STFC 42 Recap

 

STFC 42 is officially in the books and it’s been over a fortnight since this event took so let’s get cooking. The card saw the co-main event scratched when Saul Elizondo had complications while making weight which forced him to seek medical care. There was a lot of back and forth leading up to this fight and even afterward so it was disappointing to see this rivalry not get a conclusion. Elizondo’s opponent, Leroy Martinez, was understandably upset over the cancellation of the fight. Martinez posted a Facebook live video to his page commenting on the situation which made a few of Elizondo’s supporters upset. Martinez was a sponsor for the event and addressed the situation in front of the STFC 42 audience by offering an apology to those upset by his comments. Martinez is scheduled to fight at STFC 43 in August against an opponent to be named later. “El Guapo” did drop a few hints about who his opponent might be though in a Facebook post.

Although there were many people upset over the scratched co-main event, the fans in attendance were still treated to some great fights. In the undercard of STFC 42, Chris Cuadra was able to keep his momentum by picking up a unanimous victory over Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez managed to knock down Cuadra a couple times in the fight but was unable to finish him. Cuarda’s attrition in this fight was the key factor in helping him secure the judges’ decision. Every time he was dropped he managed to find a way to escape danger and compose himself. Cuarda will fight for Fury FC 17 on June 10th in San Antonio.

In other amateur undercard action, Osiel Flores erases Nicolas Montanez goose egg with a TKO victory. Pete Herrera improves to 2-2 and hands Augrelio Guerra his first loss in his amateur debut. The debuting Allen Silva had to go the full length of the fight to defeated Jeff Campbell by decision. Lastly, in undercard action, Orlando Rodriguez bounced back from his most recent fight by defeating fight veteran Jorge Cortez by TKO and Julio Viramontes got the judges decision over Carlos Montemayor.

In the co-main event of the evening, Danny Salinas fell to Edmilison Frietas when the referee stopped the match on the doctor’s advice due to a leg injury. During the first round, there were no signs of an injury as Salinas’ was in his bag. His striking looked to be in vintage form and was bring the hammers from all angles. For a brief moment it looked like the return of the Salinas was going to conclude with his arm raised until the doctor stepped in  between round. After the call for “seconds out” the team of Salinas was still huddled around him while Salinas attempted to stand up. It was clear that Salinas was favoring his leg and looked to be injured. Letting the fight go on would have been a determinant to Salinas’ career and health. Although he was rightfully upset with the decision to stop the fight, Jake Montalvo made the right call. We don’t know what the future holds for one of STFC’s most revered fighters but we do hope to see him step in the cage again.

The last time STFC saw a fighter take the bantamweight title was on August 2, 2008, when Arniel Cortes defeated Randy Hinds at STFC 3: Warzone. Also appearing on the same card was Weslaco native, Michael Rodriguez who was making his professional debut against Emilio Juarez. 3,213 days since his debut, Michael Rodriguez etched his name in STFC history by defeating Eduardo Bustillos in the first round of the five round title match to become the second ever STFC bantamweight champion.

STFC next event is scheduled for August 25th. No match-ups have been announced but Leroy Martinez and Eli Rodriguez have both confirmed for the event.

STFC 42 highlights courtesy of Centena Digital

[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/CentenaDigital/videos/1496680427043636/” width=”500″ height=”400″ onlyvideo=”1″]

Quick Results

Michael Rodriguez defeated Eduardo Bustillos by Rear Naked Choke(3:24 of the 1st round) – TGS Submission of the Night

Edmilson defeated Danny Salinas by TKO(:10 of the 2nd round)

Orlando Rodriguez defeated Jorge Cortez by TKO(:22 of the 2nd round)

Allen Silva defeated Jeff Campbell by Unanimous Decision

Julio Viramontes defeated Carlos Montemayor via Unanimous Decision

Pete Herrera defeated Augrelio Guerra by TKO(2:41 of the 2nd round)

Osiel Flores defeated Nicolas Montanez by TKO(2:34 of the 2nd round) – TGS Knockout of the Night

Chris Cuadra over Roberto Rodriguez by Unanimous Decision – TGS Fight of the Night