'Pretty Ricky' Turcios wins Fury Fighting Championships, pleads for UFC deal

Pretty Ricky Turcios (KPRC2/Click2Houston.com)

HOUSTON – Ricky "Pretty Ricky" Turcios extended his winning streak to eight in convincing fashion at the Fury Fighting Championships in Humble Saturday night.

The scheduled five-round fight for the Fury bantamweight title ended in the third round when Turcios knocked out Trent Meaux with a lighting-fast right cross.

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The first round of the fight was a series of trades as Turcios and Meaux looked for openings and weaknesses. In the second round Turcios took Meaux down and took his back, but Turcios was unable to sink in a deep enough choke to get Meaux to tap.

But in round three, Turcios found his range and landed a clean blow that ended the fight.

[PHOTOS from the Fury Fighting Championships]

The title fight came after three amateur and 11 professional contests, two of which ended in doctor stoppage.

In the amateur ranks, bantamweight Brandon Cancino showed well and prevailed in a very tough contest with Darius Grey. Cancino had the edge in the first round, but Grey started to land punches in round two. Cancino ended round three with a heavy takedown and pulled out the win by decision.

Amateur Juan Adams prevailed over Jordan Zendejas by delivering no less than 40 hammer fists to the face. Zendejas was put on his back early, and Adams then went to work with his sledgehammer. The ref stopped the fight early in the second round.

The professional fights that followed were often a tale of first- or second-round TKO or quick submission.

Emerson Guerrero took Christian Lira out in the first round with a TKO, and then Aaron Reeves did the same to Morgan Oriahi in the second. Ramiro Ruiz then submitted Sijin Kurian in the second round with the deep rear naked choke.

In the next fight, featherweights Carlos Melara and Jake Heffernan conducted a jiu jitsu clinic as each sought advantage over the other. This was a very close contest that lasted until Heffernan was finally able to submit Melara late in the third round.

Flyweight Dave "Super Dave" Acosta then took on Eric Hendon. Acosta flew in for the fight from California, where he trains with famed Team Alpha Male. Hendon put Acosta in his back in the first round, but Acosta won with a brutal right cross 1:17 in to round two.

Joel Moore then won quickly and easily in a heavyweight match with Gary Harling, ending the fight with a first-round TKO.

The Leroy Vasquez versus Rocky Long fight was the first to end in a doctor stoppage early in the second round. Vasquez had the edge in round one and was able to open a cut on the forehead of Long, which the ring doctor determined was sufficient to stop the fight in the opening seconds of round two.

In the next fight, massive meat house heavyweight Isaac Teran pounded Tim Lashley into submission in just 17 seconds of the first round. It was the only mismatch of the evening.

In the match between talented welterweights, Nikolay Veretinikov and Charlie Ontiveros, Ontiveros was performing well until Veretinikov was able to get the clinch and deliver several well-timed knees to the midsection. A clearly wounded Ontiveros turned his back to Veretinikov but the ref did not stop the fight, so Veretinikov pounced and threw a punch from behind Ontiveros, knocking him to the mat. The ref stopped the fight seconds later, giving Veretinikov the win by first-round TKO.

Jose Ceja and Cameron Grave squared off and put on a great show until Graves opened a cut on Ceja's forehead, which resulted in the second doctor stoppage of the night.

In the final pro fight before the title fight, Joel Scott showed great strength and skill against Gerzan Chau. Chau held on through the first round, but Scott took him down early in the second round and secured a very deep guillotine choke, resulting in the tap by Chau.

After taking the belt, Turcios dropped to his knees to plead with Dana White, president of the UFC, imploring his next fight be as a UFC fighter. Wrapped in a flag and sporting the title belt, Turcios held his hands in a prayer position and called out, "Please, Dana White, I'm ready for this!" hoping that the media would find a way to get the message to White and get Turcios the call up.

RESULTS:

  • Trent Meaux vs. Ricky Turcios – Turcios by 3rd round TKO
  • Joel Scott vs. Gerzan Chau – Scott by guillotine choke
  • Jose Ceja vs. Cameron Graves – Graves by doctor stoppage
  • Nikolay Veretinikov vs. Charlie Ontiveros – Veretinikov by TKO
  • Tim Lashley vs. Issac Teran – Teran by 1st round TKO
  • Leroy Vasquez vs. Rocky Long – Vasquez by doctor stoppage
  • Joel Moore vs. Gary Harling – Moore by 1st round TKO
  • David Acosta vs. Eric Hendon – Acosta by 2nd round TKO
  • Carlos Melara vs. Jake Heffernan – Heffernan by submission
  • Ramiro Ruiz vs. Sijin Kurian – Ruiz by rear naked choke
  • Morgan Oriahi vs. Aaron Reeves – Reeves by 2nd round TKO
  • Emerson Guerrero vs. Christian Lira – Guerrero – 1st round TKO
  • Amateur Division:
  • Darius Gray vs. Brandon Cancino – Cancino by decision
  • Juan Adams vs. Jordan Zendejas – Adams by 2nd round TKO
  • Tyler Bradford vs. Nathan Stanton – Bradford by decision