XFC 24 results: Scott Holtzman wins lightweight belt with TKO

It might not have been the fight he originally wanted, but there’s little doubt that Scott Holtzman isn’t thinking about that right now.

“Hot Sauce” Holtzman made easy work of inaugural XFC lightweight champion John Mahlow en route to a dominant second-round TKO victory to capture the promotion’s vacant 155-pound title at XFC 24. The end came at 2:53 of the second round, with Holtzman’s signature ground-and-pound leaving Mahlow a bloody mess.

XFC 24 took place at USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla. The main card aired on AXS TV.

Mahlow opened with a left round kick, then moved in and got Holtzman to the ground 20 seconds in. But Holtzman popped up quickly and defended against the cage while Mahlow looked for another takedown. Holtzman was able to defend, though, and got some separation.

Soon after, Mahlow wanted the takedown again, but Holtzman stayed on his feet and eventually, as the two clinched again, it was Holtzman who was pressuring Mahlow on the fence looking for knees. He landed a spinning back elbow to an already cut Mahlow, and with 1:20 left, a Holtzman trip takedown landed. “Hot Sauce” went to work on Mahlow from half-guard, drilling with ground-and-pound along the fence as Mahlow tried to kick his way out.

Quickly into the second round, a Holtzman kick landed to put Mahlow on the ground and he went to work once again. An elbow from Holtzman opened up a big cut on Mahlow’s forehead, and he began bleeding onto the cage while Holtzman went after an arm-triangle choke. But he bailed on that and started pounding as Mahlow continued to bleed. And finally, as Mahlow continued to each punches while covering up, Gary Copeland shut things down.

Holtzman was supposed to fight former champ Nick Newell for the belt. But Newell vacated the title and left the promotion, and Mahlow stepped in to fight for the strap. Now Holtzman likely gets Eric Reynolds, who won earlier on the card to become the top contender.

“It feels great right now, man,” Holtzman said. “I’ve worked so hard for this. Since I first started, I’ve been grinding every day and it’s good it finally paid off. I want to enjoy it tonight and get back to work on Monday and keep giving you guys what you want.

“I just wanted to keep the pressure on him. I like to be relentless and fill space and take advantage. Bring Eric. He’s a great fighter, and I’d love to fight him.”

Holtzman (5-0) stays unbeaten with the win. Mahlow (13-14) lost for the fourth time in five fights.

Rainey destroys Pena with head kick

On a night with quite a few crazy highlights already, Ricky Rainey (8-1) wanted to make sure he was remembered. And how. Rainey got the fight to the ground quickly and went to work out of the guard of Reggie Pena (10-6) trying to land punches. Not long after that, Rainey got to full mount and after a couple punches, Pena tried to move out and gave his back. He was able to get Rainey’s left arm, and after defending that way, he got back to his feet.

Rainey landed a big punch, then started teeing off on Pena. Pena was on rubber legs, falling backward. He then went after a knee to finish. But Pena caught the knee and survived for a moment. After Rainey got loose, though, with Pena basically out on his feet, Rainey unleashed a massive left kick right to Pena’s face. Pena hit the ground, his head bouncing off the corner pad. With referee John Hosegood still not stopping the fight, Rainey landed several more punches on the ground until the fight finally was stopped.

“It was a lot of pressure (fighting in front of Pena’s home fans),” Rainey said. “He comes forward real hard, but I worked my angles and it paid off for me. I saw the angle when he turned his back. I saw the kick, and I took it.”

Santos takes out Courchaine in rapid fashion

Dave Courchaine (15-6) complained after the fight for longer than the fight lasted. Luis Santos (57-9-1) came forward quickly, and after a leg kick, the Brazilian Bellator and WEC vet landed a massive left kick to the head that dropped Courchaine. Santos quickly followed him to the ground and landed a flurry of punches as referee John Hosegood told Courchaine to defend himself. With Courchaine covering up, but not moving fast enough to change the course of events, Hosegood stopped the fight. Immediately afterward, Courchaine could be heard yelling to Hosegood, “Are you kidding me?” Hosegood answered back: “Seven shots. Seven shots and you didn’t move.” As Santos’ hand was raised, Courchaine continued to give Hosegood an earful, right up until he left the cage.

Reynolds submits Forant, earns lightweight title shot

Eric Reynolds (17-6) wanted to avenge his most recent loss, to former champ Nick Newell, and he did so in style. Kevin Forant (5-1) went after a double-leg early and kept after it. But Reynolds made him pay with punches, and when Forant slipped over the top Reynolds made him pay some more. Seconds later, Reynolds picked him up – and landed the equivalent of a piledriver when Forant wouldn’t let go. Forant survived the offensive surge and was able to go after another takedown. But it was Reynolds who was landing more in the striking game. But when Forant kept after takedowns, Reynolds wrapped up his neck with a standing arm-triangle and got the tap with 47 seconds left in the first. With the win, Reynolds became the top contender for XFC’s lightweight title.

Ex-pro soccer player Cortney Casey impressive in debut

Cortney Casey (1-0) was dominant in her pro debut, tapping out Kelly Warren (3-5) at the 3:33 mark of the first round with a rear-naked choke. Casey, a former pro soccer player, landed a good punch that may have broken Warren’s nose early and moved in quick to take advantage. Warren couldn’t get out of the way of the speed of Casey’s punches. Then Casey took Warren’s back while standing and worked for a rear-naked choke. She got it in tight, but Kelly survived for about a minute on her feet with Casey on her back by controlling Casey’s wrist. But eventually, Casey adjusted, re-gripped, and as Warren went to the ground she had to tap.

Shah Bobonis kicks past Deivison Ribeiro

Deivison Ribeiro (24-9) made relatively easy work of Shah Bobonis (15-9) to open the AXS TV broadcast of the main card. Ribeiro worked an effective kicking game throughout the 15 minutes – though he was warned several times for striking with an open hand that continually seemed to catch Bobonis in the eye. Ribeiro’s best strike came in the second round, when he dropped Bobonis. He moved in quickly, but couldn’t finish him and instead settled for out striking him the rest of the way.

XFC 24 results:

MAIN CARD

• Scott Holtzman def. John Mahlow via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:53 – to win vacant lightweight title
• Ricky Rainey def. Reggie Pena via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:33
• Luis Santos def. Dave Courchaine via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:10
• Eric Reynolds def. Kevin Forant via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:13
• Cortney Casey def. Kelly Warren via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:33
• Shah Bobonis def. Deivison Ribeiro via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• John Cofer def. Chad Livingston via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Nick Smith def. Ladarious Jackson via DQ (illegal knee) – Round 2, 2:38
• Patrick Williams def. Gabe Maldonado via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:50
• Jason Ignacek def. Ken Crowder via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:03
• Gilbert Burgos def. Jason Gladey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

For the latest on XFC 24, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Scott Holtzman)