Kyle Noblitt says he wants to continue making things right outside of the cage. They continue to keep going that way inside of it.

Noblitt (9-0) remained undefeated Friday night, submitting the previously unbeaten Antonio Paulo Branjao (4-1) with a guillotine choke in the first round of their light heavyweight bout, which served as the LFA 21 headliner.

The event took place at Branson Convention Center in Branson, Mo., and aired on AXS TV.

Noblitt’s appearance in the LFA 21 main event came with criticism. He was removed from a spot on Dana White’s Contender Series after his 2012 sexual abuse case came to light. Noblitt denies a battery of charges that were filed against him, which include forcible sodomy and rape of a 29-year-old woman.

“If anybody’s ever made a mistake, just think of that mistake and give me a chance,” Noblitt said before the fight. “Don’t let 30 seconds define what you think about me.”

Noblitt started fast against Branjao and moved right in, bullying the Brazilian against the cage as they clinched. At one point in the opening moments, Noblitt landed a short left that stunned Branjao, who looked like his legs almost gave way.

The two fighters separated briefly until Noblitt pushed the encounter back to the fence. He eventually took Branjao’s back while standing and spun him down to the ground. That signaled the end as Noblitt went to work with some vicious ground-and-pound until he locked in a mounted guillotine, forcing the referee to stop the fight at the 4:13 mark.

After his victory, Noblitt was accompanied by his pregnant wife, who said he might’ve been in the middle of labor. Noblitt also was backed by a vocally supportive crowd, which chanted “UFC! UFC! UFC!” during his post-fight interview.

That, combined with the Contender Series snub, inspired a message from Noblitt to the MMA industry leader.

“I think the UFC, I think they need to call me,” Noblitt said. “We need to have a long sit-down talk again. I need to be in there. Let’s get me in there, guys.”

Flying knee sets Holland’s TKO win into motion

Grady Hurley was in decent position with Kevin Holland. Next thing you know, he was on the ground eating punches.

The two fighters came out in the opening moments of their middleweight bout and clinched against the fence until Holland threw a flying knee from out of nowhere that landed flush on Hurley’s chin. Holland instantly changed direction and threw the stunned Hurley to the ground, following up with a flurry of punches.

The referee had no choice but to step in, awarding Holland a TKO victory at the 1:24 mark of the first round.

Afterward, Holland said he was looking to make up for his previous performance both in the cage and in the moments afterward.

“When they gave me the chance to come back after my bad attitude, I knew I had to make the best of it,” Holland said. “I can’t do that at 170, but I knew I could make the best of it at 185.”

“I can do that every time,” he added with a smile.

Sinn stymies Collins’ forward aggression for unanimous win

Katy Collins’ constant forward aggression might’ve looked good, except for the fact that it was mostly sloppy. Which is why it didn’t faze Shannon Sinn one bit.

Sinn (4-5), nine years the elder to Collins (7-3), stymied the pressure by taking the fight to the mat, where she dominated and cruised her way to a clean-sweep win with all three judges scoring it 30-27 in her favor.

It was a stellar performance made more impressive by the fact that Sinn took the fight on two weeks’ notice.

“She’s a tough girl,” Sinn said of Collings. “She’s gritty, and I knew that I was in for it.”

The most intriguing sequence of the fight happened in Round 2, when Sinn took Collins’ back and sunk in the figure four to flatten her out. From there, Sinn delivered some ground-and-pound until Collins controlled one arm and managed to turn into Sinn after some hand fighting. That’s when Sinn transitioned to an armbar attempt, which Collins fought off by slamming her opponent twice to the mat and stacking her until the bell rang.

Other than those 60 seconds or so, the fight was all Sinn.

Up-to-the-minute LFA 21 results include:

• Kyle Noblitt def. Antonio Paulo Branjao via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:13.
• Kevin Holland def. Grady Hurley via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:24
• Trey Ogden def. T.J. Brown via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:27
• Shannon Sinn def. Katy Collins via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Charles Johnson def. Jeremiah Cullum via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Yazan Hajeh def. Oscar Valdez via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
• Dakota Bush def. Jose Martinez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:01

For complete coverage ofo LFA 21, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

Filed under: AXS TV Fights, News