Nick Maximov won the LFA 243 main event on Friday at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz. The former UFC fighter beat Brazil’s Wildemar Santos by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) at light heavyweight. He moves to 15 wins and 2 losses. Around him the night moved fast: 6 of the 10 fights ended inside the distance, 4 of them in round 1.
Full event coverage: LFA 243: Nick Maximov vs Wildemar Santos headlines in Santa Cruz on October 9
Key takeaways
- Nick Maximov beat Wildemar Santos by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in the LFA 243 main event on October 9 in Santa Cruz.
- Maximov, 28, moves to 15-2. He is unbeaten since returning to the regional circuit.
- 6 of the 10 fights ended inside the distance, including a 48-second submission by Kyle Clark and a 30-second TKO by Mason Hartshorn.
Nick Maximov wins on points
The main event
Nick Maximov beat Wildemar Santos by unanimous decision after 3 rounds at light heavyweight. All 3 judges scored it for him, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28, Cageside Press and FightBook MMA report.
The record
Maximov, 28, now has 15 wins, 2 losses and one no contest, according to Sherdog. He won his previous fight by round 1 TKO in March.
What it is worth
The LFA billed the fight as a measuring stick between 2 proven light heavyweights. Maximov, a UFC veteran, passed it without finishing his opponent.
6 finishes, 4 of them in round 1
The fastest
Mason Hartshorn stopped Kelvin Martinez in 30 seconds at flyweight. Kyle Clark submitted Ali Gazamatov with a guillotine in 48 seconds at light heavyweight, the referee stopping the fight.
The other finishes
Joe Thurrott knocked out Ricky Miller in round 1 (3:12) at middleweight. Lorenzo Figueroa beat Helton Jose Jr by round 1 TKO (3:17) at heavyweight. Kevin Fernandez stopped Enrique Pacheco in round 2 (1:38) at flyweight.
The women’s fight
Sophie Lang submitted Aysia Cortez with a rear-naked choke in round 2 (4:32) at strawweight.
This is a great measuring-stick fight between two proven light heavyweights.
The decisions and what comes next
3 fights on points
Fernando Diaz-Marquez and Jacob Horton won by unanimous decision. Chris Chapa beat Willy LaMacchia by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28).
The next date
The LFA returns on October 23 at Foxwoods in Connecticut for LFA 244 and an interim middleweight title fight between Jake Woodley and Zayne Havener.
Follow the circuit
LFA fighters’ profiles and their updated records are in the FightHub app.
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