Both Jamey Lynch and Kyle Driscoll looked every bit the championship calibre fighters they were touted to be in the opening exchanges of their three-round, lightweight main event at the Sycuan Casino Resort on Friday night.
By the three minute mark though it was Driscoll inching ahead, eventually connecting with a stiff, straight right hand that dropped ‘The MMA PA’ to the seat of his pants. ‘KD’ followed up with a relentless stream of ground ‘n’ pound to force the finish, with veteran referee Herb Dean giving Lynch every opportunity to get back into the bout before waving it off.
The win marks a return to winning ways for the former title challenger, who had an eight-bout winning streak snapped by current lightweight king George Hardwick in London last summer.
With a clinically efficient victory against a top contender like Lynch on his ledger, a second crack at CW gold could be within touching distance for the American.
In the evening’s co-main event, Moses Diaz landed a crisp knee on Robert Hernandez in the first, before eating a number of snapping leg kicks in return. Diaz connected with some big shots halfway through an otherwise nip-and-tuck second, with everything to play for entering the final round.
Hernandez controlled the pace for much of the third, mixing up chopping leg kicks with evasive movement and counterpunching. With fifteen minutes in the books, the judges unanimously sided with ‘Green Light’, who improved his record to 7-1.
John De Jesus got the better of the opening exchanges against Damon Wilson, bloodying-up his opponent early before ‘The Nomad’ was able to slow the pace. De Jesus continued to lead with his jab in the second, with Wilson countering when the opportunity presented itself.
‘Platano’ came out with bad intentions to start the third, hurting Wilson to the body. ‘The Nomad’ rallied late, but ultimately it was De Jesus’ sniper-like performance that won the day on the judges’ scorecards.
In a classic striker vs grappler affair, Next Generation’s Connor Wilson launched an array of kicks and punches in David Lopez’ direction to open their flyweight encounter. The Liverpool man dropped his opponent with a kick to the body later in the round, and while able to land at will from that point on, he couldn’t quite find the finishing blow.
After a measured start to the second, Lopez scored a takedown and came up on his man’s back in the midst of a wild scramble. Wilson climbed to his feet to defend but the choke was in, with the Liverpool man ultimately tapping whilst losing consciousness to end the sequence.
In the opening bout of the main card, Jovidon Khojaev picked his shots early against Sunni Imhotep, landing some crisp punches before his opponent began to settle in. Both men had their moments in the second, with Imhotep coming on stronger as the round progressed.
Khojaev was deducted a point in the third following a second errant groin strike and immediately went on the offensive, scoring the fight’s first takedown. Imhotep would rally off the back of a missed throw though, ultimately doing enough to earn a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards.
Full results for CW 155: San Diego are as follows:
Main Card
Kyle Driscoll def. Jamey Lynch via TKO (Punches) Round One
Robert Hernandez def. Moses Diaz via Unanimous Decision
John De Jesus def. Damon Wilson via Unanimous Decision
David Lopez def. Connor Wilson via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Round Two
Sunni Imhotep def. Jovidon Khojaev via Unanimous Decision
Prelims
James Settle def. Frans Lincol Sormin via TKO (Strikes), Round Two
Chris Lewis def. Elijah Harris via TKO (Strikes) Round Three
Anthony Orozco def Jeremy Fattorusso via TKO (Strikes), Round One
Teddy Stringer def. Bryant Shell via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Round One
Francis Breen def. Enrique Montalvo via Unanimous Decision
Johnny Gill Jr def. Jon Saragih via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Round One