McCall Submits Montague, Captures Flyweight Gold at TPF 10

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LEMOORE, Calif. -- Ian McCall has found a home at 125 pounds.

The WEC veteran submitted Darrell Montague with a third-round rear-naked choke to win the Tachi Palace Fights flyweight championship in the TPF 10 “Let the Chips Fall” main event on Friday at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino. The tapout came 2:15 into round three, as McCall recorded his fourth consecutive victory.

Montague took the center of the cage from the start, as his foe worked from the outside with leg kicks and jabs. McCall used a flurry of punches to set up his first takedown and later dropped Montague with a stiff right hand. It came too late for him to capitalize, but a firm foothold was established in the match.

In round two, Montague controlled much of the first few minutes with his strikes, stunned McCall and transitioned to a standing choke. The champion’s bid was unsuccessful, and McCall wound up in top position, unleashing his ground-and-pound. Montague eventually returned to his feet, but McCall delivered another takedown and pounded away until the round ended.

McCall fired off a quick combination in the third round, ducked a counter and glided to a double-leg takedown. By then, he was clearly the fresher fighter. Following another takedown, McCall sank his hooks, secured back mount and locked in the choke for the finish. The defeat snapped Montague’s six-fight winning streak.

In the co-main event, Eddie Yagin took the vacant TPF featherweight crown, as he submitted former Bellator Fighting Championships titleholder Joe Soto with a guillotine choke 2:00 into the first round. It was Soto’s first appearance since he suffered a career-threatening eye injury nearly a year ago.

Yagin wobbled his opponent with a thudding punch and cinched a standing guillotine when Soto went for a defensive takedown. He absorbed a few knees from Soto, pulled guard and finished it. Yagin, an Alliance MMA standout, will defend his title for the first time against Isaac DeJesus later this year.

Meanwhile, Jussier da Silva, once the world’s top-ranked flyweight, defeated former two-division Shooto champion Mamoru Yamaguchi by unanimous decision in a featured matchup at 125 pounds.

Da Silva landed takedowns and took Yamaguchi’s back in all three rounds, largely short-circuiting the Japanese veteran. Yamaguchi put together his most productive stretch in the third round, as he landed a few of his trademark elbows and a head kick. However, it was not enough to swing the scorecards.

EliteXC veteran Giva Santana gave the judges some time off.

The Team Oyama representative made quick work of former WEC light heavyweight champion Doug Marshall, as he scored a rear-naked choke submission in less than half a minute. “The Arm Collector” secured a takedown, took Marshall’s back, hooks in, and squeezed off a textbook rear-naked choke. It was over in 29 seconds.

Elsewhere, David Marshall thought better of coming out for a third round after he failed to get much of anything going against Jorge Lopez. A Wanderlei Silva protégé, Lopez showed off some vicious kicks and an aggressive style while battering the Sacramento, Calif.-based fighter, forcing his retirement after two rounds.

In a back-and-forth bantamweight bout, Ulysses Gomez submitted Drew Bittner with a rear-naked choke 1:21 into round two.

Bittner opened the first round by landing a quick combination and transitioning immediately to a takedown, as he staved off a Gomez guillotine choke and secured top position. From there, Gomez briefly worked for a gogoplata, but Bittner escaped and remained content to utilize his ground-and-pound from inside guard. Towards the end of round one, referee Herb Dean saw fit to restart the fighters. “Useless” looked for a takedown of his own, but the shot came from too far out and was easily countered by Bittner, who used a guillotine to eventually create a scramble and take top position, where he finished the round.

The beginning of the second round brought with it a Gomez trip takedown and a deft transition, first to the mount and then to the back, where he slipped in a rear-naked choke and coaxed the submission.

In other action, Kenny Ento knocked out Phil Collins with a counter right hand 1:46 into the first round; Brad McDonald posted his fifth straight win with a slick armbar submission 3:36 into round one against Sergio Quinones; and King of the Cage veteran Musa Toliver defeated Andy Miranda by unanimous decision, as he won for the ninth time in 10 appearances.