Tachi Palace Fights 6: High Stakes” takes place tonight in Lemoore, Calif., and features a main event bout between former WEC light heavyweight champion Doug Marshall and The Ultimate Fighter 11 participant Kyacey Uscola, as well as a middleweight title bout between Anthony Ruiz and Leopoldo Serao. Also, UFC vet Corey Hill takes on former WEC lightweight champ Rob McCullough in the co-main event, and UFC vet Diego Saraiva battles former WEC fighter Micah Milller.

ProMMAnow.com will provide live results and play-by-play commentary of “Tachi Palace Fights 6: High Stakes” starting at approximately 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

EDITOR’S NOTE: STAY TUNED GUYS… WE HAVE THE RESULTS AND FIGHT SUMMARIES, WILL BE POSTED SHORTLY… Had some Internet issues…

Tachi Palace 6 quick results:

  • Kyacey Uscola def. Dough Marshall by KO (punches) Rd 1 (3:17)
  • Leopoldo Serao def. Anthony Ruiz by split decision Rd 5 (5:00)
  • Rob McCullough def. Corey Hill by unanimous decision Rd 3 (5:00)
  • Micah Miller def. Diego Saraiva by unanimous decision Rd 3 (5:00)
  • Darrell Montague def. Luis Gonzalez by KO (punches) Rd 1 (4:42)
  • Collin Hart draws Joseph Henle Rd 3 (5:00)
  • Paulina Ramirez def. Stephanie Frausto by split decision Rd 3 (3:00)
  • Mickey D. Martinez def. Mark Matthews by KO (punches) Rd 1 (2:41)
  • Art Becerra def. Gabriel Solorio by technical submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 2 (3:22)

At the event, it was announced that Tachi Palace Fights 7 would take place on Dec. 2, featuring James Irvin vs. Jorge Oliviera, Poppies Martinez vs. Tim McKenzie, John Alessio vs. Phil Collins (for the 170-pound title) and Cole Escovedo vs. Chance Farrar.

    Tachi Palace 6 play-by-play:

    Gabriel Solorio (5-2) vs. Art Becerra (2-1)

    We’ve got a bit of a local rivalry here, with both fighters training out of Fresno, Calif. Solorio is already out in the cage, but apparently Becerra is having glove problems and taking a few extra minutes. Perhaps a bit of gamesmanship?

    Round 1: And we’re ready to go. Becerra tosses out a high kick, but no connection. Solorio returns the favor. Jumping high kick from Becerra, but again, nothing lands. Solorio throws a nice two punch to body kick combo into the clinch, but the two men separate. A bit of a feeling out period. OH! Big overhand right from Solorio lands and drops Becerra to the mat. Becerra recovers and they tie up in the Greco clinch. Solorio with a nice trip, but Becerra gets a beautiful sweep and almost immediately gets to the back mount. Trying to soften him up with the punches, and Becerra pulls him back looking for the RNC! He’s in position, but Solorio defends well. Solorio stands up, but he still can’t get Becerra off of his back, even though Becerra is a bit high up. Becerra loses a hook, and Solorio turns into him and takes top position in Becerra’s full guard. Solorio postures up and drops some bombs, while Becerra desperately tries to avoid the shots. Becerra breaks his posture and survives. Couple of nice elbows from Solorio to end the round. It was close, but even with Becerra’s back control, the flash knockdown and ground-and-pound might’ve won the round for Solorio. ProMMANow.com scores it 10-9 Solorio.

    Round 2: After a brief exchange, Becerra ties them up in the clinch, pushing Solorio into the cage to look for a takedown. Solorio gets him off and back into the middle. Solorio reached around for the neck as the two came back together, but Becerra easily slams him down into side control. A mad scramble ensues, and Solorio tries for a leg lock, but nothing doing. Becerra again with the superior ground control. To make matters worse for Solorio, he has a HUGE gash across his forehead, perhaps from the slam. Becerra again looking for the RNC. Now Becerra has the body lock and the choke is on tight! No tap necessary, as Solorio’s arm goes limp and the referee stops the BOUT!

    (Replay shows a vicious elbow by Becerra opened up the cut)

    Becerra wins by submission 3:22 into round 2.

