While the UFC took a well-earned break over the weekend, the world of mixed martial arts rolled on.
Former UFC contender Paul Daley (29-11-2) dominated fellow Octagon veteran Luigi Fioravanti (22-11) at the main event of Ringside MMA 12 on Friday. The polarizing Brit controlled all 15 minutes of action with his notorious striking prowess, earning a unanimous judge's decision (30-27 x3) for his second straight win since losing to rising prospect Tyron Woodley at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson. The victory marked the sixth in eight bouts for the busy Daley since being cut by the UFC, who earlier this month earlier this month voiced interest in making nice with promotion president Dana White and returning to the Octagon.
Elsewhere, Mario Miranda (12-3) made his own push for a return to the Zuffa umbrella, stopping middleweight Aaron Stark (11-8) via second-round TKO at the main event of SportFight 30 on Saturday. The victory is the second straight for the 33-year-old since being released by the UFC in March. In the night's co-main event, WEC-veteran Ryan Healy (19-9-1) eked out a narrow split decision over Bellator veteran Andrew Chappelle for the seventh win of his last nine contests.
Meanwhile, it took all of three minutes for Strikeforce and Pride veteran Joey Villasenor (28-9) to return to his winning ways. Reenergized by a drop to the welterweight division, the 36-year-old snapped a three-fight losing streak with a devastating first-round TKO of Chuck Parmelee (34-14-1) at Jackson's MMA Series 6 event in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Saturday. The victory was Villasenor's first since 2009.