The win extends Cortez’s unbeaten professional run to 4-0; Combate Global fighter Royce Butler also victorious on the card.
Undefeated featherweight Tony “The Conqueror” Cortez (4-0) chalked up another victory on Saturday, Sept. 14, submitting veteran Derion Chapman (7-12-1) with a guillotine choke just 58 seconds into the first round of their main event meeting at SparStar MMA at The Commerce Casino & Hotel in Los Angeles.
The 23-year-old Cortez of Corona, Calif. took the tune-up fight at SparStar MMA before a possible fall return at Combate Global.
“I’m happy with my performance, but I wanted a knockout,” said Cortez, who also called out another veteran in Javier “El Mariachi” Garcia (11-5), shortly after the victory over Chapman.
Cortez got his hands on Chapman quickly after the opening bell sounded for the first round of their fight and dragged Chapman to the ground.
Cortez worked his way back to his feet, quickly sinking in the guillotine and forcing Chapman to tap out.
The SparStar fight was a homecoming for Cortez, who fought four of his eight amateur bouts underneath the promotion’s umbrella.
The bout also marked SparStar’s entry to the professional fight game after producing over 60 amateur shows.
SparStar, the 16-year-old promotion run by CEO Tony Padilla, has effectively become a breeding ground for future Combate Global competitors.
SparStar will reportedly operate hybrid cards with a combination of amateur and professional bouts.
In other action on the card, another Combate Global fighter, Royce Butler (3-0) defeated Carlos Morales (1-2) by way of second round (1:42) TKO, putting Morales down with a pair of knees, and transitioning to ground and pound before the referee saw enough to stop the action.
