Jose Mariscal Upends Undefeated Youssef Zalal in Legacy Fighting Alliance 57 Headliner
An aggression-fueled Jose
Mariscal knocked Youssef
Zalal from the ranks of the unbeaten, as he captured a
unanimous decision over the Factory
X prospect in the Legacy
Fighting Alliance 57 headliner on Friday at the 1stBank Center
in Broomfield, Colorado.
All three cageside judges saw it 29-28 for Mariscal (7-3, 1-0 LFA), who has posted back-to-back victories since his September 2017 encounter with Carl Deaton ended in a no-contest.
Mariscal closed the distance with punching flurries, executed
repeated takedowns and applied his ground-and-pound, controlling
virtually all of the first round and parts of the second. However,
Zalal (3-1, 3-1 LFA) put him in peril on multiple occasions in the
middle stanza, once with an armbar and later with a guillotine
choke. The 22-year-old carried the momentum into the third round,
where he struck for a takedown of his own, advanced to Mariscal’s
back and locked in an inverted triangle choke as time ticked away.
“Chepe” escaped, survived to the final bell and exited the cage
with a hard-earned victory.
In the welterweight co-main event, Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series alum Anthony Adams cut down Josh Cavan with first-round punches. Cavan (14-8, 0-1 LFA) succumbed to blows 4:56 into Round 1, his three-fight winning streak snapped.
Adams (8-1, 1-0 LFA) doubled over his former training partner with a brutal knee strike during one of their initial exchanges. Cavan winced, retreated and shielded his midsection, and while he withstood the follow-up onslaught, he was never the same. Adams bided his time and waited for more openings. Late in the first round, he sent a left cross crashing into Cavan’s face, backed it up with more punches and sent him crashing to the canvas with a sweeping left hook. Another right hand followed, prompting referee Tim Mills to act.
Meanwhile, Factory X representative Adam Stroup returned to the cage for the first time in more than a year and walked away with a unanimous decision over Jungle Fight veteran Lucas Rota in a three-round middleweight showcase. All three judges sided with Stroup (12-5, 1-0 LFA): 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
Rota (12-8, 0-2 LFA) was ineffective outside of a multi-punch burst at the start of the third round. Stroup dictated the terms of their engagement with a stiff jab, tenderizing leg kicks and sneaky left hooks. The 32-year-old kept Rota on the end of his punches, and when he encountered trouble late, he surprised the overzealous Brazilian with a pair of takedowns.
In other action, Taylor Johnson (5-0, 4-0 LFA) disposed of Aaron Chambers (0-1, 0-1 LFA) with punches 2:43 into the first round of their middleweight pairing; Pauline Macias (2-0, 1-0 LFA) struck Maddie Meacham (0-1, 0-1 LFA) into submission 1:18 into the second round of their women’s strawweight confrontation; Jonathon Wyderko (4-1, 2-0 LFA) wiped out Matt Johnson (3-1, 1-1 LFA) with a knee strike 3:21 into the first round of their lightweight scrap; Austin Jones (5-3, 2-0 LFA) took a unanimous decision from Calen Born (6-1, 1-1 LFA) in a three-round welterweight tussle, drawing 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 marks from the judges; Ashley Deen (3-3, 1-0 LFA) prompted a doctor stoppage against Salina Rowland (0-2, 0-2 LFA) 1:48 into the second round of their women’s flyweight clash; and A.J. Robb (2-2, 1-2 LFA) submitted Chance Chin (0-1, 0-1 LFA) with a rear-naked choke 2:08 into the second round of their bantamweight tilt.
All three cageside judges saw it 29-28 for Mariscal (7-3, 1-0 LFA), who has posted back-to-back victories since his September 2017 encounter with Carl Deaton ended in a no-contest.
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In the welterweight co-main event, Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series alum Anthony Adams cut down Josh Cavan with first-round punches. Cavan (14-8, 0-1 LFA) succumbed to blows 4:56 into Round 1, his three-fight winning streak snapped.
Adams (8-1, 1-0 LFA) doubled over his former training partner with a brutal knee strike during one of their initial exchanges. Cavan winced, retreated and shielded his midsection, and while he withstood the follow-up onslaught, he was never the same. Adams bided his time and waited for more openings. Late in the first round, he sent a left cross crashing into Cavan’s face, backed it up with more punches and sent him crashing to the canvas with a sweeping left hook. Another right hand followed, prompting referee Tim Mills to act.
Meanwhile, Factory X representative Adam Stroup returned to the cage for the first time in more than a year and walked away with a unanimous decision over Jungle Fight veteran Lucas Rota in a three-round middleweight showcase. All three judges sided with Stroup (12-5, 1-0 LFA): 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
Rota (12-8, 0-2 LFA) was ineffective outside of a multi-punch burst at the start of the third round. Stroup dictated the terms of their engagement with a stiff jab, tenderizing leg kicks and sneaky left hooks. The 32-year-old kept Rota on the end of his punches, and when he encountered trouble late, he surprised the overzealous Brazilian with a pair of takedowns.
In other action, Taylor Johnson (5-0, 4-0 LFA) disposed of Aaron Chambers (0-1, 0-1 LFA) with punches 2:43 into the first round of their middleweight pairing; Pauline Macias (2-0, 1-0 LFA) struck Maddie Meacham (0-1, 0-1 LFA) into submission 1:18 into the second round of their women’s strawweight confrontation; Jonathon Wyderko (4-1, 2-0 LFA) wiped out Matt Johnson (3-1, 1-1 LFA) with a knee strike 3:21 into the first round of their lightweight scrap; Austin Jones (5-3, 2-0 LFA) took a unanimous decision from Calen Born (6-1, 1-1 LFA) in a three-round welterweight tussle, drawing 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 marks from the judges; Ashley Deen (3-3, 1-0 LFA) prompted a doctor stoppage against Salina Rowland (0-2, 0-2 LFA) 1:48 into the second round of their women’s flyweight clash; and A.J. Robb (2-2, 1-2 LFA) submitted Chance Chin (0-1, 0-1 LFA) with a rear-naked choke 2:08 into the second round of their bantamweight tilt.
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