Cain Sandoval halts Romero Duno with sixth-round body shot

Junior welterweight up-and-comer Cain Sandoval scored a sixth-round stoppage of Romero Duno in the main event of a 360 Promotions card at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California on Saturday. The five-bout card was live streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Sandoval (14-0, 12 KOs) gradually beat the fight out of Duno (26-5, 20 KOs) over five rounds of back-and-forth power punching until putting the former fringe contender down with a vicious right to the body in Round 6. The 28-year-old veteran from the Philippines struggled to get to his feet, but the punch took his wind, and he was counted out by referee Gerard White.

Sandoval dropped him!!! #HFN pic.twitter.com/LXkzx4f5Ob

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) September 1, 2024

It was a hard-earned KO, but one that the 22-year-old Sacramento native wanted after being taken the 10-round distance in his previous two bouts.

“I worked on my defense in the gym and it felt good to get the knockout,” said Sandoval, who sported swollen left eye (the result of taking too many right hands) and fought through a bloody nose and mouth. “I wanted to knock him out earlier. I knew the body shots would work from watching his previous fights.”

Sandoval’s promoter, Tom Loeffler, said he’s looking to place the boxer-puncher on an October show in Commerce, California, which would be the young gun’s fourth bout of 2024.

In the co-featured bout of the card, junior middleweight fringe contender Sadriddin Akhmedov improved to 14-0 by scoring his 12th knockout, overwhelming Antonio Todd in the opening round of a scheduled eight-round middleweight bout. Akhmedov, of Astana, Kazakhstan, landed a monster right hand that dropped Todd (17-11, 9 KOs), a tough and skilled journeyman from Atlanta, then swarmed him along the ropes until referee Ivan Guillermo stepped in with the mercy stoppage at 2:31 of the round.

Akhmedov just dominated!! #HFN pic.twitter.com/cTd2aqasfz

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) September 1, 2024

It was Akhmedov’s first bout under the 360 Promotions banner.

On the undercard, light heavyweight prospect Umar Dzambekov stopped Edward Ortiz in the fourth round of a scheduled eight-round bout. Dzambekov (9-0, 6 KOs) faced a mirror image in Ortiz, also a smart southpaw technician, but he set the pace and unloaded the harder shots from the opening bell. Ortiz (13-2-2, 5 KOs), a former U.S. national champion from San Antonio, boxed well in the pocket against Dzambekov, a nine-time Austrian national amateur champ, but the Russia-born lefty broke through with hard hooks and crosses that finally took their toll in Round 4.

Ortiz was dropped twice before the bout was stopped. It was Dazmbekov’s first bout of 2024 after a busy 2023 that saw him fight six times. The time off apparently suited him well.

IT’S OVER!! #HFN pic.twitter.com/ilhrPf1fN4

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) September 1, 2024

Daniel Robles (9-3-1, 5 KOs), of Oxnard, California, outpointed game journeyman Jonathan Almacen (7-12-3, 2 KOs), of Metro Manila, Philippines, in a competitive and entertaining four-round featherweight bout, winning by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 (twice).

Angel Carrillo (3-0-1, 1 KO), of Oxnard, California, stopped cagey and unorthodox southpaw Josaphat Navarro (1-2-1), of Laguna Hills, California (by way of the Philippines) in the third round of a four-round junior featherweight bout. Carrillo, only 19 years old, pressured and outworked Navarro until referee Gerard White had seen enough punishment.

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