By Press Release

Andrew Kapel inflicted heavy damage to his opponent from the bottom and it was enough to pull out a stunning decision victory, ending the eight-fight winning streak of Kevin Nowaczyk in the main event of Victory Fighting Championship’s VFC 60 on Saturday night.

Kapel (12-6) captured the win before a packed house at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, and live on UFC FIGHT PASS®. The event was Victory Fighting Championship’s first in the Chicagoland area as well as its first held in conjunction with fellow Alliance MMA promotion Hoosier Fight Club.

In the main event, Nowaczyk (15-4), who had the hometown advantage fighting out of nearby Oaklawn, IL, carried the action in the opening round, twice looking to the end the bout early via submission as he went for a rear-naked choke and an armbar. Late in the second round, though, the bout turned in Kapel’s favor. After being warned for an illegal upkick to a grounded fighter, Kapel was put back on the bottom on the restart and promptly landed a series of punches and elbow that cut Nowaczyk on both eyebrows. The cut above Nowaczyk’s left eye significantly deepened in the third as Kapel landed several more shots from the bottom, and the damage done over the final two rounds was enough to sway the judges. Kapel, who fights out of St. Paul, MN, earned his fifth win in his last six outings by taking the scorecards 29-28, 29-27 and 29-27.

“He won the fight. He had the better position. I would do the fight again over five rounds,” stated Kapel.

In the night’s co-main event, Mohammad Usman, the brother of UFC standout Kamaru Usman, was supposed to have a big coming-out party on the grandest stage of his burgeoning career. Instead, it was Don’Tale Mayes (4-1) who had the banner evening. Mayes landed a spinning back kick at the end of the first round, and then dropped Usman (2-1) with a wicked shovel hook-uppercut in the waning moments of the third on his way to a clear-cut unanimous decision (30-27 x 3).

“He’s a football player, he only knows how to come forward,” said Mayes. “I had to circle, stick and move, and the win was going to happen. He kept sticking his head out and I tried to chop it off. I was able to stop the takedown and I knew he’d get frustrated.”

In another of the main card’s feature bouts, Jose “Chepe” Mariscal and Patrick Sabatini went three rounds in an excellent back-and-forth battle with both fighters having moments where it seemed they would be able to finish the bout. It did go to the judges’ scorecards, however, and Mariscal (7-3) was given the split-decision nod (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) and picked up his fourth win in his last five fights. For Sabatini (8-2), the CFFC featherweight champion, his six-fight winning streak came to a sudden halt.

In a welterweight matchup, Josh Streacker picked up his fifth consecutive win and fourth via knockout as he stopped J.P. Saint Louis at 3:41 of the second round. Streacker (5-1) was able to back Saint Louis (3-2) against the VFC’s notorious square care and launch a barrage of punches that rocked his foe. The Milwaukee, WI, product brought the bout to an end with a final uppercut off Saint Louis’ chin that forced referee Rob Madrigal to jump in.

Other Results:

Bobby Moffett (11-3) def. Enrique Gonzalez (4-2) – unanimous decision

Zach Fears (9-2) def. Tim Cho (6-3) – unanimous decision

Askar Askar (7-0) def. Jesse Parker (1-2) – TKO

Brian Peterson (3-0) def. Oscar Kush (2-2) – unanimous decision

Muhammad Abdullah (10-4) def. John Troyer (15-13) – unanimous decision

Kanat Tassybay (1-1-1) vs. Oscar Hernandez (0-0-1) – majority draw