John Vera stops Cleotis Pendarvis In opening round

BILOXI, Miss. (March 5, 2021) – Fort Worth (TX) middleweight John “The Phenom” Vera stopped Cleotis Pendarvis in the opening round of last night’s RJJ on UFC FIGHT PASS main event at Biloxi Conference Center in Biloxi, Mexico.

RJJ Boxing was streamed live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS®, the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports. To sign up for UFC FIGHT PASS, please visit www.ufcfightpass.com.

Vera vs. Pendarvis suddenly and surprisingly ended midway through the opening round, when Pendarvis (21-8-2, 9 KOs), a former USBA champion, stopped throwing punches and went to his knees. He was counted out with what is believed to be a hand injury.

“Well,” Vera (20-1, 12 KOs) said after the fight, “the way my fight ended was anticlimactic. I was feeling really good and calm in there. I was just finding my range, establishing my jab and calculating. He threw a jab to the body and I blocked it with my elbow. I felt his knuckle hit my elbow. Sucked ut ended that way, but what can you do?”

Vera has now won his last two fight since suffering his only loss as a professional back in 2018, when he traveled to France as a world rated fighter to take on Michel Soro (31-2-1) for the WBA Interim junior middleweight title, in which Vera lost a 12-round unanimous decision.

In Vera’s previous fight this past in August, “The Phenom” won a 6-round unanimous decision in Las Vegas over Ravshan Hudaynazarov (17-2), a former world-rated fighter from Uzbekistan. “I would like to get in the ring as soon as possible,” Vera added. “I wanted rounds, so it’s time to get right back in there. I’m unscathed and in shape.”

In the co-featured event, ABF West super lightweight champion Christon Edwards (12-2, 6 KOs) won a 6-round unanimous decision from Jonathan Steele (9-7-1, 6 KOs) in a non-title fight.

Eridson Garcia (11-0, 7 KOs), of by way of the Dominican Republic, won a split decision against Jose Miguel Diaz Valenzuela (6-1, 1 KO), of Phoenix, in a battle of undefeated super featherweights. Scoring, though, was odd as Garcia won 60-54 and 59-55, but the third judge scored it a draw, 57-57.

Tennessee super lightweight Tyler “Short Fuse” Tomlin remained undefeated, improving to 10-0 (6 KOs) with a quick stoppage of over-matched Venezuelan veteran Ricardo Ocampo (12-11, 7 KOs), who was knocked out at the 53-seconds mark of round one.

Official results below:

OFFICIAL RESULTS

MAIN EVENT – John Vera (20-1, 12 KOs), Fort Worth, Texas WKO1 (1:38) Cleotis Pendarvis (21-8-2, 9 KOs), Lancaster,

CO-FEATURE – WELTERWEIGHTS Christon Edwards (12-2, 6 KOs), Houston, Texas WDEC6 (59-55, 58-56, 58-56) Jonathan Steele (9-7-1, 6 KOs), Duncanville, Texas

SUPER FEATHERWEIGHTS Eridson Garcia (11-0, 7 KOs), Houston, Texas WDEC6 (60-54, 59-55, 57-57) Jose Miguel Diaz Valenzuala (6-1, 1 KO), Phoenix, Arizona SUPER LIGHTWEIGHTS Tyler Tomlin (10-0, 6 KOs), Ashland, Tennessee WTKO1 (0:55) Ricardo Ocampo (12-11, 7 KOs), Curuzu Cuatia, Valenzuela

INFORMATION:

Websites: http://www.RoyJonesJrBoxing.com, www.ufcfightpass.com Facebook: /KeithVeltre, /UFCFightPass Twitter: @Keith_Veltre, @RoyjonesJRfa @RoyJonesJrOfficial, @UFCFightPass Instagram: @KeithVeltre, @RoyJonesJrBoxing, @UFCFightPass