The Gentleman Slices & Submits Lohsen at APFC 25

Jalin “The Gentleman” Fuller continues to leave a trail of bodies behind him as he carves through the APFC welterweight division.

In front of the hometown crowd at Isleta Resort & Casino, Fuller successfully defended his APFC Welterweight Championship for the second time, submitting Christian Lohsen with his signature ninja choke at 3:35 of the second round.

The victory moves Fuller to 4-0 inside the APFC and extends his current winning streak to five fights. More importantly, it continues to strengthen the argument that the champion has done everything he can at the regional level and deserves a call to the UFC.

Lohsen deserves credit for becoming the first fighter to push Fuller beyond the opening round in APFC.

The challenger came into the championship fight looking to create an upset, swinging big overhands and finding success getting Fuller to the mat multiple times. But throughout the fight, Fuller never gave an inch. The champion remained composed, picking his shots and methodically dissecting Lohsen at every level.

As the second round progressed, Fuller’s pressure began to take its toll. After breaking Lohsen down, Fuller ripped off a multi-strike combination before finishing the sequence with a left high kick that opened Lohsen across the right eyebrow.

Blood began pouring from the cut, but Lohsen continued to fight. The challenger managed to get the fight back to the mat, only for Fuller to take top position and begin pouring on ground strikes as Lohsen found himself fighting from a pool of his own blood. Lohsen attempted to create opportunities for leg locks, but Fuller remained one step ahead.

Then came the opening. With Lohsen’s neck exposed, Fuller immediately jumped on his opportunity and locked in the ninja choke. Lohsen had nowhere to go, forcing the referee to stop the fight and officially making Fuller’s second title defense another finish.

At this point, there is little left for “The Gentleman” to prove at the regional level.

Croes Keeps Rolling

Jeandrick Croes continued his rapid rise in the co-main event, earning his fifth consecutive victory and fourth straight first-round finish by submitting Jared McLoughlin at 1:44. After getting a look at McLoughlin’s striking, Croes quickly decided to bring the fight to the ground. Once there, he took McLoughlin’s back and showcased some impressive creativity, locking up an arm-in rear choke to force the tap. Croes improves to 6-1 as a professional and continues to establish himself as one of APFC’s most dangerous emerging prospects.

Hussey Wins a Grueling Battle

Mark Hussey put together a pressure-filled, wrestling-heavy performance against Yomi Heredia. Hussey continually pushed Heredia backward, repeatedly finding takedowns and maintaining control for much of the 15-minute contest. It was a grueling affair from start to finish, with Hussey’s relentless pace and wrestling earning him a clean sweep on the judges’ scorecards, 30-27 across the board.

Trevino Remains Perfect

Lorenzo Trevino remained perfect at 6-0 with a second-round TKO victory over Lorenzo Carter in a high-paced 140-pound catchweight bout. The opening round was fought at a frantic pace, with Trevino’s momentum building as the minutes passed. Sensing an opportunity to finish, Trevino unloaded against the fence. Carter survived the barrage, but in the final seconds of the round a right hook strayed low, bringing the action to a halt. The timeout did little to slow Trevino. Instead, he returned in the second round with even more urgency, picking Carter apart and forcing him to shoot for a takedown. Trevino stuffed the attempt and immediately took advantage of the position, raining down ground strikes until the referee stepped in. With a perfect 6-0 MMA record and a 3-0 record in Karate Combat, Trevino is another regional standout pounding on the door of the UFC.

Ruane Stays Unbeaten

Dylan Ruane kept his unbeaten record intact by submitting Henry Barahona at 4:02 of the second round. Ruane came out aggressively with his wrestling, but Barahona weathered the early storm and found moments of success on the feet. Ruane eventually found a second wind and returned to his grappling. Once the fight hit the mat, he took Barahona’s back and secured the rear-naked choke to move to 3-0.

Biella Makes Quick Work of Loucks

Matt Biella improved to 2-0 with a devastating first-round stoppage of Conrad Loucks. A head kick forced Loucks into retreat before Biella backed him toward the fence. From there, Biella landed a damaging knee to the body that dropped Loucks. Biella immediately followed him to the ground with punches, forcing the stoppage in under a minute.

