takedown.

While Nakashima dominated the opening round, he was also docked a point by the referee. Nakashima threw a knee as Hill’s fingers came off the ground from a three-point stance. While it seemed clear Hill was no longer a grounded opponent as the knee landed, the referee did not hesitate to immediately deduct a point.

Nakashima, who has never finished a professional opponent, resorted to his smothering ground game in Round 2. Hill had no answer for the constant takedowns and heavy top game of Nakashima and spent the fight defending against positional advancements.

Nakashima continued his inability to score a finish, but upset Hill after the fight ended and he chose to step over his head on the exit. Hill and Nakashima jawed after the fight, but it was Nakashima getting his hand raised by unanimous scores of 29-27.

Nobody had a fun first round in the featherweight bout between Bobby Moffett (9-2) and T.J. Brown (7-4), but neither man was willing to come out on the losing end in the frame, either.

Moffett came very close to finishing the bout with a D’Arce coke early in the round. When he couldn’t secure the tap, Brown landed elbow after elbow to the side of Moffett’s head in the clinch.

Round 2 featured more desperate action from both men, but none of the near-finishes of the opening round. The two men battled for position and traded shots on the ground, neither totally taking control of the round or fight.

Moffett again had a deep choke locked in during Round 3, scoring a takedown and locking in a rear-naked choke. Somehow, Brown survived the threat again before working back to his feet before the fight came to a close.

After three rounds of competitive action, the judges scored the fight 29-28, 28-29, 30-27, awarding Moffett the fight by split decision.

Collins survives scare for TKO win

It wasn’t pretty at times, but Katy Collins (6-1) and Mandy Polk (3-3) didn’t let up over almost two rounds of action in their 120-pound catchweight fight. Eventually, Collins’ relentless style wore the muscular Polk down and allowed her to fire away punches from mount for the finish.

After the opening round was spent mostly battling for position in the mount, Polk attacked with armbars in the second. While the locks looked deep at times, Collins survived, and each time dropped heavy punches. At the 4:35 mark of Round 2, Collins’ punches were too much and Polk was not defending well enough for the referee, who stopped the fight due to strikes.

Kenny Fredenburg (8-4) predicted he’d beat Don'Tale Mayes (2-1) on the ground in their heavyweight battle. He did get the win and the finish came on the ground, but it wasn’t the way he predicted.

The fight hit the floor early, with Mayes landing heavy ground and pound while Fredenburg covered up. The shots kept coming as Fredenburg covered the sides of his head. As Mayes looked for the right placement for a heavy shot to land, he delivered an elbow to the back of Fredenburg’s skull.

The referee immediately took a point for the foul, but when Fredenburg said he couldn’t see, the fight was waived off. Fredenburg was awarded the win by disqualification at the 2:06 mark of Round 1.

Full RFA 46 results include:

• Jordan Johnson def. LeMarcus Tucker via unanimous decision (49-44, 49-45, 49-45) – to win light heavyweight title
• James Nakashima def. Desmond Hill via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
• Bobby Moffett def. T.J. Brown via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
• Katy Collins def. Mandy Polk via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:35
• Kenny Fredenburg def. Don’Tale Mayes via DQ (illegal elbow) – Round 1, 2:06
• Jeremiah Cullum def. David Waters via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:18

For complete coverage of RFA 46, check out the MMA Events section of the site.