Daniel Rodriguez defeats Iván "Choko" Castillo via KO at 2:31 of R2.

Combate 31 Results and Highlights: Avila and Sabori war, Frausto returns with a crushing TKO

ByDC Howard
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Fresno, California – Combate Americas’ latest Friday night offering, Combate 31 featured a spectacular performance from returning hometown star Zoila Frausto to go with a terrific headlining clash between Anthony Avila and Pablo Sabori.  If you missed the action on DAZN & Univision, we’ve got you covered with coverage of all the fights from the Combate 31 prelims to main card.

Combate 31 Main Card

Anthony Avila dec. Pablo Sabori

150 lb Catchweight

In a three-round bloodbath worthy of its main event billing, top California regionals talent Anthony Avila (18-5, #252 World) started fast and narrowly outlasted Pablo Sabori‘s (9-6, #627 World) fervent rally down the stretch. Avila entered his first Combate Americas main event as a heavy favorite and he wasted little time bullying Sabori to the mat. Sabori showed off solid survival skills and managed to work back to the feet where he slowed Avila with nasty leg kicks. That fired up the American, who drilled Sabori with a flurry of left hands that left him on goofy street as the round 1 bell tolled!

Sabori looked dazed heading to his corner but emerged for round 2 refreshed and throwing shots. Meanwhile Avila hunted the KO, an approach that gave Sabori a chance to close the scoring gap via kicks to leg, body, and head. Avila continued to tag Sabori with crosses as round 2 progressed, but the Mexican hung tough and fired back with head kicks. The fight tightened up in round 3 as both men’s power dipped but their will to battle stayed strong. Sabori seemed to think he might need a finish as he picked up the power down the stretch and left Avila bloodied with power punches.

Great end-of-fight aesthetics for Sabori, but not quite enough for the win as the judges awarded Anthony Avila a majority decision by 29-28, 29-28, 28-28 scores. Kudos to both men as this was exactly the sort of bloody war that Combate Americas fans have come to expect, and a key result for 30-year-old Anthony Avila in his first televised main event.

Zoila Frausto TKOs Jaimee Nievara

Women’s Flyweight

The Combate 31 co-main event featured a spectacular promotional debut for veteran Zoila Frausto (14-5), who returned from a three year hiatus to annihilate recent Contender Series hopeful Jaimee Nievara (7-5, #82 World) in just 1:52. Nievara started well, flashing her composed striking skills, but as soon as Frausto landed big “Queen Bee” retreated toward the cage. “Warrior Princess” Frausto smelled blood and refused to let up, blasting Nievara with punches and knees that dropped her to force the quick referee stoppage. Spectacular stuff from former Bellator & Strikeforce standout Zoila Frausto, who set herself up for big things in 2019 with this stylish finish.

Daniel Rodriguez KOs Ivan Castillo

165 lbs Catchweight

Mexican journeyman Ivan Castillo (17-12) stepped up on short notice to take on feared striker Daniel Rodriguez (8-1, #173 World), owner of a 100% career finishing rate, and found himself added to Rodriguez’ resume in relatively short order. Castillo hung tough in the face of Rodriguez’s potent offensive handiwork, including a nasty knee to the face that he ate without a grimace in round 2. Following a flurry of punches, Rodriguez repeated the feat with a second knee that landed perfectly and sent the Mexican careening to the canvas at 2:31 of round 2. Keep an eye on Alhambra, Califonia’s Daniel Rodriguez, 32, who has developed into a seriously dangerous martial artist under the tutelage of Joe Schilling and Andre Fili.

Combate 31 Prelims

Hector Fajardo subs Jose Avalos

Bantamweight

Tachi Palace Fights regular Jose Avalos (3-2) spent a ton of energy hunting for the takedown in round 1. When he finally forced Hector Fajardo (2-0) to the mat, Avalos found himself instantly neutralized by a triangle choke effort. Avalos went straight back to wrestling in round 2 and this time he paid the price as Fajardo wrapped him into an inextricable triangle/armbar combo. That bit of jiu-jitsu wizardry sealed the tap for Hector Fajardo at 2:04 of the second frame.

Steven Bollinger dec. Emilio Horta

Featherweight

Local ammy star Steven Bollinger (1-0) set the tone for his pro debut with a high amplitude belly-to-back suplex 20 seconds in. Following a mad rush to start the fight, Bollinger lost some momentum and ate plenty of strikes from Emilio Horta (1-2). Yet every time Horta started to flow, Bollinger succeeded at getting top control. Not exactly the style of fight Combate Americas covets, but good enough for Bollinger to kick off his pro campaign with a unanimous decision.

Adrian Guzman TKOs Ryan Reneau

Lightweight

This was some mad scrap in round 1, as Adrian Guzman (4-1) and Ryan Reneau (4-6-1) threw down with haymakers for five minutes. After several momentum shifts, Guzman ended the first stanza strong with a crackling knee that had Reneau checking his jaw between rounds. Guzman never let Reneau get back into it, obliterating him with a huge left head kick for to finish just 19 seconds into round 2! Great TKO from undefeated prospect Adrian Guzman in his Combate Americas debut.

Marcus Gaines dec. Ozzie Alvarez

Middleweight

In the Combate 31 event opener, journeyman Marcus Gaines (16-29-1) stepped up on short notice and repelled WSOF alum Ozzie Alvarez‘ (8-6) grappling attempts en route to a unanimous decision. Quite an upset for Gaines, whose unspectacular record hides several credible wins including a TKO of UFC veteran CJ Keith.

Love World MMA? So do we!  Covering Combate 31 and every major pro fight on Planet Earth in the Geek Guide

DC Howard is a US & global MMA aficionado and curator of the weekly World MMA Geek Guide. DC enjoys long walks uphill in both directions, watching facepunching, his cats, and watching facepunching with his cats.

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