Founder and CEO Todd Meacham promoted his 11th TFA show, his first in Long Beach, on July 12th.  The nine bout card was solid from top to bottom and showcased a large number of local talents.  The main event pitted challenger Bobby Green against 155 pound champion Toby Grear.

From the moment they stepped into the arena floor it was apparent that Bobby Green and Toby Grear are two very different fighters.  Green tore into the cage and even ran along the side wall before settling in his corner.  Grear, on the other hand slowly strolled to the ring displaying a level of calm that is rarely seen in the sport.  Ultimately that composure would not prove enough to get him through the fight; the challenger stopped him with strikes in 3:25 of the second frame.

The championship bout, the only match on the card scheduled with the standard five minute rounds, was also a strong contender for fight of the night.  After a brief feeling out period in the first, Toby “TigerHeart” Grear landed a big liver kick.  Bobby “King” Green immediately responded with a big slam and some aggressive grappling.  Later, during one of the rounds many wild exchanges Green accidentally landed a viscous knee to the groin.  Fortunately “TigerHeart” quickly recovered and the frantic pace continued.  After another big takedown and more aggressive grappling Green had Grear’s back late in the round.  Grear managed to get his guard back and locked in a deep triangle attempt as time expired.  In fact the submission looked so good, and the crowd was so loud, that when the referee separated the fighters at the horn, Grear, his corner, and a large part of the crowd thought the bout had been stopped.

The second round also featured a great deal of action.  After more brutal exchanges and frantic grappling however, it became obvious that “TigerHeart” was beginning to tire.  After a slip he was simply unable to advance his position on the bottom and was on the receiving end of some brutal ground and pound for some time until Cecil Peoples was eventually forced to stop the fight.  Bobby “King” Green, representing Riverside Submission and Camacho MMA is the new TFA lightweight champion.

There was also a great deal of compelling action in the undercard events, all scheduled for three 3-minute rounds.  In a battle of undefeated fighters Brent Cooper was victorious over Mozzy Arfa.  After two and a half rounds of high-pace back and forth between striker Arfa and grappler Cooper, the Team Oyama fighter was able to secure a rear naked choke.  Referee Cecil Peoples performed his job perfectly and immediately noticed when Arfa lost consciousness and brought the contest to a halt.  The official time was 1:40 of round three.

If fight of the night honors do not go to either the main event or the Arfa-Cooper fight, then they surely go to the bout between Jon Sibbald and Daniel Gray.  Round one was all Sibbald as the Hermosa Beach police officer was able to keep his younger opponent at bay with chopping leg kicks, a stiff jab, and occasional flurries.  The second round was unquestionably the best of the night as both fighters came close to being finished.  Sibbald landed a punch that dropped Gray hard, however when he jumped into his opponent guard to attempt to finish he was immediately swept, mounted, and had his back taken as time expired. The third round was much like the first, except that Sibbald landed more big shots and Gray attempted several unsuccessful takedowns.  All three judges gave the fight to Sibbald.

In what was probably the most dominant performance of the night Anthony Ferguson stepped in on short notice and severely out grappled Brandon Adams.  Ferguson showed great positional control skills, viscous ground and pound, and slick submission ability.  The bout was stopped at 2:18 of the second as Ferguson pounded away at Adams with a mounted triangle secured.

Chris Cully might not have won over the hearts of the fans when, out of frustration, he began repeatedly taunting the evasive Juan Pesina, but he did enough to win a clear cut unanimous decision.

In a battle of crowd favorite Jeff Martin made short work of Gator Harris, securing a rear naked choke late in the first.

Neal Adams was bloodied but it did not stop him from locking in a heel hook that forced Benjamin Gonzalez to tap midway through the first round.
Jason Cordero threw a guillotine attempt on Chris Champagne early in the first round of their fight that led to the referee stepping in:  a move that Champagne clearly disagreed with.

The first fight of the night was an extremely close bout between striker David Ghobrial and grappler Luis Salguero.  Ghobrial did enough in the second and third rounds to outpoint Salguero 29-28 on two of the judges scorecards, the dissenting opinion had the fight 30-27 for his opponent.