Kyler Phillips (6-1) had a brief stay with the UFC, but back on the regional circuit, he is making a statement that he deserves a second chance.
Phillips met Emeka Ifekandu at LFA 59 on Friday evening and showed why his nickname is Matrix, styling on Ifekandu with a stunning spinning back kick, high kick combination that sent his opponent face first into the canvas.
Phillips quickly followed up with a couple of additional shots before the referee could jump in to save the fallen fighter. The official end came at 2:30 of the first round.
Much like his quick win on Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series, which earned him a spot on The Ultimate Fighter, this performance will capture the eyes of the larger organizations.
The young MMA Lab prospect showed out and entered himself in the race for 2019Knockout of the Year for 2019.
Jose Alday Was Deported; MMA Helped Him Find His Way Back
Sep 14, 2018
Jose Alday
A couple of beers and a high school sweetheart.
Sounds like the title of a John Mellencamp song. Not a bad recipe for a Friday night, either.
The two things, especially taken together, are deeply American. They're certainly part of Jose Alday's America.
Two beers got Alday deported. His high school sweetheart got him back.
Somewhere in the middle, fate had its say. While living back in his native Mexico, exiled from loved ones and the life he knew, Alday pursued a calling that wasn't available before.
Alday has a new Friday night formula now, one no less American in its components and long on honor and bootstraps. Everyone can join the party this Friday when he fights Gustavo Lopez in a bantamweight main event for the Combate Americas MMA promotion.
"I started MMA, and just a few months later, I had my first amateur fight in 2012," Alday recalled. "I knew that's what I wanted to do, and maybe it was my way back to the United States—get a visa or something. … I got a lot of stress out in the gym. Being in the gym is therapeutic. It gave me stability. I started, and seven years later I'm fighting for a title."
Alday was born and raised near Hermosillo, the capital city of the Mexican state of Sonora. Sonorans are no stranger to the narco violence woven into everyday lives of Mexicans. The U.S. Department of State advises Americans to reconsider any travel to the region.
There aren't a lot of job opportunities in those parts, especially if you want to stay on the right side of things. Alday was a nine-year-old schoolboy when his parents moved the family to Tucson, Arizona, in search of prosperity and stability.
Jose and his family do landscaping work.
"I was pretty young, so I picked up on the language and culture pretty quickly," Alday said. "They brought us over because the small town we were from, there's not a lot of opportunities. So here in Tucson, we started doing landscaping, and that's what we've been doing."
They obtained a visa, and when it expired they simply stayed. It worked out well for about a decade.
Alday's time in the States didn't end with a bang. It was an everyday, decidedly American thing, something the average red-blooded male wouldn't think twice about.
In the rugged Southwest, guys like to busy themselves by filling the seats of some hulking all-terrain beast and heading into the wilderness to tear up the landscape. Sometimes, they get into other things while they're at it.
Alday's other thing was almost an afterthought.
"We went off-roading, which is something a lot of people do out there," Alday recalled. "Once in a while, the cops check back there. People shoot guns back there and drink. I'd had two beers. The cop comes, asks for IDs, and that was pretty much it. I said the truth—that I was from Mexico—and that was all she wrote."
Alday remembered and liked Sonora, but when he landed back there, he didn't really know anybody. He had been abruptly separated from his family and his girlfriend, Brianna. He had no idea what to do with himself.
As one might expect, he wasn't happy with the situation. With a darker kind of life never far away, Alday had the presence of mind to seek an outlet.
"I felt a little bit of anger," he said. "I just drank two beers. I had a lot of emotion. I had to get it out of my body. I'd go to the gym to help me mentally and feel better and do something with my life."
MMA is a funny thing. So is life. The deeper the adversity, the easier MMA comes sometimes, the less metaphorical the notion of fighting for one's life. In life itself as in a fight, things can take funny turns. There's no telling what might arise from something else, what groundwork the present and past are laying for the future.
Jose Alday over the city of Hermosillo in Sonora.
For Alday, the deportation set the table for MMA. It actually made the logistics easier. He had more time and more freedom of movement now that he didn't have to look over his shoulder.
"When you're illegal, no one understands the pressure you feel," Alday said. "I'd drive a car and see a cop, and my heartbeat would go up. So I was scared. Driving 30 to 40 minutes to the gym, I just didn't do it."
