STFC 37 Recap and Notes

Quick Results for STFC 37:

-Zachary Farrington def Emmit Reza Cruz by TKO at 2:01 in the 1st RD

-Nick Montanez def Carlos Gallegos Cuellar by TKO in the 2nd RD

Recap

The last STFC show of the year is in the books and we now have a glance of what the new year will bring for the promotion. We know that Elias Garcia will be one of the participants fighting for the new flyweight title- the remaining opponent has still yet to be named or how that participant will be determined. Garcia is going to be a tough test for anybody that is placed in front of him especially with a title at stake. As speculated, Sam Guardiola could get the slot against Garcia since he was originally scheduled to face Garcia for the title at STFC 37 but there could be other plans in the works.

In the co-main Roldan “Flaco” Abundis took the unanimous decision over David Armas. Although Abundis captured his first professional win, this fight was a bit of a struggle to watch. It didn’t meet the expectations that I set in the STFC 37 preview but I think it has to do with the five minute rounds. Abundis did note in his interview with Noe B. that he was informed a week out that this fight would be five minutes instead of the traditional three minutes that we are use to seeing in STFC. Abundis was visibly tired after the first round since he exerted so much energy keeping Armas down- before the second round began you could see Abundis take some deep breathes. The match mostly consisted of Abundis taking the back of Armas for the first two rounds and the third consisted of Armas circling Roldan. Abundis looked to be at least 10lbs bigger than Armas which helped him in wrestling Armas to the ground. 

Stephen Perez fell victim to the scorecards once again in his battle with Juan Pina. Perez has two consecutive controversial losses and has voiced his frustration on social media by saying he will be appealing this fight to TDLR.

It will be interesting to see what TDLR does when Perez takes his case to Austin. I don’t expect the fight to be overturned even with the scoring not being consistent but I think it’s more important for him to voice his displeasure of the judging to bring awareness to this issue. For reference, here is how all three judges scored the fight:

• Chapa – 28-29
• Beltran- 28-29
• Maldonado – 29-28

As mentioned before, the fight of the night involved a pair of Rodriguezes, Jerry and Mike. As I blindly predicated in the STFC 37 preview, this fight was a stand up war with Jerry coming out on the losing end. As soon as the bell ran, these two men started trading punches that brought the crowd to their feet. Mike landed more punches but Jerry just kept on coming forward that was almost reminiscent of Chris Leben. Mike wore down Jerry with an onslaught of punches and ultimately fell victim to Mike’s gullotine in the 2nd round. This was a great fight that hopefully will be put out on Youtube so those that were not in attendance can witness. Till then, enjoy this small clip.

Robert Aguirre continues to have a spotless record with his defeat over Marcus Huerta. This fight was a stand up fight, for the most part, but the majority consisted of Aguirre countering and showing off his impressive Muay Thai striking.