Alexis De la Cerda provides the highlight of the evening with a brutal knockout, while Andres Cortes outpoints Garcia in the main event.
Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing returned to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas yesterday with its fifth event – Zuffa Boxing 05. Andres Cortes beat Eridson Garcia by unanimous decision on points in the main bout of the lightweight division. Cortes (25-0, 13 knockouts) thus remained unbeaten and secured the biggest win of his career to date. The local hero from Las Vegas was clearly the better man in the ring and controlled the action for much of the ten-round fight, frustrating Garcia (23-2, 14 knockouts) time and again with his jab and ring intelligence. Garcia was deducted a point in the fourth round for holding. The judges scored the fight 97-92, 96-93 and 95-94.
In the co-main event, former WBC featherweight world champion Mark Magsayo secured a spectacular knockout victory over Ireland’s Feargal McCrory. Magsayo (29-2, 19 knockouts) put down a clear marker on his Zuffa debut. After a dominant performance, McCrory’s corner threw in the towel in the fifth round. McCrory (17-2, 9 knockouts) was already badly hurt in the fourth round after a hard overhand right and appeared to be knocked out at times, but still managed to survive the round.
Alexis De la Cerda remains unbeaten with devastating knockout win in round three against Ervin Fuller III
Arguably the most brutal performance of the evening was delivered by featherweight Alexis De la Cerda. The 22-year-old from Washington remained unbeaten and scored a devastating knockout in the third round against Ervin Fuller III. De la Cerda (9-0, 5 knockouts) landed a perfectly timed right hook to the chin in the infight that sent Fuller III face-first to the mat. Referee Robert Hoyle stopped the fight immediately at 2:33 minutes.
In an eight-round lightweight bout, Tony Hirsch Jr. dealt Robert Meriwether III the first loss of his career. Hirsch Jr. (8-0-2, 4 knockouts) won by majority decision, with the judges scoring it 77-75 and 78-74 in his favor, while a third judge saw it a draw (76-76). Meriwether Jr. (10-1, 4 knockouts), who had impressed at Zuffa 01 in January, deservedly lost out in Las Vegas.
In the super featherweight division, Armenian title contender Azat Hovhannisyan (23-6, 17 knockouts) secured a majority decision victory over his equally highly rated opponent Eduardo Baez (25-8-2, 10 knockouts). The scores were 95-95, 97-93 and 96-94 after ten hard-fought rounds.
On the undercard, Jorge Maravillo celebrated another early victory. The Los Angeles super welterweight trailed on all three scorecards before sending Diaz (15-4, 8 knockouts) to the floor with a left hook in the fifth round. Diaz remarkably got back to his feet, but Maravillo (12-0-1, 9 knockouts) followed up decisively and forced the referee to stop the fight after another left jab.