XFC 16 took place Friday night in Knoxville, TN (practically my backyard). I was there, but sadly I had a very poor view of the action from the seat I was given. However, my brother-in-law, armed with a camera, installed himself cageside and managed to get some great photos over the course of the evening. After the jump are some of the winners and losers from the event, some shots of the fights, and some random thoughts about the whole thing.

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I was fortunate enough to attend XFC 16: High Stakes in Knoxville, TN Friday night. It was a solid show, even if being crammed into the small Knoxville Civic Auditorium meant that the press were relegated to floor seats in the crowd. The view wasn't great, but the fights were still entertaining and the energy in the arena was fantastic.

We had three prelims fights before the main HDNet broadcast started. First of all, we had a 180 lb catchweight fight between Shane Machette and Daniel Crockett. Crockett came in heavy at just over 183, which didn't make him popular with the crowd. But he didn't let the boos affect him. The fight went the full 3 rounds, with Crockett getting several takedowns and controlling most of the fight on the ground.

Crockett wasn't able to finish his opponent, but he was dominant for most of the fight, leading the judges to award him the decision win. That takes the Bristol, Tennessee fighter's record to 4-0.

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So ONE FC just concluded their second show, and here's a quick round-up and immediate thoughts after attending the event:

• Not that it surprised me that flyweights would bring the most excitement, but the Fight of the Night for me, was definitely the undercard bout between Team Lakay's Geje Eustaquio, and Alex Silva of Evolve MMA. Silva took a lot of hard shots, and was heavily bleeding throughout the fight, but the guy kept on coming. Geje fended off several very near submissions, and grinded out an exciting back and forth bout that had the Filipino fighter winning most of the striking exchanges.
• The main event bout between Ole Laursen and Felipe Enomoto was very very entertaining as well. First round went back and forth with Laursen winning most of the stand up exchanges. On the second round, I'm not sure if it was just fatigue, too much show-boating, or a mixture of both... But Laursen had his hands down when that head kick dropped him, and led to being choked out.
• I really enjoyed the leg kicks and strikes from the clinch that Laursen threw, but Felipe proved to have an excellent chin though, taking all those hard shots throughout the fight.
• I also want to see how the video from Yasubey Enomoto's GoPRO camera turned out. If you didn't notice, Felipe's brother and cornerman (who is an M-1 Champ), was wearing a camera on his head and was recording their entire fight.
• As for Bob Sapp... Well, he got his paycheck, and I don't think a lot of people are surprised.
  

More thoughts, and maybe a few weird rants after the jump.

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As with every major show, Bloody Elbow will be here to bring you live results, play by play and commentary for ONE FC 2: Battle of Heroes. The event will start with the beginning of the Prelims stream after the jump (7:30 a.m. ET), continuing through the Online PPV broadcast so make sure to make Bloody Elbow your home for this event.

Headlining the event is a lightweight battle between Ole Laursen and Felipe Enomoto, along with a featherweight bout between URCC Champion, Honorio Banario and Bae Young Kwon of Korea. Also on the card, Rolles Gracie takes on Bob Sapp in a super-heavyweight bout.

BloodyElbow's Anton Tabuena will be on-site in Jakarta, Indonesia and will be live tweeting as well.

Main Card (LIVE on PPV)

- Felipe Enomoto defeats Ole Laursen via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round 2 (3:49)

- Bae Young Kwon defeats Honorio Banario via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round 1 (0:56)

- Rustam Khabilov defeats Rodrigo Ribeiro via Unanimous Decision

- Gustavo Falciroli defeats Chul Kim via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round 1 (1:12)

- Rolles Gracie defeats Bob Sapp via Submission (Strikes) in Round 1 (1:18)

live play by play after the jump...

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As with every major show, Bloody Elbow will be here to bring you live results, play by play and commentary for ONE FC 2: Battle of Heroes. The event will start with the beginning of the Prelims stream after the jump (7:30 a.m. ET), continuing through the Online PPV broadcast so make sure to make Bloody Elbow your home for this event.

Headlining the event is a lightweight battle between Ole Laursen and Felipe Enomoto, along with a featherweight bout between URCC Champion, Honorio Banario and Bae Young Kwon of Korea. Also on the card, Rolles Gracie takes on Bob Sapp in a super-heavyweight bout.

BloodyElbow's Anton Tabuena will be on-site in Jakarta, Indonesia and will be live tweeting as well.

Main Card (LIVE on PPV)
- Felipe Enomoto defeats Ole Laursen via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round 2 (3:49)
- Bae Young Kwon defeats Honorio Banario via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round 1 (0:56)
- Rustam Khabilov defeats Rodrigo Ribeiro via Unanimous Decision
- Gustavo Falciroli defeats Chul Kim via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in Round 1 (1:12)
- Rolles Gracie defeats Bob Sapp via Submission (Strikes) in Round 1 (1:18)

Under Card (FREE Stream After the Jump)
- Victorio Senduk defeats Raymond Tiew via TKO (Knee Injury) in Round 1 (4:02)
- Geje Eustaquio defeats Alex Silva via Unanimous Decision
- Irshaad Sayed defeats Jessie Rafols via KO in Round (1:49)
- Peter Davis defeats Ngabdi Mulyadi via Submission (Triangle Choke) in Round 3 (3:54)
- Zuli Silawanto defeats Agus Nanang via TKO in Round 1 (0:47)

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A change of opponent on roughly one week's notice and the news that his light heavyweight title defense would become a heavyweight title bout didn't hinder Tom DeBlass from doing what he does best. Winning.