Alday put his nose to the grindstone and channeled everything into training. He was good. One thing led to another, and he eventually turned pro.
MMA can indeed help fighters get to the U.S. According to Combate officials, visas for fighters are not uncommon. But for Alday, a different door opened.
His relationship with Brianna never wavered throughout the ordeal, and they eventually married. His return to Arizona wasn't the cause but a happy byproduct of the event. They wed in Mexico in 2013. Three long years of waiting followed, but ultimately he returned to the States, thanks to his high school sweetheart.
Either way, MMA is now his job, and he wouldn't have the skills for that job had it not been for his time in Mexico. Obviously no one ever wishes for deportation or anything like it. It takes a big effort to see opportunity in such a thing. Alday made the most of the silver lining.
He and Brianna now have a two-year-old son, Sebastian. (The rest of his family now enjoy full legal status as well.) Alday now has a solid 10-3 record, with a well-rounded skill set that leans toward submissions. As he prepared for his fight Friday, which also happens to mark his 27th birthday, Alday fully understood the unknowable impact of the little things, and a person's own small but real ability to harness them.
"People say good guys finish last, but I don't think that," Alday said. "If someone goes through what I went through, it's way different, but you're never going to be in a bad place if you're a good person. Hard work has to pay off. It has to."
MMA Fighter Knocks Himself Out 83 Seconds into Fight
A self-imposed knockout is never in the plans for a fighter, but that is exactly what occurred in Lincoln, Rhode Island, on Friday evening at CES MMA 48.
Timothy Woods and Tim Caron were clinched against the cage when Woods attempted to throw Caron to the mat. However, as the pair careened into the canvas, Woods' head crashed into the mat, rendering him unconscious.
The unfortunate end of the bout came just one minute and 23 seconds into the first round. It will go down in the record books as a KO win for Caron, but fans will remember the result as it was—a scary self-knockout.
MMA Fighter Starts New Year with a Spectacular Rolling Thunder KO
2018 is off to a fast start in regards to crazy finishes.
On Wednesday, at the Maihama Amphitheater in Japan, Satoshi "Tiger" Date made the first entry into 2018's Knockout of the Year race with a little Rolling Thunder.
Shunsuke Kazuki and Date kicked off Ganryujima's "Out Enemy" event in the flyweight division. Ganryujima features mixed rules bouts and has garnered some notoriety for its circular surface and putting moats around it.
Date made quick work of his opponent. He rolled forward and leveled Kazuki with his heel, and the 36-year-old hit the canvas in a heap.
Date managed to add a hammerfist on the ground before the referee could step in to halt the contest.
The unconventional KO will surely be much discussed and stay on award shortlists as the year rolls forward. The ever-exciting 21-year-old made his mark on the new year.
Seo Hee Ham Defends Road FC Atomweight Title with Scintillating KO
UFC veteran Seo Hee Ham is shining back at her natural weight class of 105 pounds.
On Saturday, Ham defended her Road FC atomweight crown for the first time with a first-round KO against Invicta FC vet Jinh Yu Frey. The title bout was the main event of Road FC 45 at the Grand Hilton Seoul Convention Center in South Korea.
Ham had an up-and-down, mostly down, tenure in the Octagon, but her bouts with the UFC were contested in the strawweight division. The elite atomweight returned to the division for Road FC in June, winning the vacant belt.
Ham vs. Frey was set up to be one of the best atomweight tilts in 2017, but Ham didn't allow it to last long.
Big win by "Hamderlei" Seo Hee Ham. Impressive KO against a tough opponent like Frey.
At the end of the first round, Ham leveled Frey with a left hand that put her to the canvas. The champion followed up with heavy hammerfists to put Frey out to complete her first title defense. The official time was 4:38 of the first round.
It doesn't get much cleaner than Mohammad Karaki's KO at Phoenix FC 4 on Friday.
The event, held at the Dubai World Trade Center, saw two undefeated middleweight prospects take to the cage against one another. Karaki entered 7-0 against Alaa Mansour. Mansour now has a loss after six straight wins.
