KSW champion Mamed Khalidov obliterated Luke Barnatt in just 21 seconds at ACB 54 on Saturday night, as he confirmed himself as one of the deadliest middleweights on the planet.
In the opening moments of the main event at the Manchester Arena, Barnatt looked fairly comfortable finding his range and utilising leg kicks effectively however, was unable to avoid a huge overhand right from Khalidov which immediately had his legs wobbling. Once the Russian smelt blood he swarmed on the Englishman with a flurry of unanswered punches until Barnatt’s legs gave way and he dropped to the canvas for the victory in just 21 seconds.
The co-main event of ACB 54 featured a rematch between two Manchester warriors when Brendan Loughnane was given the chance to redeem the first loss of his professional career against Mike Wilkinson and that he did. The 28-year-old looked the slicker fighter from the get go and began to work on the outside of Wilkinson’s left leg. Loughnane remained very lucid and unpredictable as he continued to change stance and it paid dividend as he landed a huge head kick which sent Wilkinson to the mat. The referee could be subjected to a late stoppage as Loughnane jumped on Wilkinson opening up with a flurry of strikes until Wilkinson got to his feet only to be put down for good when Loughnane landed a crushing knee.
Veteran Aslambek Saidov earned a hard-fought victory over Ion Pascu, in what was a back and forth battle, Saidov managed to make the difference by utilising takedowns to put himself ahead on the scorecards. Throughout the bout, neither men were afraid to let their hands go but it was Saidov who continued to push the pace to grind out a unanimous decision win at ACB 54.
In perhaps the biggest upset of ACB 54, SBG Manchester man Saul Rogers was choked out cold when he fought last minute opponent Aurel Pirtea. As Rogers made the walk into the cage, the Manchester Arena erupted in the hope to see their local lad do the business and early on it looked like the fans would get what they wanted.
Saul secured a couple of early takedowns and did what he is best known for, take people down and keep them there. He took the first round comfortably but caused little damage to his opponent, after a successful first round on the mat the Mancunian looked to shoot for a takedown leaving his head in allowing Pirtea the perfect opportunity for a guillotine. You have to give credit to the Romanian who took little time to lock in a tight squeeze until the referee was forced to intervene, much to the disbelief of many of the spectators and to the disliking of the fans in the arena.
In a night riddled with submission victories, Bubba Jenkins was on the receiving end of some grade A submission skills when he played victim to a reverse triangle choke. Jenkins was much the aggressor early on and in fact took the first round, he had the fans on their feet when Ali Bagov looked to lock in an arm bar and Jenkins decided the best way to shake him off was to pick him up and repeatedly drop him on his head.
Jenkins ended the round in complete control however it was Bagov who secured a takedown early In the second round, from here he looked to find a way to finish and he did in spectacular fashion when he locked in the reverse triangle choke which sent Bubba’s eyes rolling to the back of his head and resulted in the end of the fight.
For full results from ACB 54 click here