    Mark Matthews (3-4) vs. Mikey Martinez (6-2-1)

    Rd 1: both fighters charge right in, with Matthews latching on with a Thai clinch. But Martinez just goes ahead and keeps wining punches. Martinez looks for a low kick and Matthews goes for a body lock. Odd strategy given his height and reach advantage. The action slows down a bit, both guys throwing a lot of feints. Another flurry from both men and Matthews again gets inside working the knees. Lazy low kick by Matthews, and Martinez responds with a BIG right hand. Matthews drops to the ground and the referee jumps in immediately.

    Martinez takes it by KO at 2:41 of round 1.

    Paulina Ramirez (1-0) vs. Stephanie Frausto (2-2)

    Rd 1: Ramirez eating some low kicks, but fires back with a few overhand rights and pushes Frausto into the cage. Without much action, the referee separates them. More over/under clinch work on the cage. Ramirez is dictating the action, but not doing much damage. Dan Hardy would be cringing right now. Frausto finally gets of the cage and lands a nice flurry as the round comes to an end.

    Ramirez controlled positioning most of the round, but Frausto delivered more damage, so ProMMANow gives it to Frausto barely, 10-9.

    Rd 2: Action slows a bit into round 2, with Ramirez looking a bit tentative to engage. But things heat up in the final minute. Ramirez lands a couple of right hands in the middle of a flurry, but Frausto catches her with a nice straight counter.

    Not the most exciting round, but it looks like 10-9 Frausto.

    Rd. 3: Ramirez starts of the round with a sense of urgency, landing a nice 1-2. Now pushing Frausto into the cage again in the clinch, but Ramirez still can’t take advantage of the position. Ramirez isn’t throwing much, and Frausto is occasionally spinning out and landing knees and elbows. The referee restarts them in the center. Frausto throws a front kick and Ramirez jumps in Phil Baroni vs. Dave Menne style, delivering a blistering flurry. She’s scoring some points now, but Frausto hangs on and ties Ramirez up on the cage. Frausto eats a counter right by telegraphing a low kick. The ladies again get tied up on the cage and the fight comes to an end. Ramirez looks to have won the third round, but Frausto may have won the fight.

    Split decision: 29-28 Frausto, 29-28 Ramirez, 29-28 Ramirez

    It was close, particularly the first round, and the judges give the nod to Ramirez.

    Joseph Henle (3-0) vs. Collin Hart (2-1)

    We have our first The Ultimate Fighter 11 alum in Henle, who faces Hart, cornered by former UFC contender Dave Terrell. Henle would win a contest between the two measuring tattoos and flashy beards, but we’ll see how the action goes. However, referee Mike Beltran has by far the coolest mustache goatee combo this side of ZZ Top.

    Round 1: Henle goes in early and gets a nice slam, but Hart gets full guard immediately. Hart now working an Eddie Bravo-style guard (I can’t remember if it’s mission control or crackhead control; where are you Joe Rogan?) Henle breaks free though, with Hart holding on tight. Hart actually uses the cage to stand up and looks for a trip from the clinch. Henle, though, easily reverses and smoothly rolls into a tight anaconda choke. Well, it looks tight, but Hart doesn’t seem fazed. And there you have it, Hart pops his head out and gets on top into half guard. Hart looking to pass, but Henle gets into full guard. No ground and pound to see here. From the butterfly guard, nice sweep from Henle, into side control. Hart gets up and tries to spin out, allowing Henle to land some knees. However, Hart finally gets the trip from the clinch he’s been looking for and works into full mount. Henle tries to hold on with the round near the end. Hart takes the back right at the end. Nice finish to the round for Hart, but looks like it was 10-9 for Henle.

    Round 2: Hart has a cut above the left eye, but the fight continues. A few wild strikes being tossed out by both men, but more for show or to set up something, nothing landing crisp so far. Hart does land a nice kick to the body and a counter left. He certainly looks more comfortable on the feet than on the ground. Henle connects with a left hook as Hart comes in, but Hart catches him with a nice left hook of his own. Henle didn’t like it and looks to shoot, but nothing doing. Now dictating the pace, Hart shoots in with a nice double. Almost had him in side control, but Henle back to full guard. Unlike round 1, Hart is pushing Henle up on the cage and throwing some punches. Oddly, the ref stands them up. It wasn’t a barnburner, but that seemed unnecessary. Doesn’t matter to Hart, who lands another nice left hook over the top. Makes you wonder why he took Henle down in the first place. Ooooh, nutshot. Henle gets a much needed time out.As we see on the replay, the was a full on soccer style front kick to the jewels. Wow. Hart just lost a point, no warning, no nothing. Didn’t look intentional, but I’m betting Henle’s privates feel better. Back to action, and Hart looks a bit fired up. But with Hart in the middle of a combo, Henle times a perfect double leg and gets into side control. Hart pops out the back beautifully and back into full guard. Hart probably won the round, but the point deduction makes it a 9-9 round.

