Felice Herrig had her winning streak stopped on Friday night in Florida, losing via unanimous decision to Carla Esparza.

In the first round, Herrig was repeatedly taken down by the powerful wrestler. Esparza had little trouble getting Herrig to the mat, scoring four takedowns and doing some damage on the ground.

Between rounds 1 and 2, the crowd groaned at the sight of the massive hematoma on Herrig’s forehead as she was tended to by trainer Jeff Curran.

Round 2 was much of the same for Herrig, as Esparza’s well-timed shots were once again able to get Herrig to ground, where she spent much of the round. Herrig’s guard was active, and she did not incur much damage at all in the round, but it was clear that Esparza had won the round.

Round 3 started with Herrig looking for a double-leg on Esparza, which was surprising. She did ultimately secure the takedown after a short battle against the cage, but Esparza reversed position and ended up on top.

Herrig was able to get some sub attempts in the round, at one point having Esparza in trouble with a triangle and reverse-side armbar. But Esparza was able to escape and re-establish top position. The fight was stood up by the referee with :30 seconds to go. Herrig landed a flurry of shots, including a hard kick to Esparza’s face, but time was short, and the bell sounded.

Esparza took the decision on all of the judges cards. She told Frank Trigg in a post-fight interview how she was able to dominate with her wrestling. “I’ve been on the mat for years,” Esparza said. “I put the work in, I put the time in, and it shows.”

Here’s a look at Chicago’s MMA this weekend…

- Cut Throat returns with Invasion 4 in Aurora tonight. Doors open at 6:30 and fights — 22 of them — begin at 8pm.

Tonight on HDNet, local fighters Jonatas Novaes and Felice Herrig will fight on the XFC 15 card in Florida.

A win tonight for Novaes and you’d have to think that the UFC will be giving him a call. He has won four straight fights, including the Illinois state championship, when he broke WEC vet Sherron “Rob Roy” Legget’s arm to take the title.

Novaes will fight Eric Reynolds, who fights out of American Top Team. Reynolds has fought in Bellator and has faced tough opponents like Jorge Masvidal and Eddie Alvarez. This will be Reynolds’ first fight in almost a year.

Felice “L’il Bulldog” Herrig will be back in action looking for her third straight win. We last saw Herrig at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates notching a unanimous decision win over Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc at XFO 39. Fans were treated to a great fight between the two, and Rivera-Calanoc’s “YES!!” walk-in was awesome.

Herrig will face Carla Esparza, who has fought some of the well-known names in women’s MMA. Esparza has fought Jessica Aguilar and Megumi Fujii in Bellator, and has a win over Karina Hallaran.

You can watch XFC 15: Tribute on HDNet.

The ageless wonder that is Shonie Carter will be back in the cage taking on Ryan Thomas. Carter got back in the win column with a unanimous decision win over Landon Showalter at Rumble on the Ridge XX in October, and he’ll hop right back into battle with just six weeks in between fights.

Thomas is a tough draw for Carter. He is a UFC vet that recently fought Jonatas Novaes in the seminfinal round of the Combat USA Illinois state tourney. Thomas has faced Novaes, Judo Jim Wallhead, Ben Saunders, Matt Brown and Ben Askren — twice. This will be Thomas’ first fight since his loss to Novaes.

Novaes will also fight on the card. A member of Team Brasa and a BJJ instructor under Comprido at FLO MMA in Palatine, Novaes’ star is on the rise. He has won four straight fights, including the Illinois state championship at 170 lbs, when he broke WEC vet Sherron “Rob Roy” Legget’s arm to take the title.

Novaes will fight Eric Reynolds, who fights out of American Top Team. Reynolds has fought in Bellator and has faced tough opponents like Jorge Masvidal and Eddie Alvarez. This will be Reynolds’ first fight in almost a year.

Felice “L’il Bulldog” Herrig will be back in action looking for her third straight win. We last saw Herrig at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates notching a unanimous decision win over Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc at XFO 39. Fans were treated to a great fight between the two, and Rivera-Calanoc’s “YES!!” walk-in was awesome.

Herrig will face Carla Esparza, who has fought some of the well-known names in women’s MMA. Esparza has fought Jessica Aguilar and Megumi Fujii in Bellator, and has a win over Karina Hallaran.

You can watch XFC 15: Tribute on HDNet.

Quick updates on Chicago area fighters…

- Miguel Torres is fighting Nick Pace at UFC 139. You may remember Pace from his insane flying knee KO of Collin Tebo back at Bellator 11. Torres will try to get back in the title picture after his loss to Demetrious Johnson. Pace is coming off a UFC 133 loss to Ivan Menjivar.

