In the main event of the evening, submission whiz Hayward Charles scored his fifth straight victory (all by submission) over Kano Gregoire to snap his own streak of two wins in a row. With this win it really seems like everything is starting to come together for Charles as he’s built some impressive consistency as of late as opposed to earlier on in his career where he alternated a few wins and losses. Not sure what is next for him post-XKO 18 but I’d imagine a major TV fight or a title shot in some org wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.
Meanwhile in the co-main event, XKO 18 featured another fighter looking to build some consistency of her own with Mohler MMA-trained Amber Stautzenberger. Taking part in the first-ever female MMA bout in Xtreme Knockout history, Amber the “Apex Predator” picked up her second win in a row over fellow local fighter Ashley Allen. It’s her second win as a pro and she’ll look to follow it up with even more in the first half of 2013 when she competes against Soannia Tiem at the upcoming PFS 4.
As for the rest of the event, there were a few notables that caught our eye.
David Armas picked up his very first submission win over of his 11 fight MMA career with a triangle choke over Moises Diaz in the second round to move to 4-7 overall.
Derek Perkins scored what has to be considered an upset over highly-touted prospect Rashad Coulter with a first round kimura to move to 1-0 as a pro while Rashad drops to 3-1.
Stephen Banaszack debuted in XKO and picked up his first pro win by armbar in the second round over Humberto Martinez.
Jeff Glemond and Jewel Snell complete the winners circle with decision wins over Mark Raso and Sean Douglas respectively while Timothy Stephenson and Steven Cloud went to a no-contest after an accidental foul forced the doctors to call a halt to the bout in the first round.
XKO 18 – Quick Results from March 23, 2013
Hayward Charles over Kano Gregoire by submission (guillotine choke), RD1
Amber Stautzenberger over Ashley Allen by unanimous decision.
David Armas over Moises Diaz by submission (triangle choke), RD2
Jeff Glemoud over Mark Raso by unanimous decision.
Timothy Stephenson vs. Steven Cloud was ruled a no-contest after RD1 (accidental foul)
Derek Perkins over Rashad Coulter by submission (kimura), RD1
Jewel Snell over Sean Douglas by unanimous decision
Stephen Banaszack over Humberto Martinez by submission (armbar), RD2