    Round 3: The guys touch gloves coming out for the final round. Hart swinging for the fences with a string of three or four consecutive hooks, but Henle closes the distance and grabs a leg to get the takedown. Hart sits up by the cage and gets out, now Hart looking for a takedown. Henle going hard for the guillotine, but Hart stays safe and works into Henle’s half guard. Hart looked like he might be fishing for a kimura, but Henle gets his legs out and pulls Hart down with some nice wrestling. Once again, Hart is working the high guard, while Henle looks content to stay on top. Not surprisingly, the ref again stands them up without much time on the ground. Henle with a good body kick. They circle and Henle throws a couple of straight lefts now. Hart shoots in now and Henle has given up his back in the scramble. Hart tries to get a RNC, but Henle keeps his chin down. Now Hart has the body lock and he’s really cranking the neck, but Henle is fighting him off. Henle raises his hands as though he’s won the fight, but Hart might’ve earned a draw with that third round effort. 10-9 round for Hart.

    And all three judges have it a 28-28 draw.

    Darrell Montague (7-1) vs. Luis Gonzalez (2-2)

    Quick note: I’ve watched hundreds, but Montague is the first fighter I’ve seen walk out to Sade’s “Smooth Operator.” He certainly gets points for originality.

    Round 1: Montague throws an early high kick that the shorter Gonzalez blocks. Montague staying on the outside, throws a couple decent punches. Not enjoying the striking aspect, Gonzalez goes looking for a single leg. In the scramble, Montague cinches in a tight leg lock, but Gonzalez rolls out and they’re back to the feet. Montague circling to use his reach, throws another 1-2 followed by a high kick. Gonzalez throws a high kick that catches Montague by surprise, but Montague lands a left hook that reminds Gonzalez to go back to looking for takedowns. The shorter Gonzalez again looking for a  single, but Montague stays on the feet. More of the same, and now Gonzalez is on his back trying to entice Montague into his guard. Montague eventually obliges and looks to drop some punches, but Gonzalez spins looking for an arm. Montague decides smartly to get back up. Back on the feet for a few seconds, but Montague drops Gonzalez with a heavy left uppercut. Gonzalez hits the mat face down, and although he rolls over, he’s still out of it. Montague landed a couple of punches for good measure and the ref stops the fight.

    Montague by TKO at 4:42 of Rd. 1, and probably the most impressive performance of the night so far.

    Diego Saraiva (18-9-1) vs. Micah Miller (14-4)

    Announcer John Morgan of MMAJunkie.com mentions that this fight will determine the #1 contender for Tachi Palace Fighting featherweight champ Isaac de Jesus.

    Round 1: The much shorter Saraiva is looking for low kicks early on. Miller wants to use his reach, but hasn’t thrown many punches to start; Saraiva is the busier of the two. Nice one two from Miller midway through the round. Saraiva is still coming in and trying to land, but Miller is starting to find his distance and let his hands go, with an occasional leg kick for good measure. Saraiva backs Miller up with a flurry, but Miller lands a nice uppercut counter. Miller gets Saraiva to cover up by throwing a jab out there and takes advantage by throwing a nice knee to the body from the clinch. Saraiva goes for the takedown and gets it, but Miller is back up quickly. As the round comes to an end, Saraiva looked a bit busier and the takedown might’ve sealed it, but Miller looked better as he became more aggressive. 10-9 Saraiva

    Round 2: Miller is sticking the jab out quite a bit to start the round and setting up flurries, but Saraiva is dodging and blocking most of them. With the boxing favoring Miler, Saraiva shoots in for a single, but Miller fights him off and gets back to the center. Morgan just compared Miller’s striking to Nick Diaz, which is pretty accurate. Punches in bunches and maybe starting to frustrate Saraiva. Saraiva comes in with an overhand right, but again Miller throws a Thai knee. With two minutes to go, Miller is really pouring it on with the hands. At this point, Saraiva is spending most of the round with his hands up. He isn’t getting brutalized, but the fight is taking a turn. Saraiva shoots and Miller sprawls, but Saraiva, eager to get to the ground and use his BJJ, pulls guard. Rather than get caught with something, Miller gets back up. More of the same as the round ends. Miller has the timing and reach down, and when Saraiva puts his hands up, Miller delivers knees to the body. Definite 10-9 round for Miller.

