The biggest fight card in New Mexico history is in the books, as MMA Fight Pit: “Genesis” took place at “The Pit” in Albuquerque Saturday night. In the main event, Houston “The Assassin” Alexander took home a TKO victory over “Razor” Razak Al-Hassan. The ringside doctor, after looking over Al-Hassan’s finger, deemed it severely dislocated, and was unable to put it back in place, which forced the stoppage. It was an unfortunate ending to what was shaping up to be an exciting bout. Both fighters had landed some good shots.

Regarding the fight, Alexander said, “We just took our time and got back to boxing. We used a new technique and it worked. My conditioning was great, I was ready. I’m disappointed in the early stoppage but it happens. But the atmosphere…it was amazing. I can’t describe it. I walked in and it was crazy. It was a great time.”

Photo: Matt Campbell, KillaSnapShot.com

Al-Hassan was understandably disappointed with the way the fight turned out, and talked about the conclusion of the bout. “At some point during the second round I knew something was wrong because I couldn’t make a fist when I was throwing my jab. At the end of the second I went back to my corner and looked down at my hand and realized my finger was either dislocated or broken. The doctor came and took a look at it and stopped the fight. But I thought the fight was going fine. I thought we were pretty even. I thought the first round went to him. I felt that I did better in the second round and I felt I landed more in the second so it was probably even [at that point].”

In the co-main event, MMA legend Jens “Lil’ Evil” Pulver got back in the win column against very tough New Mexico favorite Coty “Ox” Wheeler. “Ox” made the most memorable entrance of the night, as he was preceded by several of his Native American supporters in full garb, accompanied by drums. Once the fight began, Wheeler showed that he was planning to prove that he could stand with Pulver, who is known for his boxing prowess. It proved to be a mistake, as he was clipped and later dropped in the first round. In the second round, Pulver really poured it on. It looked like “Ox” had had enough, but he exhibited incredible toughness. In the end, it was too much, and the ref was forced to step in and stop the barrage. “Lil’ Evil” has now won three of his last four, while “Ox” sees a two-fight win streak stopped.

“I just wanted to stay focused and centered. More than anything I was just so damn scared to be in that cage. The losses come back to haunt you,” explained Pulver. “I was really trying to be dialed in and by happy. I’m just really happy. I was trying to find a home and really trying to throw. I wanted to make a statement at 135 pounds, and I knew this guy was really tough and has a great chin. I’m a big ‘Ox’ Wheeler fan. I love his spirit and I love the way he fights. It was just a matter of watch out for his power and watch out for his games. Just stay tight and focus.”

On fighting in New Mexico for the first time, Pulver had this to say: “It’s been great. It’s exactly like I said at the end [of the fight]. You can be fans of MMA. You can be a fan of the UFC. We all love the UFC…I’m a damn pioneer of the UFC, but you can still be fans of MMA. This was a great card. People need to come down. They come running when they see UFC, but they have to learn and start embracing other promoters that are grabbing the bull by the horns and giving the fighters the opportunity. These guys did a great job at Fight Pit. The promoters took really good care of us. Everything was perfect. I think in the hometown they need to show up and support that.”

“Ox” also enjoyed the fight, despite the loss. “I’m an entertainer first and a fighter second. I do it for the fans and I do it for the people who care and have love for me. Fighting a legend like Jens…it doesn’t matter who I get in there with. I never train to lose and I went in there to win. I got clipped and I’ve never been clipped like that before. But I enjoyed the fight. There is no drug or alcohol that can give you that feeling like when you’re in that cage. There is nothing that will give you that feeling. It’s like your inner adrenaline comes out of you and you want to keep going. I trained a hard three months.”

In addition, Jackson’s MMA heavyweight Tyler East notched another finish on his record, grabbing a TKO victory over a very game Prince Mclean, who took the fight on a week’s notice. East was able to utilize a large size difference to his advantage, putting Mclean down and dropping heavy shots. Some of the strikes appeared to land on the back of his foe’s head. However, the ref stopped the fight, giving East the impressive victory. “I thought the fight went great,” stated East. “They changed my opponent early in the week so I didn’t know much about him. I saw a couple videos on him and he fought similar to Jon Jones, which was in my favor because I train with him on a daily basis. It was just good to be out there and fight in my home city in front of my family and my friends here. It was a great opportunity for me.”

Also coming away victorious was The Ultimate Fighter veteran Jamie Yager, who overcame an early barrage from the previously undefeated “Slick” Willie Parks to earn a guillotine choke submission early in the second round. “[Willie] came in for another shot and his head was right there,” said Yager. “I went for a guillotine earlier in the fight up against the cage and he picked me up and dumped me. I didn’t have the leverage I needed. In the second round I shot the guillotine and it was in tight. I heard him gurgle and that’s when I knew it was over.”

In other action, Diana Rael controlled crowd favorite Angelica Chavez in a rousing affair that had the fans on their feet. And former TUF competitor Junie Browning was unable to overcome local fighter Jacob Clark, who was able to pull off the biggest win of his career.

Here are the full results of the night’s fights:

Main Card

Houston Alexander defeated Razak Al-Hassan via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
Jens Pulver defeated Coty Wheeler via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:59
Tyler East defeated Prince McLean via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:33
Jamie Yager defeated Willie Parks via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 0:21
Diana Real defeated Angelica Chaves via split decision
Jacob Clark defeated Junie Browning via submission (elbows) – Round 1, 4:18

Preliminary Card

Ali Hanjani defeated Sean Spencer via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 1:41
Jason Sampson defeated Joshua Montoya via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:38
Conrad Padilla defeated Guy Youell via unanimous decision
Rocky Ramirez defeated Mark Lujan via submission (punches) – Round 1, 2:38

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