Diego Brandao beats Derek Campos by unanimous decision at PFC 29 Saturday in Amarillo
Peak Fighting Championship 29, one of the fastest growing organizations in Mixed Martial Arts, took place Saturday night at the Amarillo Civic Center.
The main event featured UFC veteran and former "The Ultimate Fighter" champion Diego Brandao and Bellator veteran and Lubbock native Derek Campos facing off. Brandao won by unanimous decision.
Though Friday's press conference saw Brandao and Campos trading verbal barbs and insults, the end of the fight saw the two embrace to the cheers from all in attendance inside the Civic Center. The fight went the distance and was even throughout, but a strong third-round showing from Brandao ultimately tipped the result in his favor.
Breaking down the fight card
Though the two veterans were the highlight of the card, they were far from the only competitors. In total, 15 fights were contested after four were dropped.
Early prelims: Luis De La Fuente opens night with win
The night began with Luis De La Fuente and Isaac Torres sparring in an amateur Bantamweight fight. De La Fuentes took that match with a TKO (or technical knockout) in the second round.
Karla Alvarez defeated Mari Bustillos in a Strawweight battle by unanimous decision.
Jesus Ceniceros, fighting out of Perryton by way of Amarillo, took on Nicholas Gjelaj in the final early prelim bout with Gjelaj taking the victory.
Prelims: Lubbock's Henson wins lightweight bout
Lubbock fighter Tyler Henson battled Xavier Armijo in an amateur Lightweight bout. Henson took the win by unanimous decision.
Palo Duro graduate Nadia Moreno stepped into the octagon for her second MMA fight, taking on Nikola Kacperska. Moreno put up a valiant effort, but the judges ruled unanimously in favor of Kacperska.
Randall graduate Jared Gallegos stepped into the cage with a match against Xavier Young in the Catchweight class. Though the result went to the judges, Gallegos was already celebrating by hyping up his home crowd even before he was ruled to have won by unanimous decision.
Angelica Guzman, fighting out of Tulia by way of Plainview, took on Alexia Delgadillo. Delgadillo won by submission in the first round.
Tascosa graduate Ash Mallory took on Drew O'Brien as the bout went the distance with the judges ruling unanimously in favor of Mallory.
The final prelim fight was an amateur Light Heavyweight Championship battle between the defending champ Fernando Duran and Abraham Van Hout, fighting out of Soldotna, Alaska by way of Borger. Van Hout was punishing from the onset and ultimately won by TKO in the second round.
Main card: Palmore vs. Cesar ruled no contest
The main card started with Samuel James and Joe Saucedo, fighting out of Plainview by way of Lubbock. James talked a big game the day before and backed it up with a TKO win in the third round.
The most controversial fight of the night came in the heavyweight battle between AD Palmore and Julio Cesar (fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil, by way of Amarillo). The fight appeared even when Cesar was ruled to have made an accidental foul late in the second round. Palmore was unable to continue and the fight was ruled a no contest.
Shanna Gomez took on Yuri Medina with Gomez having maybe the punch of the night. It was a punch that knocked Medina out in the second round, resulting in a win for Gomez.
Lubbock native Mateo Gonzalez took on Brandon Meneses in a Bantamweight fight with Gonzalez winning by submission in roughly a minute.
Natalya Speece fought Abril Anguiano in the catchweight class with Speece winning by split decision.
Brandao and Campos closed the night after that, putting on a show to remember.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Diego Brandao beats Derek Campos by unanimous decision at PFC 29 Saturday in Amarillo
