‘Doomsday’ Cruises to Decision in CFA 3 Main Event

MIAMI -- In his first appearance since being released by the UFC, John Howard took a unanimous decision from Dennis Olson in the Championship Fighting Alliance 3 main event on Sunday at the Century Bank Arena.

All three judges scored it 30-27 for “Doomsday.”

Howard sprawled on Olson’s repeated takedown attempts, all while using crisp boxing and stiff leg kicks to keep the Gracie Barra New Hampshire product at bay. Howard dropped his foe on two occasions, but Olson showed a tremendous ability to recover from damage. The victory snapped a three-fight losing streak for Howard.

Undefeated prospect Patrick Cenoble advanced to the CFA lightweight tournament final with a technical knockout over Trent McCown 1:33 into the third round.

Cenoble survived a difficult first round in which he was out-grappled. He improved his circumstances in the second, largely due to his power and athleticism. Every shot with which Cenoble connected had an impact. In the third round, with McCown circling to his left, Cenoble landed a brutal overhand right that had his foe out on his feet. Cenoble continued to attack and ended McCown’s tournament run.

Cenoble will face Yoislandy Izquierdo -- a second-round technical knockout winner over Chris Garcia -- in the tournament final. Izquierdo finished it with punches 4:44 into round two.

Izquierdo showed his resilience, as Garcia kept him off balance for the entire first round and much of the second, forcing to him defend and escape submission attempts. However, on his back, Garcia failed to maintain his guard, as Izquierdo dropped punishment and brought about the stoppage.

Meanwhile, local favorite Mike Rio bounced back from his first career setback -- a unanimous decision defeat to “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner Efrain Escudero -- and ran through Zach Juusola in just 61 seconds.

After a takedown attempt was thwarted, Rio transitioned to a rear waist lock and launched his foe with a suplex. From there, he took Juusola’s back and pounded away until referee Troy Waugh called for the stop.

In other action, Nicolae Cury submitted Jose Caceres with an armbar 4:57 into the first round; Joey Rodriguez defeated Jonathan Turner by split decision, as all three judges scored it 29-28, two of them in his favor; Jordan Parsons beat James Polodna by unanimous decision, earning 30-27 scores from the judges; Danny Chaves ousted Justin Steave by unanimous decision, taking identical 29-28 nods from the judges; Victor Delgado topped Gabriel Verona by unanimous decision, with 29-28 scores across the board; and Yosdenis Cedeno stopped Jayson Jones on a first-round technical knockout after Jones failed to answer the bell for round two.