RFA 18 Results: Pantoja Submits Manzanares, Cullum Returns

On Friday, Sept. 12, Resurrection Fighting Alliance hosted its 18th event live from the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, NM. As has been the case with many of the RFA’s events, the night’s six-fight main card aired live on AXS TV at its regular 10 p.m. ET start, with untelevised preliminaries kicking the night off at 8 p.m. ET.

In the main event of the evening, the promotion featured flyweight champion Matt Manzanares against Alexandre Pantoja. The challenger came in on a tear, with wins in his past seven bouts. Pantoja had not been beaten since a 2010 loss to current UFC flyweight Jussier Formiga. Meanwhile, Manzanares got back on the winning path in April with a split-decision win over Junior Maranhao.

The co-main event spotlighted the MMA return of former KOTC veteran Abel Cullum, who took on former Tachi Palace Fights champion and former UFC veteran Ulysses Gomez. While Cullum aimed to snap a three-fight skid, Gomez looked for his first win after two unsuccessful outings in the UFC.

Also featured as part of the nights main card, Chidi Njokuani returned to the RFA cage opposite Steve Hanna, Brenda Gonzales stood across the cage from Heather Bassett, Mehdi Baghdad contended with Evan DeLong, and Justin Linn  went to battle against Adrian Cruz .

Alexandre Pantoja def. Matt Manzanares by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 2, 02:38.

Abel Cullum def. Ulysses Gomez by submission (guillotine choke). Round 1, 1:29

Chidi Njokuani def. Steve Hanna by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Brenda Gonzales def. Heather Bassett by submission (armbar). Round 1, 2:48

Mehdi Baghdad def.Evan DeLong by KO (left hook). Round 1, 1:55

Justin Linn def. Adrian Cruz by TKO (punches). Round 1, 00:22.