SEROB “GULO” MINASYAN STOPS CHARON SPAIN IN UNF 6 HEADLINER, CALLS OUT CHRIS “TACO” PADILLA FOR FUTURE UNF LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
COMMERCE, Calif. — A capacity crowd turned out in support of UNF 6: BAD MEDS KILL REAL PEOPLE at the Commerce Casino on Saturday, March 25 and got a packed night’s worth of action in the rising promotion’s 3rd show in three months and 7th show since the brand’s triumphant entry as the Future of the Fight Game just 10 months ago.
Highlighting a special 80’s night event that featured nine professional and four UNF Rising Stars bouts, Serob “Gulo” Minasyan was responsible for a lot of the people in attendance and sent his fans home happy with a quick first-round TKO of Charon Spain in their three-round lightweight main event, taking just 52 seconds to earn his fourth straight first-round knockout and seventh straight win. “Gulo” barely broke a sweat as his hands did damage and sent Spain reeling, prompting the referee to halt the bout.
Afterwards, the Armenian-born Irvine, Calif. based “Gulo” called out fellow UNF fan favorite Chris “Taco” Padilla. Padilla accepted the challenge with a confident nod as the two went face-to-face in the cage moments afterwards and the fired-up crowd rejoiced over the possible matchup.
Elsewhere on the show, Los Angeles-based San Francisco-bred featherweight Brady Huang got a first-round submission via heel hook over San Bernardino’s Anthony Jimenez. Though the bout lasted just 31 seconds, Huang had to ride a rocky moment early as Jimenez landed some hard shots near the cage. But Huang quickly found the finish when Jimenez’s focus slipped just a bit.
In a bit of an upset between two middleweight pro debutantes, formerly top-ranked amateur middleweight Jake Babian of Long Beach was stopped on his feet by San Diego’s Blair Sannoh at 2:20 of the third round. Babian had the advantage early and also benefited from a point deduction to Sannoh in the second round due to a low blow, which was a bit dubious considering referee Michael Bell hadn’t warned Sannoh before taking the point. That just incensed Sannoh more and he rocked a seemingly gassed Babian in the third and landed a follow-up strike that caused Bell to halt the bout. Sannoh needed a knockout or a 10-8 round in the third in order to get the win and he pulled it off.
Other results: North Hollywood’s Artur Arutyunyan tapped out Tulare’s Marcelino Silva at 1:18 of the opening round in their bantamweight opener. Glendale’s Valodya Frangulyan won a UD3 over Luciano Ramos via scores of 30-27 three times in a featherweight bout. Reseda’s Keenan Lewis needed just 56 seconds to get a TKO over Mike Hansen of Anaheim in a bantamweight bout. Highland’s A.J. Bryant got a 2nd-round TKO over Greeneville, Tenn.’s Steven New in a featherweight fight. Tulare featherweight Brock Dias won a shutout UD3 over Glendale’s Elvis Shakhbazyan. Miami lightweight Diego Perez won a UD3 over Temecula’s Chase Peel on scores of 29-28 twice and 30-27 to end the night.
In the UNF Rising Stars portion of the card, Andrew Guzman beat Sahar Guetta by UD3 in a welterweight bout that produced fireworks with lots of standup. Raeshawn Roland of Pasadena won a UD3 over Long Beach’s Noah Davis in a bantamweight bout. Anthony DeSimone of Moorpark stopped Torrance’s Alexander Mashhadi with strikes. Whittier’s Desmond Alvarado won a shutout UD3 over Kevin Lizardo of Simi Valley.
The future matchup between Gulo Minasyan and Taco Paddilla may come sooner than later as UNF is set to make major announcements including a HUGE slate of 7 more shows for the rest of 2023, a new TV distribution deal, and more signings of the best MMA prospects and veterans on the west coast. For updated information, go to www.upnextfighting.com or follow Up Next Fights on all their social media channels including Youtube, Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, and Twitter.
ABOUT UNF:
Like a prize fighter who dedicates years towards seizing an opportunity and moment under the bright lights, UpNext Promotions has come out swinging to quickly become the most active and popular regional MMA brand in California. Capacity crowds, quality production and entertainment, and well-matched, fan-friendly fights have become a staple of every UNF show.
Led by experienced combat sports veterans and a dedicated team of professionals, UpNext Promotions is bringing the Future of the Fight Game to life by focusing on providing its athletes and fans with the greatest experience in the world of combat sports. UpNext Fighting is strongly committed to helping MMA fighters achieve real and consistent success, opportunities, and exposure that others in the business simply do not offer. The UNF team is focused on providing our athletes an incredible platform to showcase their skills, entertain the fans, and advance their careers in and out of the cage.
From the moment an MMA fighter signs up to step into the UNF cage, regardless of whether the fighter is making a debut or is a veteran of the sport, UNF treats every fighter like a true champion and star of the sport. And from the moment fight fans arrive at a UNF event, they become immersed in an electric atmosphere and quality sports and entertainment experience that only the grandest of MMA events can provide.
In a sport where so many are all about the hype, UNF is all about delivering amazing MMA events. The Future of the Fight Game is here and anyone part of the UNF family has a front row seat to who and what is UP NEXT!