Lights Out Xtreme Fighting (LXF) crowned three new champions during LXF 3 on Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles in what turned out to be a sold out night of exhilarating and show-stopping fights.
In the main event, Alfred Khashakyan scored a devastating knockout of AJ Bryant 34 seconds into the first round to win the LXF Featherweight Champion. Khashakyan (11-4) wasted little time connecting with a thunderous right hand to the chin of Bryant (11-4), who collapsed on the ground immediately after the shot was landed. Bryant’s head bounced off the canvas, and Khashakyan kept his composure from landing any further punches to his downed opponent. Every victory of Khashakyan’s career has ended via KO, and he was rewarded for his efforts by Lakers legend A.C. Green, who presented Khashakyan the LXF strap for his "Showtime"-caliber performance.
LXF 3 will air on regional Fox Sports channels in the Los Angeles, San Diego, Texas, Florida, Arizona and Ohio markets.
In the co-main event, Andrii Vasylenko (4-1) dominated Blake Troop (8-6) in a unanimous decision win to become the LXF Light Heavyweight Champion. Vasylenko survived an early scare one minute into the first round to rebound and dominate the rest of the fight against a game, yet outmatched Troop. Vasylenko, who is trained by judo legend Gokor Chivichyan, used his Sambo skills in exciting fashion for the 15-minute affair and was rewarded for his onslaught by the scores of 30-25, 30-25 and 30-26. After the fight, LXF heavyweight champion Jay Silva entered the cage and challenged Vasylenko for his title on his quest to become the LXF’s first ever active double champion. The two agreed to fight at a future date, faced off, shook hands, and now, the stage is set for a fall showdown between the two MMA fighters.
In a rematch between two up-and-coming prospects, Jeremy Montijo (3-2) defeated J.J. Buckner (4-2) via TKO at 2:43 of Round 1 to become the LXF D-League Bantamweight Champion. Earlier this year, Buckner bested Montijo in a competitive fight with a close decision, but Saturday provided far different results. After Montijo was deducted a point for a foul, he immediately changed his game plan and became more aggressive. Buckner missed a kick, and Montijo went for a successful take down, and finished his grounded opponent with a series of clubbing fists, some of which landed on the back of Buckner’s head. Buckner was displeased of the stoppage, stating that some of the strikes were to the back of his head, and they were not appropriately caught by the referee.
In other action, Melsik Baghdasaryan (4-1) scored the fastest knockout in LXF history with a scintillating seven-second stoppage of Arturo Hernadez (4-4). Baghdasaryan and Hernadez raced at each other at the sound of the bell and collided in the middle of the cage like battering rams. Baghdasaryan immediately caught and dropped Hernadez with a right hand and finished the fight with a highlight reel KO. The multi-dimensional Baghdasaryan is a former WLF World kickboxing champion who also sports a 3-0 boxing record. He scored his fourth win in the MMA cage alone this year in the last six months, and second in LXF.
Albert Morales (9-6-1) caught Ron Scolesdang (5-4) with a punishing right hand to score a TKO win at 4:50 of Round 1. Morales, a six-fight UFC veteran with two wins in Bellator, got back into the win column after suffering a loss to Khashakyan at LXF 1. Scolesdang was coming off an impressive 33-second KO at LXF 1, but couldn’t carry the momentum into his match with Morales.
Former NFL player Chris McCain (2-0), who scored five sacks for the Chargers in 2017, continued on his quest in a new career in MMA by scoring a unanimous decision win over Matheus Moraes (0-1), a Brazlian who was making his MMA debut. McCain’s stand-up game and leg kicks were working at high levels, much to the pleasure of former Chargers teammate Melvin Gordon, who had a front row seat for the action at the Commerce Casino. There was a brief stop to the action when McCain’s cup broke following an illegal kick to his groin by Moraes, but he rebounded immediately after the cup was repaired to reap a decision with scores of 29-28 by all three judges. LXF co-founder and Chargers legend Shawne Merriman stepped into the cage to congratulate McCain’s win as well, who celebrated in his No. 40 Chargers jersey.
Serob Minasyan (12-11) extended his winning streak to four and scored a TKO win over Sergio Quiñones Jr. (13-22) at 3:35 of Round 1. Minasyan masterfully calculated an overhand left hook that landed to the head and dropped Quiñones for the victory.
In the first ever LXF women’s bout, former track and field star Brittney Cloudy (1-1) scored her first career win by submitting Tiani Valle (3-2) with a rear naked choke at 2:04 of Round 3. The lanky Cloudy, who is a Saint Louis University Hall of Fame inductee and holds five school records, leveraged her length and size against Valle with significant strikes, jabs and knees for much of the fight and tired Valle before she tapped out.
In a heavyweight fight, Sean Sharaf (2-0) bloodied and bludgeoned Lorenzo Guzman (0-1) in a one-sided affair via technical knockout at 1:20 of Round 2.
