Eagle Fight Club (EFC) — now owned by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight legend, Khabib Nurmagomedov — returns to the airwaves tonight (Fri., Jan. 28, 2022) with a slew of familiar faces in tow.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of tonight’s main card on FLXCast. The undercard broadcast begins at 6 p.m. ET, with the main card likely to kick off around 8 p.m. ET.
EFC 44’s main event sees multi-sport standout Tyron “King of the Ring” Spong return to the cage for the first time in over eight years against PRIDE, Strikeforce, and Bellator veteran Sergei Kharitonov, while former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans ends his retirement against grappling ace Gabriel Checco in the co-feature.
Also on tap are a Bantamweight clash between Ray Borg and Cody Gibson, a Welterweight battle between veteran John Howard and Contender Series vet Ramazan Kuramagomedov, and ONE standout Raimond Magomedaliev against WEC and UFC competitor Anthony Njokuani.
EFC 44 Quick Results:
Tyron Spong vs. Serghei Kharitonov — Kharitonov def. Spong by TKO (punches) at 2:55 of Round Two
Gabriel Checco vs. Rashad Evans — Evans def. Checco by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Ray Borg vs. Cody Gibson — Borg def. Gibson by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28 x2)
John Howard vs. Ramazan Kuramagomedov — Kuramagomedov def. Howard by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 30-26)
Raimond Magomedaliev vs. Anthony Njokuani — Magomedaliev def. Njokuani by TKO (punches) at 2:49 of Round One
Arman Ospanov vs. Dylan Salvador — Salvador def. Ospanov by TKO (corner stoppage) at 5:00 of Round Two
Shaun Asher vs. Yorgan De Castro — De Castro def. Asher by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:04 of Round One
Miles Hunsinger vs. Demarques Jackson — Jackson def. Hunsinger by TKO (punches) at 0:54 of Round One
Shawn Bunch vs. Firdavs Khasanov — Bunch def. Khasanov by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Loik Radzhabov vs. Zach Zane — Razhabov def. Zane by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:23 of Round One
EFC 44 Round-by-Round Coverage:
265 lbs.: Tyron Spong vs. Sergei Kharitonov
Round one: Hard low kick from Spong. Jab exchange. Low and body kicks. Kharitonov catches a low kick to land on top in half guard. Right to kesa gatame, then mount a minute in. Short right hands, staying patient. Continuing to chip away. Two minutes in. Harder shots as Spong tries to stand but gets shoved back to the mat. Still in full mount. Two minutes to go.
Right hands, elbow. Now he postures up for some heavier shots. High mount. Spong can’t buck him off. One minute to go. Kharitonov picking his shots. Looks for an americana, nothing doing. 10-8 Kharitonov.
Round two: Kharitonov shoots, can’t complete it, lands a knee. Jabs from Kharitonov, avoids an overhand right. Trading jabs, low kicks from Spong. One minute in. Body shot lands for Spong. Simultaneous jabs. Kharitonov continuing to advance. Both whiff on uppercuts. Low kick from Kharitonov and he catches the return one for another takedown into guard. Side control two minutes in. Elbows from Kharitonov, right back to mount. He postures up and pounds until the ref intervenes.
Final result: Kharitonov def. Spong by TKO (punches)
205 lbs.: Gabriel Checco vs. Rashad Evans
Round one: Body and low kicks from Checco. Continuing to land. Evans catches one and tries to counter a minute in. Evans advancing but not throwing much. Now he catches one and takes Checco down into side control. Looking for the crucifix two minutes in. Checco regains guard. Two minutes to go.
Checco brings up his guard, can’t find anything. Evans passes to side control. Checco regains guard again, can’t find an armbar with a minute to go. Side control once again. 10-9 Evans.
Round two: Checco fires a body kick. Evans looks for a head kick, blocks a wheel kick. Evans grabs a rear waist lock and looks to drag Checco down, but gets stymied by some fence grabs. He still muscles him to the mat and drops punches before taking mount a minute in. Checco spins for a leg, but Evans gets his knee out, then slides into crucifix after avoiding another attempt. Two minutes in. Checco manages to work his way up and hunt his own takedown, tripping Evans down against the fence with two minutes to go.
Evans quickly takes top position, but has to fight off another leglock. In 50/50 with a minute to go. Evans ultimately manages to free his leg and settle in guard before the bell. 10-9 Evans.
Round three: Checco tries to shoot, then falls to his knees as Evans tries to pound him out. Another leglock attempt. One minute in. Evans spins free and goes to side control. Two minutes to go. Checco turns to his knees and Evans looks for punches. Body knee, more punches. He easily avoids another leglock attempt to retake side control. Two minutes to go.
Half guard now. Another failed leglock by Checco. Back to guard with a minute to go. Checco looking for wrist control, lands an upkick. Back to side control before the bell. 10-9 Evans.
