Derrick Krantz Stops Ben Neumann in Second to Capture Inaugural LFA Welterweight Title

With the inaugural Legacy Fighting Alliance welterweight title up for grabs, Derrick Krantz wanted to make sure that nothing was going to stop him from snatching it. Standing in his way was fan-favorite Ben Neumann, who resisted Krantz’ aggression in the first but couldn’t keep him away in the second in the LFA 12 main event on AXS TV.

Krantz pressured “The Baker” as soon as the second frame began and rocked him with a sweeping overhand right to the head. Neumann backed away, reeling, in an attempt to recover, but “D-Rock” was all over him like locusts in an orchard. A knee to body was blocked, but once Neumann backed into the cage, a murderous left uppercut to the face dropped the lankier man onto his knees.

Krantz, a former Legacy Fighting Championship welterweight champ, smelled the blood gushing out Neumann’s face and dove in for the kill. He unloaded an endless stream of punches while standing over “The Baker” and finally forced referee Joe Fipp to pull him off. The end came officially at 0:55 of the second, allowing Krantz win hoist the first-ever 170-pound crown in LFA history.

Chase Waldon had to dig deep against fellow middleweight Cully Butterfield in the LFA 12 co-feature as he hung on for a split decision win. Both men landed their fair share of clean strikes and when the battle was taken to the ground, both seized control repeatedly and gunned for submission attempts. Waldon was slightly more effective in all areas, however, and was given the nod via allies of 29-28 (twice) and 28-29.

Chad Curry was too much for Kyle Kurtz to handle as he blitzed his foe early in the second. Curry took Kurtz down early in the first and pounded on him with elbows and punches from on top. That assault never ceased as when “Blitz” caught a kick to the body, he dropped Kurtz with a monster straight hand down the pike. From there, “Hurtz” ate several punches whilst on his back, prompting Fipp to intervene. The end came officially just 59 ticks into the second.

After storming out of his corner like a bat out of hell to begin the fight, Bobby Lee nearly scored a first-round knockout of San Diego’s Jeffery Peterson. Lee drilled him with punches and knees to the head and body and had “The Administrator” reeling, but Peterson somehow survived the frame. With the end seemingly around the corner, Lee went for the gusto early in the second, but his gas tank betrayed him. Peterson cleared his head and nailed the Minnesotan with several clean, effective blows and did the same in the third. Peterson closed out the fight with Lee covering up against the cage, exhausted. Peterson scored the upset and won a unanimous via tallies of 29-28 across the board.

Light heavyweight contender Julian Marquez made quick work of Cameron Olson as he flattened him with one punch just 66 seconds into their fight. The two didn’t waste much time feeling each other out and when “Captain Crunch” ducked down in an attempt to land a haymaker, Marquez leveled him with a perfectly-timed overhand right. The punch landed just behind the ear and Olson fell face first, forcing Fipp to step in, giving the Syndicate MMA fighter a sensational knockout.

Featherweights Nate Jennerman and Damien Hill electrified the crowd with a thrilling battle to start off the televised portion of the card. The two traded places in landing hard blows and nearly scoring submissions, but Jennerman was the one who prevailed. The Roufusport fighter slinked himself out of a dangerously-tight guillotine attempt from “The Wolverine,” and even though he was slammed back down onto the canvas, he kept his cool. Jennerman had missed a rear-naked choke attempt prior to being slammed but once he was taken down, he latched on a textbook guillotine from within his guard and forced the tap with just 10 seconds left in the opening round.