For some reason, XKO didnt really want to give this fight card a name. They were just calling it XKO. I got XKO 49 from Tapology. I hope its right. I think the show was just a tad disappointing, several fights fell out, and they had a PPV broadcast on their website (the PPV video worked flawlessly). I paid the 24.99 and I watched and I think I was probably the only one that paid this, because the fight card wasn’t very sexy. I didnt get to see Logan Nail, I didnt get to see John Tao, I didnt get to see any of the Fortis MMA guys. Was it worth the price? No -Eh, whatever, I got to see Landry Ward, and that was kinda worth it. – OK I think the price of this card should’ve been about 14.99, I think that’s a solid price… Lmao so… I got screwed I guess.
XKO was at Billy Bob’s Texas, the biggest Honky-Tonk in the world in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. The Stockyards is filled with stuff like: The Rodeo and just regular Cowboy stuff. Landry Ward beat Jaccob Charles by TKO in the 2nd round to win the main event. On the Broadcast Kevin Holland was in the booth with Steven Peterson, and rumor has it the Kevin Holland had a little outside the cage scrap, at the event. 😉
Main Event
Jaccob Charles vs Landry Ward – Lightweight
Round 1
Ward gets the takedown and tries for the RNC but he cant lock it up and Charles is able to power out of it and reverse position. Ward gets cut in the process
Round 2
Ward lands a big highkick, elbows and punches and rocks Charles. Charles pulls Ward down with a bulldog choke and Ward hammers Charles for a minute until the referee stops it.🚩 Landry Ward wins by TKO
Charles is just a brawler, his hands were down and he was just eating shots and coming forward. The man has a lot to improve on. Ward didn’t look bad, but he didn’t look as crisp as I’ve seen him before, but the thing that I like about Ward is his engine, he has a very good work-rate. And the man looked BIG, I dont even really know if they were fighting at Lightweight now! What I want to see from Ward going forward? Better competition. I need the LFA to give this man a call. I want Combate Americas to give this man a call. The “Lone star Kid” chants were in the audience tonight, and he brings tons of excitement. I’m really looking forward to his next fight
Joel Guzman vs Joseph Holmes – Muay Thai – LHW
Round 1
Tentative
Round 2
Holmes turns it up a little, still pretty stagnant on the feet
Round 3
Holmes is just a little cleaner.🚩 Joseph Holmes wins by Split decision
I thought it was the right call. Its interesting that Holmes took this fight on 3 days notice, and I think he just keeps getting better and better every time I see him. The ring announcers never even say “Joseph Holmes”, lmao they just call him “Ugly man Joe” its actually funny every time I hear it. Holmes got a very nice KO victory at LFA 96, and he follows that up with a very patient Muay Thai performance. I really want to see ugly man Joe take a lot more fights this year (if he’s not injured). The fight? The commentators never know Muay Thai rules, so its always weird. Trips are allowed in Muay Thai, and traditionally they have 2 minute breaks between rounds, both of these were frowned on by the commentary team. Guzman? He stayed on the outside a lot, he needed to come forward.
Keeton Gordon vs Evers Anderson – Bantamweight
Round 1
Anderson eats a leg kick and wresttles, he eats anonther leg kick and wrestles
Round 2
Gordon is throwing multiple strikes and winning, and Anderson walls and stalls for a little bit. Gordon clinches and wears on Anderson and then takes him down.
Round 3
Both come out trading slow shots. Gordon goes for a bad takedown, Anderson ends up on top and finishes him with punches. 🚩Anderson wins by TKO
Anderson has a wide stance and likes to push guys up against the cage, he’s very susceptible to lowkicks. Gordon is interesting, he looked good in the 1st and the 2nd, but I think he kinda quit in the 3rd. I personally had him winning the fight. I was pretty disappointed actually, I dont know what happened to him, the man just made a complete 180 in the 3rd round
Brandon Bennett vs Charles Williams – Lightweight
Round 1
Charles hits Bennett with a low kick and spins him around, he then rushes him down and finishes him with strikes. 🚩Williams wins by TKO
This is one of those fights that got over before it even got started. Bennett looked pretty bad in the short time that I saw him, and Williams showed that he has a killer instinct about him. I want to see more from Williams, in his early fights he lost to some tough dudes, but I’m glad to see that hasn’t deterred him. A lot of guys actually get a lot better when they’ve had some tough fights early in their career
Aldair Romero vs Rashaad Robinson
Round 1
Romero is fast and Robinson keeps his hands low. Romero is winning the stand up and Robinson clinches. Robinson gets the take down and Robinson pounds on Romero until the bell
Round 2
Robinson gets some strikes in and gets a takedown and pounds on Romero
Round 3
Both come out throwing single strikes. Robinson is coasting a little and gets a takedown. Romero closes his guard on Robinson and Robinson throws some tired shots. 🚩Rashaad Robinson wins by unanimous decision
I thought Robinson looked good here. I thought he was going to get the finish in the 1st round, but the referee let Romero take that beating. Romero looked a little one dimensional to be fair, and I thought Robinson actually looked even with him in the stand up. Robinson was better at “Total MMA’ than Romero. I’ll be watching to see how Robinson improves
Noah Villemarette vs Beachy Sutton – Ammy Welterweight
Round 1
Leg kicks exchanged. Villemarette gets a takedown and works to side control and gets up.
Round 2
Beachy is a little wild and Villemarette gets the takedown, and lands some ground and pound and sinks in the RNC. 🚩Villemarette wins by submission
Villemarette is further ahead, but its early days for these two guys
Enrique Charles vs Gilberto Melara – Ammy – Lightweight
Round 1
Missed it because of the stream
Round 2
Charles goes for a guillotine and is pretty slow. Melara is just not mindful of his neck and Charles locks up the Guillotine. 🚩Charles wins by submission
Charles has a guillotine, and Melara tested it and Charles passed the test
Landry Ward was unbroken