California Xtreme Fighting returned to the Sportsmens Lodge in Studio City, CA on Saturday night with a fight card loaded with finishes. Click for GIFs and video.
Brittney Victoria Grizzelle defeated Bryanna Fissori via T.K.O. (Strikes) at 0:55 of Round 2 (Referee; Frank Trigg).
This was Brittney Victoria’s pro MMA debut, and she had an impressive performance against her more experienced opponent. While Fissori put on a tenacious effort, her grappling was no match for Brittney Victoria’s relentless striking. This would allow Brittney Victoria to land several heavy shots in the first round to negate the majority of Fissori’s takedown attempts.
Brittney Victoria Grizzelle finishes Bryanna Fissori.
Aside from Fissori having top position at the end of the first round, Brittney Victoria dominated most of the fight and did some heavy damage to Fissori’s eye. Brittney Victoria would put Fissori away with some ground and pound before referee Frank Trigg stopped the bout in the second round to earn a victory in her pro debut.
Edmen Shahbazyan defeated Aaron Hamilton via T.K.O. (Strikes) at 1:08 of Round 1 Referee: Frank Trigg).
This was a quick bout that was dominated by Edmen Shahbazyan. After controlling the outside of the cage in the opening moments, he took Hamilton to the ground where he landed some ground and pound before referee Frank Trigg stopped the fight in the first round. With the win, Shahbazyan improves his record to 5-0.
Edmen Shahbazyan puts away Aaron Hamilton.
Niko Ruiz defeated Christian Bizarretty via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:04 of Round 1 (Referee: Milan Ayers).
Both fighters were very poised in the opening part of the fight before Ruiz had Bizarretty in a clinch where he was able to land a nice knee. Shortly after, Ruiz would counter a takedown attempt by Bizarretty with a Kimura attempt, allowing him to transition to back mount during a scramble. After taking the back of Bizarretty, Ruiz attempted several submissions that Bizarretty was able to fight off. Ruiz would eventually land a knee to Bizarretty’s head before applying a Rear Naked Choke moments later to get the win in an exciting round.
Niko Ruiz defeats Christian Bizarretty.
Following the fight, a member of Bizarretty’s corner would have some words with Ruiz and got in his face inside the cage. The trash talking would continue for several moments after Ruiz and Bizarretty tried to embrace. Several people would get between Ruiz and Bizarretty’s cornerman during this to prevent another fight from breaking out in the cage. The two opponents showed tons of respect towards each other despite the tension though. Ruiz would explain in his post fight interview that the cornerman was a recent opponent of a training partner of Ruiz, and that the exchange stemmed from that fight.
Marcus Kowal defeated Benji Gomez via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:55 of Round 1 (Referee: Milan Ayers).
Kowal, the owner of Systems Training Center, has been in news headlines since 2016 after his 15 month old son Liam was struck and killed by a drunk driver as Liam’s 15 year old aunt was taking him out for a walk on September 3rd, 2016. Since then, Kowal has dedicated his life to raising awareness of the dangers of drunk driving with his foundation Liam’s Life, and also aims to lower the legal blood-alcohol limits for DUIs from 0.8% or higher to 0.4% or higher.
Marcus Kowal submits Benji Gomez.
This was Kowal’s retirement fight. After a feeling out process early in the fight, Kowal would work for a takedown from the back of Gomez. Despite Gomez’s best efforts to fight off the attempt, Kowal would take the back of Gomez where he would work for a submission victory via Rear Naked Choke.
Darren Smith, Jr. awarded the CXF Interim-Lightweight Championship.
Not much to recap here. Daren Smith, Jr. was presented with the CXF Interim-Lightweight Championship inside the cage after an intermission. His scheduled opponent, Richard LeRoy was unable to make weight. As a result, CXF awarded him with the title.
Brian Del Rosario defeated Donte Stubbs via Submission (Triangle Choke) at 0:40 of Round 3
This was my pick for Fight Of The Night. The action in the first round was heavy, with both guys swinging hard, with Del Rosario looking to have done more damage in the opening round. Stubbs would battle back in the round though, surviving a barrage of strikes and being dropped by a knee from Del Rosario in the closing moments of the first. Both guys would pick up where they left off in the second, swinging wildly early on. Del Rosario ended up getting the advantage after landing several takedowns in the round and controlling on the ground to end the round.
Brian Del Rosario vs. Donte Stubbs
The finish of the fight saw Stubbs drop Del Rosario with a punch in the opening moments of the third and final round. Stubbs would try to take advantage of this by going for some ground and pound, but Del Rosario would end up catching him in a Triangle Choke to get the victory. While I had Del Rosario up big on my scorecard, Stubbs fought hard and survived some brutal offense from his opponent before getting caught in the Triangle.
Brian Del Rosario locks in a Triangle Choke to defeat Donte Stubbs.
A.J. Bryant defeated Serob Minasyan via Unanimous Decision (Referee: Milan Ayers).
The opening round of this bout was like a game of chess in the striking department early on. Both men showed poise trying to read their opponent. Minasyan would score some points in this round by getting a takedown and landing some heavy strikes. The action in the second round would start off different, as both guys started throwing early before Minasyan hit a belly-to-back suplex on Bryant. Bryant however would begin to mount a comeback by scoring several takedowns and controlled the pace for the majority of the second round.
A.J. Bryant and Serob Minasyan trade takedowns.
Going into the third, I had things even on my scorecard. Bryant would end up starting the third round strong by scoring a takedown after setting it up with some strikes. He would use this to control the rest of the fight, smothering Minasyan up against the cage until the end of the fight. This was a really good fight. While it isn’t the sorta crowd pleasing brawl most casual fans would enjoy, this was something knowledgeable MMA fans could enjoy.
Judges’ Scores: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 for Bryant
Andrew’s Score: 29-28 for Bryant. The first round belonged to Minasyan, but the final two were all Bryant.
Daniel Rodriguez defeated Justin Baesman K.O. (Strikes) at 1:17 of Round 2 (Referee: Frank Trigg).
This was a #1 contender’s fight for the CXF Welterweight Championship. Baesman scored a takedown a minute into the first round, but Rodriguez would prevent Baesman from getting a dominant position. Once the fight went back to standing, Rodriguez would begin landing some strikes on Baesman as he had him backed against the cage. The second round would see Rodriguez back Baesman against the cage again and working his striking. Rodriguez would eventually put away Baesman after dropping him with some knees from a Thai Plum, followed by some strikes before Frank Trigg ended the fight.
Daniel Rodriguez gets the win against Justin Baesman.
Final Thoughts
This was another fun card from the guys at California Xtreme Fighting. I can’t say enough about this promotion and their cards. If you’re a fight fan, you need to check out these events. The local fighters always bring it on these cards, and they’re always full of finishes.
