Titan FC 70 went down Friday night, July 2nd, at the InterContinental Hotel in Miami, FL
After an action packed 8-fight card, it concluded with a newly crowned Titan FC middleweight champion, in Bruno Assis, and just one decision. Other notable occurrences on the card were Roy Echeverria's highlight reel spinning heel kick knockout, Talita Alencar's submission victory in her debut and Denzel Freeman's 45 second TKO win.
Bruno Assis (11-5) def. Shane O’Shea (4-2) by submission via triangle choke at 2:22 of round 1
In the main event, Bruno Assis and Shane O'Shea put on a show for the short time they were in there. O'Shea landed a combo ending with a right hand that dropped Assis just 25 seconds into the fight. From that point on, it was Assis' fight to lose. He showed off his high level Judo skillset and grappling ability. His top control was a lot to handle, as he attempted submission after submission, eventually, securing a triangle choke forcing O'Shea to tap. Assis' earned the vacant Titan FC belt with the submission win. Both of his Titan FC victories have come by submission in under half of a round.
Roy Echeverria (5-0) def. Earnest Walls (2-8) by KO at 1:45 of round 1
Roy Echeverria continues to shine. As he was one-third of the Goatshed's Friday night sweep, he did it in unbelievable fashion. After doing what he does best, showing his patience and picking his shots, it was clear he had an advantage over Walls. Echeverria added to his highlight reel just 1:45 into the fight as he landed a spinning heel kick that put Walls down, ending the fight with a bang. In his five Titan FC bouts he's finished four of them, this was the second quickest finish of his career.
Talita Alencar (1-0) def. Staci Vega (0-2) by submission via Rear naked choke at 4:14 of round 1
In one of a few fight of the night candidates, Talita Alencar and Staci Vega put on an absolute show. Many expected Alencar to get the fight to the ground right away, due to her prominent Jiu-Jitsu resume however, the two stood and traded for around 3:30 minutes. The pair of strawweight warriors landed strike after strike cleanly on one another. In the clinch Vega did a decent job of defending the grappling, until Alencar got it to the ground with 1:15 to go in the first round. Although the she surprised us with her toe-to-toe war early, when it was all said and done it was her bread and butter that won it for her. Alencar finished Vega with a rear naked choke with 46 seconds to go in the first round.
Denzel Freeman (3-0) def. Duane Crespo (0-1) by TKO at 47 seconds into round 1
In the battle of the heavyweight Marines, it was a quick one. Freeman came out throwing heavy shots. Crespo ate quite a few early, but Freeman's power strikes were beyond taxing. Parlay his power with his patience and without a doubt it's a recipe for a quick finish. That’s exactly what happened. Freeman lands a heavy body kick, followed up with a couple left hands that dropped Crespo and finished him off with ground and pound in under one minute. This is Freeman's second TKO win in his three Titan FC bouts and his quickest finish to date. Between Freemans skillset and personality, it's safe to say he could be a fan favorite one day.
Angel Alvarez (2-0) def. James Hay (3-2) by unanimous decision
In the second of a few fight of the night candidates, Angel Alvarez put on a clinic. The intensity of these two was second to none of the card, they even had a stare down prior to walkouts backstage. From the start Alvarez was the aggressor and controlled the range extremely well. It was key for Alvarez to stay in the pocket because Hay had quite the size advantage. As the round progressed Alvarez's control was efficient and his combos were effective. With just over two minutes to go in the first round, Alvarez secured his first takedown however, he didn't rush the finish even though he is the superior grappler. Early in round two, it was much more of the same. Alvarez landing heavy leg kicks, pushing the pace and securing takedowns from the clinch. Hay did defend the takedowns well and seemed to take some of Alvarez's better shots. As the third round came, for the only time on Friday night, it was all Angel Alvarez. He continued to dominate and put on a show. In the end, he earned a clean sweep on the judge’s scorecards and is now 2-0 in Titan FC and in pro MMA. Overall, Angel Alvarez proved himself as a complete martial artist. He was patient, powerful and smart with all of his attacks and he is someone to look out for in the future.
Slava Borshchev (4-1) def. Kendly St. Louis (3-4) by TKO at 4:41 of round 2
Slava Borshchev and Kendly St. Louis put on a fight of the night, bonus worthy performance. From the touch of gloves, it was all action. In the first, Borshchev changed levels with his strikes, which basically everything he threw was a significant strike. He landed plenty of power uppercuts to the body of St. Louis and those seemed to be effective. From leg kicks to body shots Borshchev seemed to be rolling early. Then St. Louis seemed to gain some ground. Late in the first, St. Louis landed a picture perfect straight right hand putting Borshchev in serious trouble. St. Louis then mounted him and rained down a barrage of punches nearly ending the fight. Early in round 2, St. Louis took the back of Borshchev in the clinch however, his opponent found his way back to his feet. Halfway thru round 2 Borshchev turned on the jets as St. Louis seemed to tire a bit. With 30 seconds left in the round, Borshchev returned the barrage of strikes, landing nearly every strike in the book, including several head and body kicks which landed flush. St. Louis couldn't take many more of these shots and the ref called it with 19 seconds left in the second round. Borshchev earned his second Titan FC win and his second finish.
Sal Guerriero (4-1) def. DaJuan Robinson (0-5) by TKO at 2:34 of round 1
In the last prelim of the evening, Sal Guerriero took on DaJuan Robinson. This bout went a bit similar to round 2 of the cards opening prelim bout. Guerriero got an early takedown and it seemed like there was no way out for Robinson. Guerriero ended up transitioning to full mount, posturing up and laying down heavy ground and pound ending the evening for Robinson and earning his fourth pro win. Guerriero is 3-1 in Titan FC and is on a three fight finish streak in the promotions featherweight division. It’s safe to say the American Top Team product is a force to be reckoned with in the future.
Adrian Garcia (4-1) def. Marquis Johnson (1-5) by TKO at 4:29 of round 2
Adrian Garcia and Marquis Johnson kicked off the show with a bang. In the first, Johnson did a great job pressuring Garcia however, Garcia used his versatile striking to his advantage. Garcia landed the more effective strikes, but Johnson’s pressure seemed to take a bit of toll on Garcia. Late in the round Garcia got a takedown and it was all the “Elusive” from then on. Finishing the round on top after some damaging ground and pound, he decided to show his underrated grappling game again in round 2. As round 2 progressed Garcia’s ground and pound got more vicious and eventually the ref stepped in and the fight was called at 4:29 of round 2. Out of his three bouts with Titan FC, Garcia has two finishes. Garcia was the third member of the Goatshed to earn a victory Friday night.