- Chicago’s Mike Russow is out of UFC 136 as his opponent Dave “Pee Wee” Herman tested positive for marijuana and steroids. No replacement was named so the fight was scratched.

It’s a tough break for Russow, who last fought at UFC Fight Night in March, when he beat Jon Madsen. Russow is 14-1 and has not lost since 2007, when he was submitted by Sergei Kharitonov at PRIDE 33.

- Dan “The Anvil” Stittgen will be fighting on October 8th at “King of the Cage: Interference” in Wisconsin. The MTC fighter recently won at Rockford Cage Fights and at XFO 39 in May. He is also a veteran of the TFC.

- The Supremacy MMA video game has hit stores, and it features local fighters Felice Herrig, Michele Gutierrez and Jens Pulver. Check out the game at their website.

Send any local fighter or school news to matt@chicagosmmna.com.

Here’s some video of Felice Herrig getting ready for her bout with Kelly Warren at Fight Tour in Rockford this Saturday. Warren fights out of Jackson’s MMA.

Curran talks about Felice’s strengths, and how he doesn’t think any fighter will be able to match her pace at 115 lbs.

Check out our Fight Tour Rockford preview.

Fight Tour will take place August 20th at the Metro Centre in Rockford. The card and date has changed a few times, but it’s going down next Saturday. Here’s a rundown of the pro card.

- Former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia will take on Patrick Barrentine in the main event. Barrentine hasn’t fought in almost two years, but he is a submission specialist that could potentially give Sylvia problems if the fight hits the ground.

Sylvia needs a win after losing to former TUF contestant Abe Wagner at Titan 16. He’s been lobbying to get back into the UFC and a loss to Barrentine would derail those plans indefinitely.

- Felice Herrig will fight Kelly Warren. The “L’il Bulldog” has settled into a nice groove since moving to Team Curran. She’s won 5 of her last 6 fights and two straight. She’ll face the undefeated Warren (3-0) who fights out of Jackson MMA. They have a common opponent in Amanda LaVoy, with both Herrig and Warren getting wins against her.

- UFC and King of the Cage vet LaVerne Clark will take on former UFC fighter Sean Salmon.

The event will also have live music. Rockford’s ‘The Pimps’ are scheduled to perform at the show, and Drowning Pool will also perform.

Tickets can be purchased at www.metrocentre.com or at the Metro Centre Box office located at 300 Elm Street in Rockford, Illinois.

Pro Card:
Tim Sylvia vs Patrick Barrentine
Shayne Adams vs William Penn
Felice Herrig vs Kelly Warren
Laverne Clark vs Sean Salmon
Nate McCoy vs Ruddy Gray

Amateur Card:
Jose Leiva vs Jason Powell
Chad Aldrich vs Dilon Berg
Kevin Burke vs Dustin Howell
Josue Lugo vs Herculanno Decosta
Allen Zuelke vs Travonta Collins
Robert Covey vs Douglas Deback
Derrick Williams vs Kurstan Davenport
Emma O’Connor vs TBD
Demond Wade vs TBD

Live results for XFO 39. The Vince Ramos vs. Ivan Wolshlager bout has been scatched. Ramos did not make weight according to MMA Recap.

Nick Scotti Vs. Hector Garcia (155)

Garcia KOs Scotti just :13 into round 1. He was out from the power right, but it will be ruled a TKO as the ref was slow to get to him and Garcia landed 2 more before it was waved off. On the way out of the cage, Scotti asked his coach if he was out and his coach said that he was. Good stoppage.

Will Brooks Vs. Bobby Reardanz (155)

Reardanz got off early, landing some head kicks. But Brooks controlled the cage and did more damage as the round went on. He landed a hard knee to the body that felled Reardanz near the end of the round. We score it 10-9 Brooks.

Brooks lands a right cross to start round 2, then drops Reardanz with a knee to the forehead. Brooks is doing what he wants now. 3 straight knees to the head from the clinch spill blood from Reardanz, and Brooks pulls off a power slam that makes the crowd roar. It was all Brooks from pillar to post, I can see if it was scored 10-9, but we score it 10-8.

Round 3 begins with another barrage from Brooks. A right cross drops Reardanz and Brooks smothers him. This needs should be stopped, as any contact sends Reardanz to the ground. Brooks gets full mount and mixes elbows and punches. They roll a bit and Brooks grabs an arm and submits Reardanz. Amazing performance by Brooks, with props to Reardanz for his courage. Brooks via tap/armbar at 3:22.

Kent Rexford Jr. Vs. P.J. Cajigas (190)

Rexford got his eye dotted early in the round, but then took control. He spent most of the round on top, doing damage with elbows and strikes. He took Cajigas’ back near the end of round 1 and choked him out at 4:47.

