Titan FC 55 results – Puerta defeats Ledesma in five round blood bath
Titan Fighting Championship held Titan FC 55 fight card from Xtreme Action Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Friday, June 28.
The event which will be broadcast live on UFC Fight Pass features two title fights on the night.
The card was headlined by a flyweight title bout between defending champion Juan Puerta (16-6) and challenger, Claudio Ledesma (16-7).
Puerta recently served a suspension handed down by the Florida State Boxing Commission after the fighter admitted guilt and test results showed greater than 300 nanograms of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) prior to his scheduled Titan FC 53 title defense against Gustavo Balart in March.
The fight never happened as it was canceled just minutes before it was scheduled to take place. Puerta’s suspension ended on June 15. He was also fined $500, plus costs, and is required to engage in community service which entails speaking with the Stoneman Douglas wrestling team about the mistakes he made and lessons learned. He will also volunteer as a wrestling coach this summer.
“He is a good man and champion who made a mistake and will grow from it by helping others learn the lessons he learned the hard way,” Titan FC COO Lex McMahon said of Puerta.
Puerta entered tonight’s fight on a four fight win streak, three with the Titan FC promotion, to include claiming the then vacant title over Kazybek Ashimov in December.
His opponent, Claudio Ledesma came into the flyweight title fight with five consecutive decision victories in promotions such as PA Cage Fight, MMA Pro League, and Cage Fury Fighting Championships.
Tonight’s title fight was a five-round war, a blood bath that would see the champion retain his title, continuing to look for that shot with the UFC or ONE Championship.
Congrats Champ! #TitanFC55 pic.twitter.com/00g02qCLbu
— Titan FC (@TitanFighting) June 29, 2019
Undefeated Chase Hooper entered the Titan cage for the very first time as the exciting up and coming featherweight met former Titan FC 145-pound champion Luis Gomez in the night’s co-main event. It did not take very long for Hooper to show that he is the real deal, submitting the former champion in the very first round.
One of the greatest post-fight interviews of all-time! Congrats again to @chase_hooper! #TitanFC55 pic.twitter.com/qheLihvZwo
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) June 29, 2019
Irwin Rivera who was coming off an impressive first round finish of Lazar Stojadinovic at Titan FC 53 in March, met Matt Wagy for the promotion’s interim bantamweight title. Wagy was riding a three-fight win streak, most recently a split decision victory over Edir Terry at Titan FC 54. This contest would be stopped in the fourth after a technical knockout from a body shot. Rivera is your new champion.
Also, Jared “Nite Train” Gooden returned to the promotion to square up with Bruno Olivera at middleweight. Tonight however, was not Gooden’s night. He was TKO’d by Olivera early in round one.
Titan FC COO Lex McMahon paid a wonderful tribute to Jimmy Chappell, a Marine Corps Veteran, mixed martial artist, and referee, who unfortunately lost his life this past Sunday, June 23. Jimmy was a great friend to MyMMANews, so we deeply appreciate this very moving remembrance. Thank you Titan, thank you Lex, thank you UFC Fight Pass.
#MentalHealth is a subject we must address. #PTSD is real. Be there for somebody. #10count #TitanFC55 pic.twitter.com/Gkv8NV6YSw
— Titan FC (@TitanFighting) June 29, 2019
Titan FC 55 results:
Juan Puerta defeated Claudio Ledesma via unanimous decision (50-45, 48-47, 49-46) – Flyweight title – main event
Chase Hooper defeated Luis Gomez via submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Round 1, 3:31 – Featherweight – co-main event
Irwin Rivera defeated Matt Wagy via TKO (Body Shot) – Round 4, 4:18 – Bantamweight title – feature bout
Bruno Olivera defeated Jared Gooden via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:53 – Middleweight
Jeremie Holloway defeated Marc Stevens via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) – Lightweight
Timothy Teves defeated Caio Uruquai via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) – 150-pound Catchweight
Dean Barry defeated Corey Samuels via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:51 – Lightweight
Italo Da Silva Goncalves defeated George via unanimous decision – Welterweight
