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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Cage Fighting Xtreme returned to the Myth nightclub in Maplewood, Minn. on Saturday night, putting on a seven fight card at CFX 39. With four former UFC Champions in attendance as special guests on the night, the card featured a solid main event, one of the biggest upsets in Minnesota's MMA scene in recent memory, and several quick stoppages.
Former UFC Champions Sean Sherk, Jens Pulver, Dave Menne, and Tim Sylvia were all special guests for the show, signing autographs and being brought in for interviews in-cage throughout the night. Though that in part led to a slowly-paced event, the fights themselves were mostly eventful.
The big story of the night was a massive upset in the night's co-main event. Iowa's Brad Floyd, who came in at 140 lbs. for the bantamweight contest, faced off against Travis Reddinger, Minnesota's top-ranked 135 lb. fighter, and shocked the home crowd with a knockout in the first round.
The action was fast and furious from the start, with both fighters exchanging combinations. Reddinger was having considerable success early, covering up well from Floyd's counter strikes and landing several big punches and kicks. He rocked Floyd with a straight right a minute in that nearly crumpled him, but Floyd managed to recover and regain his bearings.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Floyd landed a big right hand strike behind Reddinger's left ear. The blow stunned "The Hurricane," dropping his hands and leaving him open for a follow up. Floyd, to his credit, took advantage of the spot, and delivered the finishing blow for the KO. It was the first time Reddinger had been knocked out in his career.
In the night's main event, Derek Varin handed The Academy's Mike Zimmer his first professional loss, controlling the second and third rounds with his takedowns and top game to earn a unanimous decision. Zimmer had some success early in the fight, landing some good strikes and forcing Varin to turn it into a grappling game. However, he was unable to stop the big takedowns throughout the bout, and Varin controlled from there.
Three other fights finished in less than three minutes, with Tony Martin, Justin Morrison, and Ryan Willette all scoring quick submission victories.
In a 165 lb. catchweight bout, Martin ended things with Jay Ellis in just 51 seconds, locking on a guillotine choke and pulling guard. The hold was on tight, and he forced the quick tap. Morrison took a bit longer with his, but dominated Sherman Xiong on the ground before locking on the rear naked choke for the tap. For Willette, his was the quickest finish of the night. He locked on a front choke on Reilly Griffin, then bullied him over onto the ground, turning it into a guillotine choke in the process. The hold was on very tight, and Griffin was forced to tap just 39 seconds in.
Full results from the night's event are below:
-Derek Varin def. Mike Zimmer via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Brad Floyd def. Travis Reddinger via KO at 1:55 of the first round
-Mahmoud Aburia def. Danyelle Williams via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Tony Martin def. Jay Ellis via submission (guillotine choke) at :51 of the first round
-Justin Morrison def. Sherman Ziong via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:47 of the first round
-Ryan Willette def. Reilly Griffin via submission (guillotine choke) at :39 of the first round
-Jerrell Skelton def. Jack Smail via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)*
* - amateur bout
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Live_Event_Reports_12/article_14746.shtml
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