Karaki assumed top position early in the first round, and it wasn't long after that he would finish with a clean KO. Karaki landed a right elbow first, but Mansour was still active on the bottom trying to defend. A left elbow would change that and made Mansour unconscious.
The referee was unable to save Mansour from another left elbow before officially stopping the contest.
The Lebanese fighter has now finished seven of his eight professional victories. It is a record that will begin to catch the attention of the sport's biggest organizations. Watch this space as there is yet another talented fighter working his way through the ranks.
Former Cowboy Greg Hardy Picks Up 2nd MMA Victory by 1st-Round TKO
On Friday, Hardy stepped inside the American Kombat Alliance cage at Rite of Passage 2 in Bossier City, Louisiana. The Horseshoe Casino Riverdome played host to Hardy's fight against Kenneth Woods, who was making his debut.
Hardy started slow and made Woods circle on the outside. The obvious speed and athleticism advantage for Hardy were keeping Woods from engaging. Finally, Hardy came forward.
Woods tried running away from his problems, but Hardy was always there. Eventually, Woods hit the canvas and Hardy laid in a couple more heavy punches as the referee saved Woods from any further beating. The official result was by head kick and punches, but it was more of Hardy's pressure than any one strike that landed.
It wasn't a stellar performance, as Woods didn't allow Hardy to showcase his improvements. Hardy simply had to hunt down his prey and end the fight against an overmatched opponent.
Hardy will go back to American Top Team and continue his progression in MMA. Hopefully next go-around he gets an opponent who will engage and test the former NFL standout.
MMA Fighter KOs Foe with Capoeira-Style Kick to Face in His Amateur Debut
Amateur debuts almost always go unnoticed, but when you make a successful debut with a Knockout of the Year contender, the result tends to make a little noise.
Ollie Flint made his introduction to MMA at Shock N' Awe 26 in Portsmouth, England, on November 4 against Aaron Gray. After some back-and-forth action, Flint launched a spinning back-hook kick that connected flush. It was reminiscent of a move out of capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art. The official end came at 2:59 of the first round.
Gray hit the canvas face-first.
The Portsmouth native will garner some looks from professional organizations after a scintillating knockout. Britain's MMA scene continues to shine with new talent making waves.
If Flint never makes a splash in the pro ranks, he can still say he was in the discussion for 2017's Knockout of the Year.
MMA Fighter Shakes His Head at Foe, Then Gets Slept with a Nasty Head Kick
Here's a good rule for fighters—don't gesticulate to your opponent when it leaves you open for an immediate counter.
That's what happened to Jordan Powell at Legacy Fighting Alliance 13 at the Marriott Burbank Convention Center in Burbank, California on Friday evening.
Undefeated Dominick Reyes tagged Powell with a left hand, and Powell decided to shake his head at his opponent. The problem is, he kept his hands low and was within striking range. Reyes threw a high kick and slumped Powell.
Powell took his nap immediately. Face down. And the LFA canvas is anything but a Sealy Posturepedic mattress.
The knockout victory moved Reyes' undefeated record to 6-0, and will certainly draw more eyes to his future prospects as an up-and-comer in the wafer-thin light heavyweight division.
Powell learned a valuable, and brutal, lesson courtesy of the shin of Reyes on Friday.
MMA Fighter Lays His Opponent Out Cold on Canvas Floor Via Epic Spinning Kick KO
May 17, 2017
Brando Mamana KO's Adi Paryanto at One Pride MMA #3 in Indonesia. Mental note: Never get hit by something like this. pic.twitter.com/giKbZaafco
The third installment of One Pride MMA played host to four separate title fights, but none had a more impressive showing than the men's strawweight bout.
Brando Mamana vs. Adi Paryanto was the matchup.
Mamana threw a right kick that Paryanto avoided, but the follow-up left wheel kick was a lullaby written for Paryanto's chin. He hit the canvas in an unconscious heap.
The sub-15-second title performance was a great way for Mamana to begin his tenure as the One Pride MMA strawweight champion. The victory also netted Mamana 25 million rupiahs, which converts to just under $1,900 in U.S. currency. Still not a bad bonus for less than 15 seconds of work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV2yatynv9s
You can watch the full fight video here courtesy of One Pride MMA to check out all the various angles and slo-mo instant replays of one of 2017's most astonishing knockouts.