The #3-ranked light heavyweight on the 2012 World MMA Light Heavyweight Scouting Report dispatched of sizable veteran Randy Smith in forty-one seconds flat to win the Ring of Combat heavyweight crown on Friday night at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. DeBlass used speedy footwork early to avoid Smith's advances before pulling guard and transitioning to his defenseless leg, locking down a heel hook to win.

The victory undoubtedly shines a spotlight on DeBlass as one of the best up-and-coming light heavyweight talents in the world. Despite the change in opponent and the obvious skill difference between Smith and himself, a win is a win, and DeBlass has won seven straight, remaining unblemished in his professional fight career. It's time for DeBlass to get his shot in the big leagues.

Pellegrino MMA's Jeff Lentz implemented a high-flying karate striking game to cruise to a dominant unanimous decision victory over Giovanni Moljo to win the vacant Ring of Combat featherweight regional crown. The 22-year-old TUF alumni scored 30-25 scores across the board, punishing Moljo with a steady diet of heavy leg, body, and head kicks. His best chance to finish occurred in the second round after he buried a body kick into Moljo's midsection. Unfortunately, Lentz wasn't aggressive enough to finish, and Moljo proved throughout the fight that he was a tough competitor despite landing little offense. Lentz will face Ring of Combat featherweight national champion Deividas Taurosevicius next.

UFC veteran Pete ‘Drago' Sell rebounded from a tough loss at the hands of heralded prospect Nordine Taleb in November to beat Mitch Whitesel by unanimous decision. Whitesel proved to be a tough cookie in the opening minutes of the fight, wielding a strong jab and quick footwork to keep Sell at bay. As the fight dragged on, however, Sell found a way to bring the fight to the ground, slowing down Whitesel and controlling him to a point in which his offensive abilities weakened. Sell dominated the second and third rounds from top control, easily taking home a win to start out this year on a good note.

Tiger Schulmann's Uriah Hall survived an opening round scare at the hands of Daniel Akinyemi, submitting the Iron Ring finalist via heel hook with only ten seconds left in the round. Akinyemi took it to Hall early, blasting through his weak takedown defense and putting him on his back repeatedly. It looked as if Akinyemi was well on his way to winning the first round before Hall found his opportunity in Akinyemi's exposed limb.

Serra-Longo prospect Ed Gordon narrowly edged David Tkeshelashvili of the Republic of Georgia, winning by majority decision on the scorecards, 29-29, 29-28, 29-28, in light heavyweight action. Neither fighter was overly impressive or dominant in the affair, but Tkeshelashvili did hurt Gordon with a stray punch in the second round after a grappling intense first that saw Tkeshelashvili come up short trying to throw Gordon to the mat repeatedly. Gordon rebounded in the third with a more calculated approach on the feet, using footwork and speed to move in and out of Tkeshelashvili's range. It paid off, winning him the round and the fight.

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Ring of Combat 39 will take place on Friday, February 10 from the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The main event will feature highly-touted light heavyweight Scouting Report prospect Tom DeBlass as he battles late replacement Randy Smith at a 240 lb. catchweight. Also on the line is the Ring of Combat featherweight crown, lying vacant for either The Ultimate Fighter 14 contestant Jeff Lentz or Illinois' Giovanni Moljo to take. UFC veteran Pete Sell and 2011 Scouting Report prospect Uriah Hall will also make appearances alongside a bevy of great prospects in James Jenkins, Frankie Perez, Ed Gordon, and Jarred Mercado.

The card will air live on GFL.tv at 8:30 PM ET, cost is $14.99. If you're unable to follow along with the action on GFL.tv, join our live discussion in the comments and follow the play-by-play right here at BloodyElbow.com. The card is as follows:

Quick Results
Anthony Harrison def. Carlos Fonseca via unanimous decision (20-18, 20-17, 20-18)
Whitney Francois def. Pat Defranco by KO at 2:31 of Round 1
Frankie Perez def. Jeremy Uy via unanimous decision (20-16, 20-17, 20-17)
James Jenkins def. Dwayne Shelton via TKO, 1:51 of Round 3
Munah Holland def. Pearl Gonzalez via majority decision (29-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Jarred Mercado def. Rafael Fagundes Machado via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27, 30-27)
Ed Gordon def. David Tkeshelashvili by majority decision (29-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Duane van Helvoirt def. Lester Caslow via submission (triangle choke) at 1:49 of Round 1.
Uriah Hall def. Daniel Akinyemi via submission (heel hook) at 3:58 of Round 1.
Pete Sell def. Mike Whitesel via unanimous decision
Jeff Lentz def. Giovanni Moljo via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-25).
Tom DeBlass def. Randy Smith via submission (heel hook) at 0:41 of Round 1.

More play-by-play after the fold...

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Hey guys! It's Friday night which means that HDNet is showcasing some regional MMA. The show is headlined by two former UFC fighters in Drew Fickett and Jamie Varner, which could be a fight between two of MMA's biggest headcases. HDNet is set to broadcast a total of seven bouts according to the XFC website. XFC is the biggest regional promotion in Tennessee and with the deal with HDNet have improved their roster of fighters.

Jackie Maden from Gals Guide to MMA is at the arena covering the fights live and I, Matthew Roth, will be providing play by play for the televised card. As always results will be after the jump. Join Bloody Elbow at 9:00 PM ET/6 PM PT for the fights which air on HDNet. Also please NO REQUESTS FOR STREAMS IN THE COMMENTS.

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