RFA 23 Recap: Terrion Ware edges out Joe Murphy in FOTY candidate

What RFA 23 may have lacked in starpower, it certainly made up for in action.

Broadcasted live on AXS TV from The Hangar in Costa Mesa, Calif, RFA 23 featured some of the sport’s elite upcoming prospects.

In what should be an early consideration for ‘Fight of the Year,’ veteran bantamweight Terrion Ware earned a unanimous decision over fellow local product Joe Murphy. Although Murphy missed weight fairly badly coming in at 141 pounds the day prior, the striking war kept the crowd on its feet for the entire 15 minutes. With the win, Ware likely put himself into title contention to face RFA champion Luke Sanders sooner than later.

In the night’s co-main event, Brazilian standout Gabriel Checco scored an early first-round TKO stoppage of ‘Ultimate Fighter’ alum Joseph Henle. Now training out of Extreme Couture, ‘Zangief’ looks to be making the most out of his move from Sao Paulo to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Further down the main card, Nova Uniao’s Raoni Barcelos proved to be too much too soon for the 5-0 former All-American wrestler Jamal Parks. Training out of Texas’ Team Takedown, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy seemed in over his head from the start. Catching Parks rushing in, Barcelos was able to connect with a short counter right that sent his opponent crashing to the mat midway through round one.

In women’s strawweight action, former TUF 20 hopeful Jocelyn Lybarger went three hard-fought rounds with undefeated 2-0 up and comer Maria Rios. Despite having missed weight by just over a pound, Lybarger’s gritty performance likely earned her the unanimous decision nod from the judges. With Rios a training partner of former RFA champ and current UFC lightweight Christos Giagos, expect more impressive showings from her in the future.

See below for the rest of the night’s results:

Dominic Waters def. Mikey Gomez via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,30-27)
Adam Antolin def. Ron Henderson via technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:06 of Round 3
Mike Jasper def. Blake Troop via TKO (strikes) at 2:12 of Round 3
Christian Aguilera def. Tim Quiroga via TKO (punches) at 0:52 of Round 1
Dan Ige def. Ian Millan via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:51 of Round 1

What RFA 23 may have lacked in starpower, it certainly made up for in action.

Broadcasted live on AXS TV from The Hangar in Costa Mesa, Calif, RFA 23 featured some of the sport’s elite upcoming prospects.

In what should be an early consideration for ‘Fight of the Year,’ veteran bantamweight Terrion Ware earned a unanimous decision over fellow local product Joe Murphy. Although Murphy missed weight fairly badly coming in at 141 pounds the day prior, the striking war kept the crowd on its feet for the entire 15 minutes. With the win, Ware likely put himself into title contention to face RFA champion Luke Sanders sooner than later.

In the night’s co-main event, Brazilian standout Gabriel Checco scored an early first-round TKO stoppage of ‘Ultimate Fighter’ alum Joseph Henle. Now training out of Extreme Couture, ‘Zangief’ looks to be making the most out of his move from Sao Paulo to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Further down the main card, Nova Uniao’s Raoni Barcelos proved to be too much too soon for the 5-0 former All-American wrestler Jamal Parks. Training out of Texas’ Team Takedown, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy seemed in over his head from the start. Catching Parks rushing in, Barcelos was able to connect with a short counter right that sent his opponent crashing to the mat midway through round one.

In women’s strawweight action, former TUF 20 hopeful Jocelyn Lybarger went three hard-fought rounds with undefeated 2-0 up and comer Maria Rios. Despite having missed weight by just over a pound, Lybarger’s gritty performance likely earned her the unanimous decision nod from the judges. With Rios a training partner of former RFA champ and current UFC lightweight Christos Giagos, expect more impressive showings from her in the future.

See below for the rest of the night’s results:

Dominic Waters def. Mikey Gomez via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,30-27)
Adam Antolin def. Ron Henderson via technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:06 of Round 3
Mike Jasper def. Blake Troop via TKO (strikes) at 2:12 of Round 3
Christian Aguilera def. Tim Quiroga via TKO (punches) at 0:52 of Round 1
Dan Ige def. Ian Millan via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:51 of Round 1