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Little by little, the Xtreme Fighting Championships is quickly becoming a promotion to keep an eye on in the MMA universe. This event will be headlined by the crowning of the inaugural XFC Women’s Strawweight Champion as Stephanie Eggink faces Angela Magana. Also, there will be a pair of UFC veterans in action and a featherweight tournament semi-final fight as well.
(Note: Due to a late card change by the promotion, the bout between UFC veteran Ryan Thomas and Rocky France has been promoted to the main card. That bout was originally set for the preliminary card and was already previewed in that column, so it will not be done again here.)
Kicking off the action is a flyweight division fight as Eric Moell (3-1-0) competes against Joby Sanchez (4-0-0). Moell will be looking to rebound from his first professional MMA defeat, which came to Joey Diehl at XFC 23. Sanchez is currently undefeated as a professional MMA fighter and has yet to have a fight go to the judge’s scorecard. These are two of the better competitors in the division for the XFC and it will be Sanchez remaining undefeated in the end.
Lightweights will enter the cage next as Lando Vannata (2-0-0) will be in the cage against JP Reese (9-6-0). Vannata is currently undefeated as a professional MMA fighter and none of his fights have gone past the opening round. Reese will enter the fight riding a two fight losing streak, with one of those losses coming to UFC veteran Vagner Rocha. Vannata is a highly skilled fighter, but Reese has way to much experience and that will land him the victory.
A featherweight tournament semi-final bout is up next as Stephen “Bigfish†Bass (10-1-0) battles Farkhad “Frank†Sharipov (13-5-0). Bass will be competing for the first time since his UFC release, which came after a loss to Marcus Brimage at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale. Sharipov is coming off of a two fight run in Bellator, where he dropped fights to Jessie Riggleman and Fabio Mello. These are two fighters who are in desperate need of a win and it will be Bass getting that much needed victory.
Up next is a welterweight division fight as Dhiego Lima (8-1-0) takes on Ricky “The Sniper†Rainey (6-1-0). Lima will enter the fight riding a two fight winning streak and he is the brother of Bellator veteran Douglas Lima. Rainey has won three of four fights under the XFC banner, last defeating Reggie Pena by TKO at XFC 24. The winner of this fight could find themselves getting a call from the UFC and it will be Lima getting that call.
Headlining this card is an XFC Women’s Strawweight Title decision fight as Stephanie “Snowflake†Eggink (3-1-0) faces Angela Magana (11-5-0). Eggink is currently undefeated in XFC competition, having defeated the duo of Heather Clark and Brianna Van Buren. Magana will be returning to action after a year layoff, last competing against recent UFC signee Jessica Eye. These are two great women that can wind up holding the belt, but it will be Eggink winning the championship.
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