Fury FC 31 marked a move to a new venue for Texas’ Fury Fighting Championship, and with four first-round finishes -- and only two of the 10 fights making it to the final bell -- the celebration included plenty of fireworks.
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In the main event, flyweight Shawn Solis sniped Christian Lira, running his professional ledger to 3-2 and avenging a loss to Lira in his professional debut in April 2017. Lira was the aggressor from the start, with Solis giving ground and looking for an opportunity to counter. That opportunity came at 2:07 of the first round, as Lira ran right onto a beautiful counter right, dropping him. Solis gave chase, but follow-up punches would not be needed, as referee Jeff Rexroad stopped the fight immediately, leaving a dazed Lira clinging to a single-leg.
Featherweight prospect Alonzo Sanchez made a successful professional turn after racking up a 9-1 amateur record in Texas regionals, defeating Shakeem Richardson in the co-main event. In a classic striker-versus-grappler affair, Sanchez worked a diligent gameplan, working for takedowns against the fence and denying Richardson the room to unleash his long kicks and punching combinations, and was rewarded with a unanimous decision victory.
Heavyweight Sebastian Storm, originally scheduled to compete on the amateur portion of the card, instead ended up making his professional debut and wasted little time in leveling Chris Rose with a left head kick that flattened Rose, leaving him out cold on the canvas at 1:07 of Round 1. Rose, whose greatest claim to fame is having once fought Jason David Frank, the Green Ranger from Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers and the founder of Christian-themed MMA apparel company Jesus Didn’t Tap, falls to 0-4.
In the bantamweight main-card opener, Casey Jones made quick work of Ricardo Delgado. Legacy Fighting Alliance veteran Jones used a single-leg to run Delgado to the mat in the first 45 seconds, and the fight would never make it back to the feet. Jones peppered Delgado with short punches while working to sink his hooks before locking up a rear-naked choke that forced Delgado to tap out at 2:02 of the first round.
In the amateur prelims, Tedrick Macklin defeated Derrick Fields via third-round guillotine choke to capture the Fury amateur welterweight title. The victory improves Macklin’s amateur record to 4-1; the 22-year-old told Sherdog.com that he plans to make his professional debut this spring.
In other preliminary action, Paris Moran blasted Josh Walker with a sensational flying left hook for a third-round TKO win and the Fury amateur bantamweight title; Josh Rosen starched Gabriel Echavarry with a huge overhand right, winning the Fury amateur featherweight title in a mere 38 seconds; Brianna Winfrey defeated Kristin Kotinek via second-round punches in their 140-pound catchweight affair, the end coming at 1:43; Edmilson Santos knocked out Taylor Hickman at 2:48 of the second round of their lightweight contest; and Christopher Tovar outstruck and outlasted a tiring Justin Hoffart to win a decision by unanimous 29-28 scorecards.
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