Cody Gibson Topples Rolando Velasco to Win TPF Bantamweight Title
In one of the most action-packed fights of the year, former
UFC veteran Cody Gibson
won his second consecutive bout after being released from his
Octagonal duties and captured the Tachi Palace Fights bantamweight
title for his efforts. The war anchored
TPF 27, which was streamed live on Sherdog from the Tachi
Palace Casino in Lemoore, California.
Defending champ Rolando Velasco and “Renegade” tore into each other from the opening bell until the closing seconds of the brawl, each giving as good as the other. Wild haymakers were launched and compact hooks to the head and body were thrown, but neither made ever wilted under the relentless pressure coming from his adversary.
Gibson accidentally poked the Last Stand Fight Team member in the
first and then again in the fourth; the second infraction cost him
a point from referee Mark Lawley.
But the deduction was mathematic as Gibson had enough credit in the
bank and wound up winning a rather surprising unanimous decision,
much to the chagrin of Velasco. The Team Elite rep won via tallies
of 48-46 on all three scorecards, though Gibson freely admitted
after the fight that he wasn’t sure if he agreed with the
verdict.
After two years away from competition, Adrian Diaz captured the vacant Tachi Palace Fights featherweight title by stopping Andres Quintana in the first. After an even opening two minutes, the Team Alpha Male fighter slammed his left shin into his foe’s body. The kick instantly dropped Quintana, who turtled up and grabbed onto Diaz’s leg. From there, Diaz rained down a cascade of short punches to the head until referee Jason McCoy had no choice but to step in and call a halt to the mugging. The official time of the TKO was 2:10 of the opening round.
Angel DeAnda was too much for Justin Baesman to handle as he dominated him from the opening bell until the end. The Modesto fighter couldn’t miss his overhand right to the head and he rocked the former Bellator combatant several times. Finally, a series of rights dropped Baesman, forcing him to cover up until referee Mark Lawley to pulled DeAnda off. The official time of the TKO came at 1:54 of the second.
Fresno fighter Evan Solorio ruined Armando Perez’s professional debut by knocking him clean out in the first. The two fought hard and on even terms early, but once Solorio drilled Perez with a wicked right uppercut, the fight was over. The end came just 2:28 into the brawl.
After a close back-and-forth bantamweight encounter, Richard Parra III ended things with a nasty left kick to the body that was followed by a series of punches. Trey Branch tried to survive the shot to the liver, but he collapsed against the cage and had to cover up until Lawley stopped it just 3:58 into the brawl.
Bantamweight Kyle Reyes was all over Albuquerque’s Stephen Cervantes and never let him breathe before making him succumb to a fierce neck crank from the front. Ryes, who hails from Guam but trains under Robert Drysdale in Las Vegas, latched on the crank and got the tap just 1:52 into the battle.
In a minor upset, Sergio Quinones looked sensational as he aggressively attacked Adam Calderon and got him to tap out to a textbook rear-naked choke. Calderon found himself in precarious positions from the start and could never keep pace with the local featherweight until he tapped 3:33 into the first.
Tucson-based flyweight Casey Kenney dominated Angel Hernandez early and often, eventually forcing the Bakersfield fighter to submit. After a scramble on the ground, Kenney latched on a slick D’Arce choke and squeezed until Hernandez tapped out. The official time of the submission was 3:44 of the first.
Defending champ Rolando Velasco and “Renegade” tore into each other from the opening bell until the closing seconds of the brawl, each giving as good as the other. Wild haymakers were launched and compact hooks to the head and body were thrown, but neither made ever wilted under the relentless pressure coming from his adversary.
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After two years away from competition, Adrian Diaz captured the vacant Tachi Palace Fights featherweight title by stopping Andres Quintana in the first. After an even opening two minutes, the Team Alpha Male fighter slammed his left shin into his foe’s body. The kick instantly dropped Quintana, who turtled up and grabbed onto Diaz’s leg. From there, Diaz rained down a cascade of short punches to the head until referee Jason McCoy had no choice but to step in and call a halt to the mugging. The official time of the TKO was 2:10 of the opening round.
Former UFC and WSOF veteran Jared
Papazian was in desperate need of a win Thursday night and he
got it. After getting the fight to the canvas, he locked in a deep
triangle onto opponent Alex Perez,
looking for the early finish. Perez focused on freeing himself from
the choke, but he made the mistake of leaving his left arm dangling
free, allowing Papazian to snatch it and force the tap from the
armbar just 3:26 into the fight.
Angel DeAnda was too much for Justin Baesman to handle as he dominated him from the opening bell until the end. The Modesto fighter couldn’t miss his overhand right to the head and he rocked the former Bellator combatant several times. Finally, a series of rights dropped Baesman, forcing him to cover up until referee Mark Lawley to pulled DeAnda off. The official time of the TKO came at 1:54 of the second.
Fresno fighter Evan Solorio ruined Armando Perez’s professional debut by knocking him clean out in the first. The two fought hard and on even terms early, but once Solorio drilled Perez with a wicked right uppercut, the fight was over. The end came just 2:28 into the brawl.
After a close back-and-forth bantamweight encounter, Richard Parra III ended things with a nasty left kick to the body that was followed by a series of punches. Trey Branch tried to survive the shot to the liver, but he collapsed against the cage and had to cover up until Lawley stopped it just 3:58 into the brawl.
Bantamweight Kyle Reyes was all over Albuquerque’s Stephen Cervantes and never let him breathe before making him succumb to a fierce neck crank from the front. Ryes, who hails from Guam but trains under Robert Drysdale in Las Vegas, latched on the crank and got the tap just 1:52 into the battle.
In a minor upset, Sergio Quinones looked sensational as he aggressively attacked Adam Calderon and got him to tap out to a textbook rear-naked choke. Calderon found himself in precarious positions from the start and could never keep pace with the local featherweight until he tapped 3:33 into the first.
Tucson-based flyweight Casey Kenney dominated Angel Hernandez early and often, eventually forcing the Bakersfield fighter to submit. After a scramble on the ground, Kenney latched on a slick D’Arce choke and squeezed until Hernandez tapped out. The official time of the submission was 3:44 of the first.
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