Jacobi Jones Slices, Dices Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani in Gory LFA 158 Headliner

The Factory
X rep laid claim to the vacant
Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight championship, as he
dispatched Jean-Paul
Lebosnoyani with punches and elbows in the second round of
their
LFA 158 headliner on Friday at Gila River Resorts and Casinos’
Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona. Jones (6-1, 6-1 LFA) brought
it to a close 2:18 into Round 2.

Lebosnoyani (5-2, 4-1 LFA) applied maximum pressure but could not
force his counterpart to break. Jones dodged a bullet in the first
round, escaped an armbar from the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
and tore open multiple cuts with elbow-laced ground-and-pound.
Lebosnoyani pressed forward in Round 2, where he was met with a
picture-perfect knee strike that appeared to lengthen one of the
lacerations. Blood poured from the wound, covered both participants
and painted various parts of the canvas. Jones moved into top
position near the base of the fence, uncorking punches and elbows
until the job was done.

The setback was Lebosnoyani’s first since Nov. 15, 2019.

Meanwhile, unbeaten
MMA Lab prospect An Ho called upon
fluid stance switches, blinding spinning attacks and surprising
takedowns paired with damaging ground-and-pound, as he cruised to a
unanimous decision over Edwin
De Los Santos in the flyweight co-main event. All three
cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Ho (4-0, 4-0
LFA).

It was a rough night at the office for De Los Santos (2-2, 0-1
LFA). Ho kept him off-balance in standup exchanges and swooped in
for takedowns at opportune times. The 22-year-old achieved full
mount in the second round, progressed to the back and opened a gash
on the side of De Los Santos’ head with a slashing elbow strike. Ho
stretched his lead in Round 3 and punctuated his performance with a
beautiful wheel kick to the face in the waning moments.

De Los Santos, 29, has lost back-to-back bouts.

Further down the card,
Xtreme Couture’s Braden
Pagaoa cut down Humberto
Duarte with punches in the second round of their flyweight
showcase. Duarte (5-3, 0-1 LFA) checked out 47 seconds into Round
2, his four-fight winning streak have run its course.

Pagaoa (4-1, 4-1 LFA) marched down the Apex MMA export from the
start, operated behind an educated jab and unleashed vicious hooks
to the body. Duarte exploited a brief opening late in the first
round and eventually powered into top position, but his failure to
make real headway came back to haunt him. Early in Round 2, Pagaoa
cracked him with a left hook to the body and floored him with a
sweeping right hook upstairs. So exquisite was the combination that
no follow-up shots were necessary.

The 25-year-old Pagaoa has rattled off three straight
victories.

In other action, Ivan Tena
(6-1, 1-0 LFA) was awarded a unanimous decision against Riley
Wiseman (2-2, 1-2 LFA) in a three-round featherweight scrap;
Eric
McConico (6-2-1, 1-0 LFA) captured a unanimous verdict over
Kevem
Felipe (6-6, 1-1 LFA) in a three-round catchweight tilt at 190
pounds; Chance Ikei
(1-0, 1-0 LFA) took a unanimous decision from Joe
Stafford (0-2, 0-2 LFA) in a three-round flyweight affair; and
Tyler Jones
(1-0, 1-0 LFA) put away Alex
Martinez (0-1, 0-1 LFA) with punches 1:43 into the first round
of their lightweight clash; and an accidental kick to the groin
from Cedric
Katambwa (3-0, 3-0 LFA) resulted in a no contest with Austin
Wourms (5-5, 2-1 LFA) when the latter could not continue 53
seconds into the first round of their lightweight confrontation.