XFC 13 in Tampa, Florida delivered another great night of fighting to MMA enthusiasts. In the preliminary matches, Avery McPhatter defeated Mark Brown by submission 4:50 into Round 1; Sammy Rodriguez defeated Joe Johnson by submission 2:10 into Round 1; Joe Calavitta defeated Horacio Rodriguez by submission 3:16 into Round 1; and Jason Hicks defeated Mike Milmerstadt by KO 1:36 into Round 1.
The Early Fights
The Middleweight fight featured Joe Ray and rising South African fighter, Jeremy “The Pitbull” Smith, whose fights for XFC Africa and XFC have quickly posited him as one of the world’s best middleweight fighters and gained credibility and recognition for the South African MMA scene. He’s fast becoming one of SteroidsLive’s favorite international fighters to watch.
Smith, whose entire left side of his face was swollen by the end of the fight, defeated Joe Ray by split decision, with scores of 30-27 for Smith, 29-28 for Ray, 30-27 for Smith; the decision leaned towards the Muay Thai-trained Smith due to his higher activity level during the fight and tenacious fighting.
Ian Stephens and Joe Heink had an arguably slow and boring welterweight match, resulting in unanimous decision of 30-27 for Stephens.
Gabriel Salinas-Jones and Parker Porter had an immediate rematch after their fight at XFC 12 in Cyprus, Greece, where Porter “bloodied up” Salinas-Jones. Porter entered the fight with a record of 4-1 with his sole loss from his fight with UFC’s Jon “The Bones” Jones, who knocked him out in 36 seconds at WCF World Championship Fighting 3 in June of 2008. Gabriel Salinas-Jones defeated Parker Porter and won the rematch by submission using a rear naked choke 4:50 into Round 1.
XFC offered a brilliant matchup in SteroidsLive’s favorite emerging MMA trend: female fighters with Marianna Kheyfets defeating Marissa Caldwell by unanimous decision in the Catchweight division. Marianna “The Crushen Russian” Kheyfets made her name in the MMA world when she defeated Kim Couture by submission using a triangle choke in July’s XFC 11- The Next Generation.
While the female fighters parried back and forth, staying neck and neck for the majority of the fight, all three judges awarded scores of 30-27 to Kheyfets, who kept her cool impressively throughout the fight.
Chris “Beast Boy” Barnett, whose sole MMA loss came by majority decision in October’s MC- Martial Combat 12 to Eric Prindle, weighed in 13 pounds above the heavyweight limit. Despite his troubles making weight, Barnett defeated Mario Rinaldi by TKO 1:44 into Round 2.
Although Rinaldi’s performance in the first round was aggressive, Barnett made a stellar comeback from Rinaldi’s forceful takedown, pounding Rinaldi against the cage until the referee finally stopped him. Both fighters displayed an amazing level of brutality in the fight.
The Main Event — Players
The main event featured a five-round featherweight title bout between Luis “Baboon” Palomino and Jarrod “Wild” Card in which Palomino would inevitably land a crippling kick to Card and continue to attack the injured leg, taking him down from his weak spot and finishing him off.
Jarrod “Wild” Card’s 12-4-1 record comes from just about every promotion: Kick Enterprises, In the Cage, Wild Bill’s Fight Night, WFC, Reality Combat Championship, GCM, Hip-2, Premier X-treme Fighting, ISCF, RFC, and Atlas Fights.
Miami native Luis “Baboon” Palomino, with his trademark shocking red Crayola-colored hair, went into the fight with a record of 13-6 from AFC, WEF, PFL, RIC, PXF, United States Fight League, G-Force Fights, and Bellator Fighting Championships.
Card was defending the XFC Featherweight Championship that he won at XFC 8 against Bruce Connors, after which he spent nearly a year out of the cage, rehabilitating a shoulder injury, before his return to fighting in February 2010.
The Main Event — Round By Round
In the first round, Palomino threw missed punches at Card, who he takes into the clinch. As Card throws right uppercuts at Palomino, he escapes from Palomino’s attempted takedown, who immediately follows his thwarted attempt with an outside leg kick and left hook. After Card takes down Palomino, he manages to land strikes on him. Quickly escaping from his vulnerable position, Palomino retaliates with a two-punch combo, taking the first round.
Round 2 starts slow, as Card attempts to bring Palomino to the ground. Neither fighter makes much progress in Round 2; however, Palomino emerges with a cut above his right eye, which, upon replay, turns out to be the result of an accidental head-butt.
At the beginning of the third round, Palomino delivers an outside leg kick that leaves Card limping for the rest of the fight, a weakness that he later uses to attack Card’s Achilles’ heel and take him down. Palomino deftly escapes Card’s attempt at a clinch and uses his momentum to push him to the other side of the fence.
Although the round ends with Card on top, Palomino has already assaulted him with leg kicks and a straight right, taking the round. An obviously confused and bewildered Jarrod Card hugs Luis Palomino at the end of the third round with two rounds left in their fight.
As Card unsuccessfully attempts to go for the clinch, Palomino lands punches and a leg kick, staying strong through the beginning of the fourth round. “Wild” Card attempts to throw a wild card at Palomino, baiting Palomino to rush at him from a distance to set up a takedown with Palomino’s own momentum, but he fails again, finishing up the round with Card pinned to the fence by Palomino who lands brutal strikes on Card and forceful Ground n Pound.
Palomino delivers a kick to Card’s already injured leg at the beginning of the fifth round, increasing his limp and continuing to attack Card’s now weak spot. He continues to brutalize Card, giving him a bloody nose and elbowing his chin, finishing the round with Card lying on the ground as Palomino delivers a spinning back kick to his already abused legs.
Palomino emerged as XFC’s Featherweight Champion, defeating Jarrod “Wild” Card by unanimous decision of 50-45. XFC’s main event was certainly the show of brute force, blood, and gritty, shameless, dirty fighting that MMA enthusiasts have come to expect.
XFC Brand Development and International Fights Holds Great Things for Fans
XFC has been expanding its brand around the world and surpassed the depth of UFC’s matches with the inclusion of female fighters. XFC is an exciting promotion to watch. After last year’s expansion into Africa with its association with South Africa’s Fight Club (now XFC Africa), XFC President, John Prisco, announced his intentions to run three shows in China, continuing his tradition of running fights in exotic locales.
Having gained international acclaim and recognition after only 13 fights, fans have a great deal to expect and watch as XFC increases its brand identity in both breadth and depth.