    Round 3: Saraiva looking much more aggressive, he closes the distance immediately and tries to land some bombs. Miller, though, circles away and sprawls to stop a takedown. Saraiva is trying to be aggressive, but he’s running out of gas and Miller looks pretty comfortable. And here comes the Miller jab. There isn’t much left for Saraiva to do. On the outside he’s eating more punches, on the inside, Miller is pulling him in with the clinch and throwing knees. Miller now backs Saraiva into the cage and looks to land some elbows, but Saraiva isn’t quitting, as he circles of the cage and lunges for a takedown. Once again, Miller isn’t bothered by the takedown attempts. With Saraiva tiring, Miller is mixing up his strikes, throwing body shots, hooks, and uppercuts. Miller finally ends up in Saraiva’s guard to close out the round, but never appears to be in trouble. Another 10-9 for Miller.

    All three judges give it to Miller, 30-27, and 29-28 twice. And if you’re an MMA dork like me, that might be fight of the night. Great job by Miller of executing the game plan.

    Rob McCullough (18-6) vs. Corey Hill (4-3)

    Round 1: Hill isn’t doing much to start. He’s on the outside where he wants to be, but McCullough is throwing out a couple of leg kicks. Following a McCullough flurry, Hill grabs hold and trips McCullough to the ground into full mount. It’s a bad spot, but McCullough gets out, only to drop into an anaconda choke attempt by Hill. It’s on tight, but McCullough stays on his knees; Hill tries to roll by McCullough bounces out. Back on the feet, McCullough throws a three-punch, one-kick combo. Now a big overhand right attempt by McCullough, but just misses. Hill is surprisingly quiet in the striking department, perhaps worried about leaving his chin exposed. But with the takedown earlier, McCullough is being careful not to get too close. Heading into the final minute, Hill finally throws a boxing combo. All of the leg kicks have taken their toll. That’s worrisome given the leg break Hill suffered in 2008. I’ll give Hill the round just barely with the takedown and submission attempt, but McCullough might be in better shape heading into round 2.

    Round 2: More combos from McCullough, with nasty low kicks mixed in. Hill does connect with a punch here and there, and as the round continues into the final two minutes, Rob’s pace is slowing. As the final minute approaches, Hill shoots in for the takedown and spins for a leglock. That doesn’t work, but Hill again pulls McCullough down and starts looking for another anaconda choke with his lanky arms. McCullough started strong, but Hill did land some shots and get the takedown, but McCullough’s striking might’ve been enough. Another close round, but maybe 10-9 for McCullough.

    Round 3: Hill shoots in much earlier in the third round. After about a minute on the feet, Hill brings McCullough down. McCullough is trying to use the cage to sit up and get back to the feet, but Hill is looking to pass. In a scramble, McCullough ends up on top in Hill’s guard. McCullough drops some hammer fists, a nice elbow. Both guys look tired, taking deep breaths. Another elbow from McCullough and some more punches. Yet again, we have an early referee stand up. Hill immediately pushes McCullough up against the cage. McCullough fell to his rear end at one point, but popped back up immediately and again turned into Hill’s guard. They aren’t pretty, but McCullough is trying to keep active with the punches to avoid a stand up, including several body shots. Definitely a 10-9 round for Razor Rob. We’ll see what the judges think, but ProMMANow gives it 29-28 for McCullough.

    (Hill’s front leg is going to be sore tomorrow)

    Unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28 twice for McCullough

    Middleweight title fight: Anthony Ruiz (25-13) vs. Leopoldo Serao (16-7)

    Round 1: With a possible 25 minutes of action, it’s a pretty uneventful first minute, with the occasional exchange of jabs, and a few power shots that miss from both fighters. Ruiz is looking to land a power punch, but no such look yet, and Serao lands a nice leg kick. An accidental eye poke by Ruiz has Serao squinting. He decides to keep going without a rest. Ruiz is getting more active with the jab, but Serao is staying out of danger and slipping in a counter hook at times. Now Serao shoots in for a single and gets an outside trip with 1:10 to go. Working in the half guard, Serao throws a couple short punches. Serao pops out to side control and looks for a kimura. Ruiz gives up the mount and Serao closes out the round in control. 10-9 for Serao.

