Paul "Semtex" Daley Defeats John Alessio at MFC 19

Paul Daley defeated John Alessio by TKO in the second round at MFC 19 tonight.  Alessio spent the first round trying for takedowns while Daley defended very well.  It took over a minute before Alessio was able to get the fight to the ground but Daley stayed active on the bottom not taking any damage before eventually escaping back to his feet.  As they stood Alessio appeared a bit winded and Daley closed out the round with a takedown of his own.

In the second round it was more of the same as Alessio continued to look for the takedown but Daley was able to defend and get separation.  At this point Alessio's mouth was wide open and Semtex took over.  A few left hooks, a couple uppercuts and a kick which landed mostly knee to face knocked Alessio to the mat.  Two big shots later and the ref jumped in to save Alessio from any further damage.

It should be noted that Semtex showed up four pounds overweight and had to sacrifice 25% of his purse as a penalty.  After the fight Daley said he wants to fight in January for either Sengoku or Affliction.

In the main event of the evening the MFC Light Heavyweight Championship was on the line as Champion Roger Hollett took on Emanuel Newton.  The first round showcased Hollett stalking but not dealing much damage while Newton threw over three times as many strikes.  This was the first time Hollett was taken out of the first round.  About midway through the second round Newton was able to secure a takedown and do a little work with punches as Hollett threw his legs up looking for an armbar.  Newton was unable to deal any significant damage on the ground but he kept the action there and stayed on top landing the occasional punch and elbow which was enough to put him up 20-18 on the BloodyElbow.com scorecard.

Round three was fought from a distance as Hollett staleked and Newton used footwork to stay outside.  Hollett won the round on the BloodyElbow.com scorecard through leg kicks and a knee that landed solidly after a stuffed takedown attempt.  Hollett was looking to come out more aggressive in the fourth round but Newton caught a low kick and took Hollett to the ground where he began to throw punches.  The fight was stood back up and it went back to the distance battle but this round Newton threw more combinations.  Again a low kick was caught but this time Newton landed a beautiful slam takedown.  Again they were stood up.  But Newton closed out the round taking no real damage.  10-9 round for Newton making the fight 39-37 on the BloodyElbow scorecard.  Newton landed 34 strikes to Hollet's 3 in the fourth round.

Early in the fifth round they went right to the ground off a Newton takedown.  Not a ton of action as they were on the mat but Newton stayed busy with occasional elbows and punches before the fighters were stood up with 1:20 left in the fight.  Time then ran out on the fight and on Hollett's title reign.

The official scorecards were 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46  as Emanuel Newton became the new MFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Full Results in the extended entry...

LHW: Aron Lofton (4-1) def. Jason Kuchera (3-3) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:44 of Round 1