RFA 13 results: Dakota Cochrane survives Efrain Escudero's gutsy rally
In front of a partisan crowd, Nebraskan Dakota Cochrane narrowly survived his opponent’s third-round rally to score a decision victory over fellow lightweight Efrain Escudero.
The bout headlined RFA 13, which took place Friday at Pershing Center in Lincoln, Neb. The main card aired on AXS TV.
The fight boasted alumni from “The Ultimate Fighter.†Escudero won Season 8 and Cochrane had a brief appearance on the 15th season.
Early on, though, the bout was all Cochrane, who scored takedowns, dodged submissions and unloaded a steady stream of ground-and-pound to win the first two rounds. Although Escudero fired off submission attempts from his back, Cochrane controlled the action from the top to get the edge on the scorecards.
Escudero, though, got his opening in the third round. He immediately cracked Cochrane with right hand that sent him tumbling to the mat. Escudero pounced, took his back, secured an arm with his legs, and then torqued a rear-naked choke. As Cochrane gushed blood and fought for air, Escudero continued working the choke and delivering punches from behind during a minutes-long sequence.
While the ref was tempted to halt it, Cochrane continually signaled that he was OK, eventually escaped the submission hold, and hung on to earn the decision victory via 29-28 scores.
“I knew he was slick on the ground coming in, so I really prepared for that,†said Cochrane, who risked a 10-8 round and overall draw because of Escudero’s third-round rally. “Luckily, I was tough enough to get out of that submission.
†… It was tough. It was a tough situation. That’s one you should not be in.â€
Sanchez ground and pounds past Marshall
Andrew Sanchez (5-0) secured a middleweight title shot against champion Kevin Casey with a dominant performance over Miles Marshall (3-2) in the night’s co-headliner.
After a first-round assault of ground-and-pound, Sanchez had his opponent bloodied and slowed heading into the second round. Then, after again forcing the fight to the mat, he followed with more elbows and punches. The ref gave Marshall every opportunity to fight back, but he was ultimately forced to stop the bout and award the TKO stoppage at the 1:25 mark of the round.
“He was extremely powerful,†Sanchez said. “I didn’t want to stand and trade with that guy. … I had to take it to the ground.â€
Sanchez now carries a 5-0 record into what is arguably his biggest opportunity yet: a title fight with recently crowned champion Casey (7-3).
“I’ve been waiting to fight that guy for a long time,†Sanchez said. “I can’t wait.â€
Heatherly vs. Njokuani declared no-contest, unbeatens fall
An intriguing welterweight bout ended in disappointment. Chris Heatherly dominated the early action with ground-and-pound, but after escaping and fighting off a takedown against the cage, Chidi Njokuani tagged him with an illegal elbow to the spine. Heatherly immediately collapsed to the mat, and with the fighter unable to continue, the bout was waved off and declared a no-contest (due to an accidental illegal blow) at the 3:31 mark of the first round. Heatherly was carried off on a stretcher, though all limbs here fortunately working.
In featherweight action, XFC veteran and onetime Strikeforce fighter Luke Sanders (7-0) overcame some early trouble from towering Dan Moret (6-1). After shaking off some punches, the undefeated prospect closed the distance, fought against the cage and on the mat, and ultimately picked up a unanimous-decision victory via 29-28 scores on all three judges’ cards.
In a clash of unbeaten lightweights, T.J. Hepburn used takedowns, dominant ground positions and submission attempts to take a clear-cut unanimous-decision victory over Ryan Shell (5-1). The judges awarded the Nebraska-based fighter winning scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
In the night’s main-card opener, a 140-pound catchweight affair, Darrick Minner (8-3) used a first-round armbar to submit Austin Lyons (10-3), who had a short stint on “The Ultimate Fighter 15.†Minner did damage with punches before trying a variety of submission attempts. He ultimately cinched up the armbar during a scramble against the cage.
The full RFA 13 results included:
MAIN CARD (AXS TV, 10 p.m. ET)
Dakota Cochrane def. Efrain Escudero via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Andrew Sanchez def. Miles Marshall via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 1:25
Chris Heatherly vs. Chidi Njokuani declared no-contest (accidental illegal elbow from Njokuani) – Round 1, 3:31
Luke Sanders def. Dan Moret via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
T.J. Hepburn def. Ryan Shell via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Darrick Minner def. Austin Lyons via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:39
PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised)
William Joplin def. Chad Obermiller via unanimous decision