    Round 2: Ruiz starts off round two with an accidental low kick to the bean bag. After a brief timeout, back to action. Ruiz is getting back to work with the jab. However, he isn’t doing much else. Serao is circling and waits for his moment to look for a takedown. He gets it and again goes for the trip takedown down into side control. This time Serao has close to three minutes to work the position. Serao is dropping short elbows and after a knee to the body, he gets the mount once again. Now Serao has the back, looking for a rear naked choke. Ruiz manages to defend and almost turns into Serao to get on top, but nearly gives up a leg lock in the scramble, and Serao pulls Ruiz back down and into side control. Clear 10-9 round for Serao.

    Round 3: Ruiz is getting busier to start round three, though he’s still primarily throwing one punch at a time, as Serao circles away. Once again, Serao grabs a leg and starts looking to take down Ruiz. Ruiz sprawls against the cage and fights off the takedown for over a minute, but Serao switches to a double leg and brings Ruiz down yet again. Serao easily moves into mount. He flattens Ruiz out and looks for a choke, prompting Ruiz to turn back into mount. Serao allows Ruiz to turn over but instead of getting his back, Ruiz gets on top. Serao looks for a triangle, and even when that fails, keeps an active, high guard. Ruiz throws punches anyway, and once again almost allowed Serao to lock up a triangle choke. It’s looking like a BJJ sparring session with Serao taking Ruiz to school. 10-9 Serao.

    Round 4: As the round starts Ruiz finally starts to turn it on, finding the range with a jab but actually following it up with successive power shots. Now Ruiz pushes Serao into the cage and looks as if he’s thinking about a takedown, but Serao has a tight hold of his neck. Serao uses the guillotine to roll over into mount. Now Serao is delivering elbows from the mount and this fight once again falls into the same, familiar pattern. Serao channels the spirit of Dan Severn and looks for a keylock, but it isn’t there. Now Serao spins for an armbar. It looks iffy for Ruiz, but he gets his elbow out of danger. Now Ruiz is in Serao’s guard trying to deliver some ground and pound, but each shot is giving Serao a chance to look for a sub. The ref stands them up with 45 seconds to go, and Serao looks to take things right back to the ground. 10-9 for Serao…again.

    Round 5: Because I’m a professional, I’m not going to cut and paste last round’s description into this space, but it’s tempting. Ruiz is trying. He really is. But after a throwing a handful of punches and a body kick, Serao is pushing for another takedown. Serao actually pulls guard. Serao does look a little tired, and Ruiz is starting to throw more elbows and punches now. And just when you think Serao just wants to hold on to clinch the win, he pulls his guard up high and threatens with a triangle attack. More ground-and-pound by Ruiz, but only 90 seconds left. They get back to the feet but Serao dives in for a single and eats some elbows to the side of his head. Ruiz relentless with the ground-and-pound. Hats off to Ruiz, he’s making it interesting, but the horn sounds before Ruiz does enough damage to force a stoppage. 10-9 for Ruiz, though I wouldn’t argue with a 10-8 round.

    And we’ve got a split decision somehow:

    48-47 Serao, 48-46 Ruiz, 48-46 Serao

    The new Tachi Palace Fights middleweight champion: Leopoldo Serao

    In the end, justice is probably done, but 48-46 for Ruiz seems very iffy.

    Main Event: Doug Marshall (13-3) vs. Kyacey Uscola (20-15)

    In the prefight interviews, TUF 11’s Uscola sounds determined to fight smart and take Marshall to the ground and make sure he gets the win. We’ll see how that goes.

    Round 1: Uscola said he wanted the fight on the ground, but things start on the feet with both guys throwing nasty power shots and just missing. One minute in, Uscola now starts to work his gameplan and puts Marshall on his back. Marshall has a grip on Uscola’s head to keep him from posturing up, and then turns his hips looking for an armbar, but Uscola spins around. Now Marshall is turtled up and Uscola has one hook in. Now Uscola has his back and starts dropping bombs. Marshall was covered up, but Uscola actually knocked Marshall out cold. Uscola got him down but still used his heavy hands to get the win.

    Uscola gets the KO win at 3:17 of Round 1.

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