John Castaneda Denies Gustavo Lopez Inaugural Combate Americas Bantamweight Title
John
Castaneda scored a fourth-round technical knockout against
Gustavo
Lopez in the Combate Americas “Empire Rising” main event on
Friday at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
Xtreme Couture’s Lopez was effective early behind the jab and nearly finished “Sexy Mexi” late in the first round. A booming right hand dropped Castaneda, but Lopez failed to close it out with the brabo choke and guillotine attempts that followed. Lopez kept control through round two, but in the third, he landed a second inadvertent kick to the groin, the foul costing him a one-point penalty.
The relentless Castaneda continue to apply pressure, with his
counterpart tiring and bleeding from facial cuts in the fourth
round. He accidentally poked Lopez in the eye during one of their
exchanges, but it went unseen by referee Kevin MacDonald. Castaneda
then teed off. Lopez tried to recover from a blistering right
upstairs, as he escaped a guillotine and fished for a desperate
armbar from his back. However, Castaneda was a man possessed. A
wave of punches enveloped Lopez, forcing MacDonald to intervene at
the 2:24 mark.
Because Castaneda missed weight for the match, he was ineligible to claim the inaugural Combate Americas bantamweight title. Had Lopez won, he would have been crowned champion.
In the co-headliner, Julian Marquez vanquished shopworn Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Matt Hamill in less than two minutes.
Hamill pressed the issue in search of a takedown, ducked in and scooped his opponent’s right leg. Unfortunately for “The Ultimate Fighter 3” alum, he left his chin exposed and paid the price by absorbing a short right hook. Hamill collapsed and turtled as Marquez pounced, unloading with a series of punches from the top. Referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in 1:22 into round one.
Meanwhile, Marc Stevens and Victor Reyna spent three grueling rounds engaging one another in the clinch. Stevens scored with a few takedowns, creating the distance he needed to secure a unanimous decision.
Finally, Jose Ceja knocked out rival Irwin Rivera in their rematch. The two men swarmed each other from the start, landing clean punches during wild exchanges. Ceja proved the more powerful striker. After he felled Rivera with a right hook, Ceja moved to mount and put him away with punches 4:22 into round one, evening their head-to-head series at 1-1.
Xtreme Couture’s Lopez was effective early behind the jab and nearly finished “Sexy Mexi” late in the first round. A booming right hand dropped Castaneda, but Lopez failed to close it out with the brabo choke and guillotine attempts that followed. Lopez kept control through round two, but in the third, he landed a second inadvertent kick to the groin, the foul costing him a one-point penalty.
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Because Castaneda missed weight for the match, he was ineligible to claim the inaugural Combate Americas bantamweight title. Had Lopez won, he would have been crowned champion.
In the co-headliner, Julian Marquez vanquished shopworn Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Matt Hamill in less than two minutes.
Hamill pressed the issue in search of a takedown, ducked in and scooped his opponent’s right leg. Unfortunately for “The Ultimate Fighter 3” alum, he left his chin exposed and paid the price by absorbing a short right hook. Hamill collapsed and turtled as Marquez pounced, unloading with a series of punches from the top. Referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in 1:22 into round one.
Meanwhile, Marc Stevens and Victor Reyna spent three grueling rounds engaging one another in the clinch. Stevens scored with a few takedowns, creating the distance he needed to secure a unanimous decision.
Finally, Jose Ceja knocked out rival Irwin Rivera in their rematch. The two men swarmed each other from the start, landing clean punches during wild exchanges. Ceja proved the more powerful striker. After he felled Rivera with a right hook, Ceja moved to mount and put him away with punches 4:22 into round one, evening their head-to-head series at 1-1.
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