Dana White at Titan FC 54 in Ft. Lauderdale

Dana White at Titan FC 54 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

By Matt Benoliel

Xtreme Action Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida was the scene for Titan FC 54 this past Friday. The Big Boss Dana White was in attendance along with UFC legend Matt “The Terror” Serra and Din Thomas, scouting for talent and looking to hand out some contracts to the Big Show.

The current Titan Featherweight Champion, Jason “The Specimen” Soares (13-0) seemed like the obvious choice: undefeated, hometown favorite, and a submission specialist.  His opponent, a late time replacement, was a Brazilian fighter named Ariston Franca with a record of 10-5-0. This would be Franca’s first fight in the United States. It seemed Ariston brought the same intentions as all the other fighters on this card-impress Dana White. Early on, it seemed that Ariston had the advantage in the stand-up game and the night would not go well for Soares if the fight stayed on the feet. On the ground, however, Soares maintained control but could not find an opening to finish his opponent. For the better part of fifteen minutes, Soares relied on  the ground and pound. The hometown crowd urged him on with chants and cheering, but the pace of the fight was not enough to convince Dana White to extend that coveted UFC contract. 

This is truly a shame, because the action in the fourth and final round was nothing short of epic. Ariston landed a vicious knee that rocked Soares (who didn’t seem to remember it in the post-fight interview) and it looked like the end was near. But The Specimen dug deep, spurred on by his fans, threw Ariston to the canvas, and G&P’d his way to a TKO at 2:50 of Round 4. Then the arena erupted in applause as the Rocky Theme Song blasted through the loudspeakers. 

One fight that did impress Dana White was Herbert Burns’ quick submission victory over Luis Gomez,.  Gomez, who gave Soares more of a run for his money, losing in round 4 at Titan FC 49, was choked out in the first round by Burns, who will now join his brother Gilbert on the UFC roster.  The UFC also picked up Rafael Alves, who won the Titan Interim Lightweight title with an impressive Round 2 TKO victory over Felipe Douglas. Alves dropped Douglas with a beautifully placed right hand and then pounced on his opponent briefly before the contest ground to a halt.