Alvara Delivers Knockout of the Prelims

Andrew Alvara improved to 3-0 with one of the most devastating finishes of the night, knocking out Julian Perez at 1:43 of the second round. The opening round was surprisingly tactical, with Perez arguably getting the better of the exchanges. But Alvara’s power changed everything in the second. A massive overhand left landed flush, sending Perez crashing to the canvas and bringing the fight to an immediate end.

Amateur Standouts

The amateur portion of the card produced its share of impressive performances.

Elijah Lucero overcame a continually bleeding cut to showcase his complete skill set against RJ Mendoza. Lucero used volume and precise combinations to earn a unanimous decision victory.

Jacob Saiz showed tremendous composure after being knocked down in the first round by Peyton Mattherne. Saiz recovered, found his range and ended the fight in the second with a perfectly timed right uppercut before finishing with hammerfists on the ground.

Brendan Johnson needed less than a minute to get the job done against Roberto Valenzuela. Valenzuela immediately attempted to take Johnson down, but Johnson’s defensive elbows turned the momentum around and produced a quick TKO at 48 seconds.

Armando Gutierrez’s wrestling controlled the opening round against Clark Ginn, although the action was briefly stopped because of illegal strikes to the back of the head. In the second, Gutierrez found the finish with a short right hand while blitzing forward, putting Ginn down and out just 22 seconds into the round.

Tyrell Burns earned a gritty unanimous decision victory over Sterling Woods behind a wrestling-heavy performance.

Mark McDill weathered an early storm from Ezra Dalgai-Peak before eventually taking over and securing a rear-naked choke in the third round.

Isaiah Solaita delivered a dominant performance against Parker Ford, scoring three knockdowns in the opening round before the fight was stopped at 2:08. The straight right accounted for all three knockdowns, and the fight arguably could have been stopped after the first.

Divya Gupta put Alejandra Parra on the ground, softened her up with ground strikes and secured the rear-naked choke at 2:31 of the opening round.

Robert Gaitan survived some dangerous moments in the pocket against Yuri Hajosy. After Hajosy landed big during the exchanges he went for a takedown getting caught in a guillotine choke for the first-round submission.

APFC 25 once again showcased the depth of talent coming through the promotion.

But above them all stood Fuller.

“The Gentleman” has now successfully defended his title twice, remains unbeaten inside the APFC and continues to add increasingly impressive finishes to his résumé.

The question now isn’t whether Fuller is ready for the next level.

It is whether the UFC is ready to make the call.

Quick Results

Main Card 

• Welterweight title: Champ Jalin Fuller (11-4) def. Christian Lohsen (12-3) by Submission (Ninja Choke) 3:85 R2
• Welterweight: Jeandrick Croes (6-1) def. Jared McLoughlin (9-12) by Submission (Arm In Rear Choke) 1:44 R1
• Welterweight: Mark Hussey (4-3) def. Yomi Heredia (3-4) by (30-27 x3) Unanimous Decision 
• 140 catchweight: Lorenzo Trevino (6-0) def. Lorenzo Carter (5-3) by TKO (Ground Strikes) R2
• Lightweight: Dylan Ruane (3-0) def. Henry Barahona (5-8) by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 4:02 R2
• Lightweight: Matt Biella (2-0) def. Conrad Loucks (2-7) by TKO (Knee to Body & Ground Strikes) R1

Prelims

• Welterweight: Andrew Alvara (3-0) def. Julian Perez (0-2) by KO (Overhand Left) 1:43 R2

Amateur

• Featherweight: Elijah Lucero def. RJ Mendoza by (30-27, 29-28 x2) Unanimous Decision
• Bantamweight: Jacob Saiz def. Peyton Mattherne by TKO (Right Uppercut & Ground Strikes) 1:08 R2 
• Middleweight: Brendan Johnson def. Roberto Valenzuela by TKO (Elbows) 0:48 R1
• Featherweight: Armando Gutierrez def. Clark Ginn by TKO (Straight Right) 0:22 R2 
• Lightweight: Tyrell Burns def. Sterling Woods by (29-28, 30-27 x2) Unanimous Decision 
• Bantamweight: Mark McDill def. Ezra Dalgai-Peak by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 3:29 R3
• Lightweight: Isaiah Solaita def. Parker Ford by TKO (Straight Right) 2:08 R1
• Flyweight: Divya Gupta def. Alejandra Parra by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2:31 R1
• Welterweight: Robert Gaitan def. Yuri Hajosy by Submission (Guillotine Choke) 2:01 R1

 

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