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Khabib Nurmagomedov's MMA promotion Eagle FC presented yet another exciting fight card for fight fans to cherish this Friday. Eagle FC 46 took place on March 11 at the FLX Arena in Miami, Florida.
The event was headlined by a much-anticipated 165 lbs super lightweight clash between future UFC Hall of Famer Diego Sanchez and 'The Motown Phenom' Kevin Lee. The co-main event featured a heavyweight title fight between Rizvan Kuniev and former UFC heavyweight Anthony Hamilton.
Other fights on the main card included a bantamweight clash between former UFC flyweight Ray Borg and former Bellator star Ricky Bandejas, a super-lightweight matchup between Handesson Ferreira and Zach Juusola, and a 175 lbs bout between Raimond Magomedaliev and Impa Kasanganay.
Eagle FC 46 main card results
Kevin Lee def. Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rizvan Kuniev def. Anthony Hamilton via submission (1:17 of Round 1)
Ray Borg def. Ricky Bandejas via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Handesson Ferreira def. Zach Juusola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Raimond Magomedaliev def. Impa Kasanganay via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Eagle FC 46 main card highlights
#1. Diego Sanchez vs. Kevin Lee
Both Sanchez and Lee made their debuts in the Nurmagomedov-owned promotion in the main event of Eagle FC 46. 'The Nightmare' began the contest with a vicious leg kick which apparently tore a ligament in Lee's knee. Sanchez looked sharp with his initial striking and used the unpredictability of his technique to his advantage.
Despite injuring his knee early on in the fight, Lee didn't take his foot off the gas. He kept putting pressure on Sanchez, often backing him up against the fence and outsriking the veteran during exchanges from the clinch.
Lee used his superior grappling skills to score several takedowns in the fight and managed to land some heavy ground-and-pound shots on Sanchez. He even dropped Sanchez with a brutal left hook in the third round and went on to land some heavy leather from top position.
Sanchez put up a valiant effort to go the distance with Lee but 'The Motown Phenom' clearly did enough to get his hand raised via unanimous decision at the end of the three scheduled rounds. Despite losing, Diego Sanchez proved he can still hold his own with some of the best fighters inside the cage.
#2. Rizvan Kuniev def. Anthony Hamilton
The co-main event turned out to be the only fight on the entire main card that saw a finish. Defending his title for the first time on US soil, Kuniev made quick work of Hamilton in the co-main event of Eagle FC 46. Kuniev landed a perfectly timed spinning heel-kick on Hamilton early on in the first round.
With Hamilton still reeling from the kick, Kuniev locked in a standing guillotine choke, forcing the former UFC heavyweight to tap out inside two minutes of the opening round.
#3. Ray Borg vs Ricky Bandejas
Ray Borg picked up his second straight win at Eagle FC by edging Ricky Bandejas via split decision in their bantamweight encounter. The former UFC flyweight initially gained the upperhand in the fight using his superior wrestling game. However, Bandejas soon managed to impose his prolific striking in the fight, causing a lot of problems for Borg.
With both fighters seemingly winning one round each, it was the third round that would determine the outcome of the fight. The third round saw back-and-forth striking exchanges between the two men but Borg landed the heavier strikes, getting the nod from two out of the three judges scoring the fight.
#4. Handesson Ferreira vs. Zach Juusola
Ferreira displayed a well-rounded grappling and striking game to pick up an impressive unanimous decision win over Juusola in their super-lightweight clash at Eagle FC 46. After back-and-forth action on the feet in the first round, Juusola seemed to get the better of the striking exchanges.
In the second round, Ferreira managed to take his opponent down and went to work from the top position. He bruised Juusola with some impressive ground-and-pound strikes as well as elbows towards the end of the round.
Despite failing to secure a takedown in the third and final round of the fight, Ferreira managed to outstrike his opponent throughout the round to get his hand raised via unanimous decision in the end.
#5. Raimond Magomedaliev vs. Impa Kasanganay
Magomedaliev earned a hard-fought split decision victory over Kasanganay in their main card opening fight at Eagle FC 46. Magomedaliev controlled proceedings in the first round, using his wrestling skills to dominate the grappling exchanges against the fence and landing occasional strikes without causing much damage.
Kasanganay came out guns blazing in the second round, managing to land a takedown of his own and landing some elbow strikes to the body before Magomedaliev managed to get back to his feet. Towards the end of the round, Kasanganay caught his opponent in a triangle choke from the bottom guard but it wasn't deep enough to lock it.
In the third round, Magomedaliev tried but failed to keep Kasanganay down for long despite securing multiple takedowns. Most of the round saw the fighters engaged in a clinch, battling to gain the upperhand. Towards the end of the round, they traded a few shots before once again finishing the fight in the clinch.
Eagle FC 46 preliminary card results
Ikram Aliskerov def. Nah-shon Burrell via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Irwin Rivera def. Firdavs Khasanov via TKO (4:48 of Round 2)
Archie Colgan def. Dylan Mantello via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Tyler Ray def. Thomas Webb via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Sitik Muduev def. Caio Uruguai via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ryder Newman def. Manny Walo via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
