Over two years since his last fight, Nick Newell continued his winning ways.
Newell, a congenital amputee who rose to prominence with a 13-1 start to his career before taking a break from the sport in 2015, was victorious in his return to the cage at Legacy Fighting Alliance 35 in Houston, Texas on Friday night. The 31-year-old needed just 2:10 to put an end to his 160-pound catchweight bout with a rear-naked choke submission of Sonny Luque.
Post-fight, Newell emphatically called for a shot in the UFC.
“Life is a cold hard place. It will chew you up and spit you out,” Newell said. “But if you make it your bitch, you can do anything. You can either become a victim of circumstances or you can create your own. I’m out here, I’m creating my own circumstances.
“I’m one of the best fighters in the world and I belong in the UFC. That’s it. That’s final. I gave you 14 reasons why I belong in the UFC. I’m one of the best fighters in the world and I proved it 14 times.”
It was the ninth submission win of Newell’s career and his 14th win in 15 pro fights. He is currently on a three-fight winning streak.
In other notable main card action, Leomana Martinez and Adrian Yanez recorded first-round KOs of their respective opponents Casey Jones and Nathan Trepagnier:
Leomana Martinez KO's Casey Jones. Damnnnnnn. Astral traveling. #LFA35 pic.twitter.com/ManyXbTj02
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) March 10, 2018
beautiful KO
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) March 10, 2018
Adrian Yanez KO Nathan Trepagnier in 1R (LFA) pic.twitter.com/zTF3261vcu
Cheyanne Vlismas used solid wrestling and ground-and-pound to set up a third-round TKO of Karla Hernandez in a battle of strawweight debutantes, Jason Langellier made quick work of Thomas Webb with a first-round D’Arce choke, and Charles Cheeks III won an exciting back-and-forth unanimous decision over Rivaldo Junior.
See the full main card results below:
Nick Newell def. Sonny Luque via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:10 of Round 1
Vernon Lewis def. Jared Vanderaa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jason Langellier def. Thomas Webb via submission (D’Arce choke ) at 1:10 of Round 1
Charles Cheeks III def. Rivaldo Junior via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Adrian Yanez def. Nathan Trepagnier via KO (punches) at 4:56 of Round 1
Cheyanne Vlismas def. Karla Hernandez via TKO (elbows) at 4:22 of Round 3
Leomana Martinez def. Casey Jones via KO (punches) at 2:25 of Round 1