Michele Gutierrez Vs. Amanda LaVoy

Gutierrez is landing power rights, dropping LaVoy to the canvas twice. LaVoy remains game, and tries to clinch and throw knees. Nothing connects cleanly. But LaVoy does recover to make it an interesting round, and almost closes Gutierrez’ left eye. Still, 10-9 Gutierrez.

Round 2 begins and Gutierrez’ eye gets busted open and she is leaking badly. The ref stops the fight and calls for the doctor. The end comes at :24 as the doctor calls the fight. LaVoy wins by TKO, and tells me as she leaves the cage that the it was her knee that opened the gash on Gutierrez’ forehead.

Dan Stittgen Vs. Jason “Reaper” Graves

The fighters battle for position and Stittgen is able to roll into an armbar. It’s quick work as Graves has to tap. 1:10 of round 1.

Jon Murphy Vs. Lucas Gwaltney

Murphy dominated round 1 with takedowns and punishment from top position. He trapped Murphy’s arm across his own face and dropped some big bombs that bloodied Gwaltney’s face. We have it 10-9 Murphy.

Round 2 is action-packed with some excellent scrambles. Murphy is on the hunt for more takedowns, but Gwaltney counters with elbows to keep him off his back. Gwaltney reverses position an hammerfists Murphy. A brief doctor stoppage to check Gwaltney’s bloodied face, but action resumes.

Gwaltney lands a body kick that hurts Murphy. Jeff Curran calling for Murphy to set up his shots because Gwaltney knows they are coming. Gwaltney ends the round with a catch and it’s his round, 10-9. Awesome bout.

3rd round is full of action again, with Murphy getting takedowns but Gwaltney countering with unorthodox strikes. It goes the distance though, and the crowd boos as Gwaltney gets the UD, 29-28 across all 3 cards.

Daniel Aguirre Vs. TJ Kinney (135)

Aguirre — behind the biggest fanbase of the night — wastes no time in getting Kinney to the ground. He locks in a triangle, adjusts in several times and finally gets a tap at 2:20 of round 1. The cageside doctor was screaming to stop the fight as Kinney appeared totally out, but after the fight was stopped he popped right up to his feet. Very strange.

Mike Stumpf Vs. Dan Bolden

Spirited grappling between the 2 combatants that goes to the scorecards. Mike Stumpf controlled the pace and the cage and wins via unanimous decision.

Felice “Lil Bulldog” Herrig Vs. Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc

Three rounds of gritty grappling between Felice Herrig and Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc. Neither fighter did much damage, but Herrig controlled the bout in all three rounds. She wins it by unanimous decision.

Jamie Varner Vs. Tyler “Tyrant” Combs

Varner wastes little time getting back on a win streak. He defeats Combs with a North-South choke at just 1:30 of round 1.

Jeff “Big Frog” Curran Vs. Billy Vaughan

Curran the busier fighter, and lands more meaningful shots in all 3 rounds. He catches Vaughan in a guillotine near the end of round 1, but Vaughan wriggles loose. Curran wins via unanimous decision, 30-27 across the board.

Some news and updates for Friday’s XFO 39 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Jeff Curran told us that even though Joe Pearson had to drop out, he is still fighting on the card. He also said that while Jamie Varner is rumored to be fighting Shinya Aoki later this month in Japan, Varner will still fight Tyler Combs on Saturday night.

Curran will be matched against Billy Vaughan. Vaughan holds a record of 9-8, and fought in Strikeforce this March. Vaughan has dropped three straight bouts after winning three in a row.

This fight should go to the ground sooner rather than later. Curran is a world-renowned BJJ Black Belt, and of Vaughan’s 17 pro fights, 14 of them have ended by submission.

Varner has a tough rest of the month in store, if he indeed is taking the fight against Aoki. He’ll have to travel to Chicago from the West coast, fight a very game and dangerous opponent in Tyler Combs and hope he escapes with full health. Then he’ll have to make the arduous trip to Japan and get ready to fight Aoki, who has won 4 straight after his loss to Gilbert Melendez.

Here is the card:

• Jeff “Big Frog” Curran Vs. Billy Vaughan
• Jamie Varner Vs. Tyler “Tyrant” Combs
• Felice “Lil bulldog” Herrig Vs. Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc
• Mike Stumpf Vs. Dan Bolden
• Daniel Aguirre Vs. Terrance Kinney
• Jon Murphy Vs. Lucas Gwaltney
• Dan Stittgen Vs. Jason “Reaper” Graves
• Michele Gutierrez Vs. Amanda LaVoy
• Vince Ramos Vs. Ivan Wolshlager
• Kent Rexford Jr. Vs. Brandon Saling
• Will Brooks Vs. Bobby Reardanz
• Nick Scotti Vs. Hector Garcia