Final result: Evans def. Checco by unanimous decision
135 lbs.: Ray Borg vs. Cody Gibson
Round one: Gibson looking to jab, mixing in low kicks. Really nice jab and lateral movement so far. 1-2s don’t connect. Borg times a low kick for a single-leg attempt. One minute in. Gibson landing as he defends. They separate. Gibson staying at range, continuing to land jabs and low kicks. Body kick. Overhand right whiffs. Two minutes in. Gibson hauls him to the fence, then separation. Borg lands a low kick, tries to catch one and takes an eye poke. Good 1-2. Gibson’s composure kinda falls apart when he throws more than one at a time. Nice sequence of lefts from Borg with two minutes to go.
Liver shot from Borg, right to the body from Gibson. Borg doing better later in the round. 1-2-body kick by Gibson. Solid head movement. Borg whiffs on a combo with a minute to go. Gibson puts him on the fence. Late rush after they separate. 10-9 Gibson.
Round two: Gibson pressures him to the fence with punches and changes levels. No dice on the single-leg. Borg advancing, puts together a nice high-low combo. One minute to go. Low kick exchange. Three-piece from Borg. Gibson lands a shifting left. Good 1-2 and they trade in the center, both men landing clean. Borg shoots, denied. Gibson lead right, takes himself off-balance with an overhand and ties up. Solid jabs. Lovely body shot from Borg in combination. He’s doing well when he can get inside. Body kick connects. Two minutes to go.
Borg eats a low blow, but pushes the ref aside when he tries to pause the action. Wheel kick attempt, which allows Gibson to take him down. Borg tries to spin to his back, settles for top position against the fence. Half guard, mount, guillotine attempt, can’t get it but takes half guard with a minute to go. Nice elbows on Gibson’s already-cut eye. Cut under the brow, that could be an issue. More elbows. 10-9 Borg.
Round three: Borg continuing to push forward, drags Gibson to the mat with a double-leg against the fence. Gibson’s bleeding from his ear as well. Gibson gets to his feet and Borg switches to a rear waist lock before changing levels. One minute in. Borg gets him down once again. Elbow connects. Two minutes in. Gibson unable to get his back against the fence, can’t get anything on an armbar attempt. Looking for the back again, then an arm triangle. Solid punches after abandoning it. Two minutes to go.
Borg looking for the arm triangle again, loses it but takes mount. Tries again, can’t get it. Gibson gives up his back. Back to half guard with a minute to go. Nasty elbows and punches. Borg throwing with malice, retakes mount. He tries a late armbar, ends up on the bottom, then blasts Gibson with a gigantic upkick. 10-8 Borg.
Final result: Borg def. Gibson by unanimous decision
175 lbs.: John Howard vs. Ramazan Kuramagomedov
Round one: Howard comes out aggressively, prompting Kuramagomedov to change levels. Good chain wrestling into a successful single-leg. On top in half guard. Kuramagomedov staying close, landing short left hands. Two minutes in. He’s controlling Howard’s opposite wrist well. Howard gets to his knees. Working his way up with two minutes to go.
Kuramagomedov still landing short lefts, avoids a leglock to force Howard back to the mat. One minute to go. Heavy shoulder pressure. Looking for a late back take. 10-9 Kuramagomedov.
Round two: Howard stalking, digs a right to the body that gets him taken down again. Kuramagomedov on top in guard a minute in. Keeping up the short ground-and-pound. Two minutes in. On to half guard. Howard regains guard and tries to elevate. Back to his feet, Kuramagomedov trying to keep a hook in standing. I’d do the usual timestamps but the clock vanished a while back.
Nice body lock takedown puts Kuramagomedov back on top. Short body punches. 10-9 Kuramagomedov.
Round three: Kuramagomedov slips after eating a kick and Howard tries to swarp, successfully stopping the first takedown. Brazilian kick attempt from Kuramagomedov. Low kick and jabs. Intercepting knee, low kick. Howard still advancing but not offering much. One minute in. Teep to the face knocks Howard over for a moment. Kuramagomedov tries a hook kick, then shoots. It takes some chaining, but he gets Howard down into guard. Two minutes to go.
Howard again gets to his feet, but again can’t dislodge Kuramagomedov. Short punches against the fence. One minute to go. Kuramagomedov tries to spin, can’t land, and Howard chases him until the bell. 10-9 Kuramagomedov.
Final result: Kuramagomedov def. Howard by unanimous decision
175 lbs.: Raimond Magomedaliev vs. Anthony Njokuani
Round one: Heavy kicks from Magomedaliev to start. Brazilian kicks nearly connecting. Hard low kick briefly puts Njokuani on his butt. Magomedaliev tries a wheel kick, slips, then puts Njokuani on the fence. Knees downstairs, inside trip into guard. Njokuani works his way up two minutes in, but Magomedaliev stays attached and fires knees before tripping him back down. Right to full mount. Magomedaliev starts firing punches as Njokuani shells up and the volume is enough to force the ref into action.
Final result: Magomedaliev def. Njokuani by TKO (punches)