Roberto Hernandez made his bantamweight debut and continued his stellar run of form with a unanimous decision victory over former UFC veteran Trevin Jones at Cage Warriors 165 in San Diego.
Cage Warriors' final event of the year saw Hernandez and Jones face off in the main event at the Sycuan Casino Resort, with "Green Light" Hernandez making his mark early with a big right hand that seemed to stun Jones. But "Five Star" recovered well from the early wake-up call and kept Hernandez honest throughout the three-round matchup.
Any question marks over Hernandez' gas tank and ability to carry his abilities down a weight class were answered as he edged Jones to earn scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 for a unanimous decision victory.
After his win, Hernandez paid tribute to his opponent after a tough encounter.
"I just beat a guy who's a UFC vet," he said.
"It was controversial in his eyes, but I felt like I got (rounds) one and three. "He was better than I thought, but I'm just glad I got the nod. Thank you for the experience, 'Five Star!'"
Elsewhere on the card, Ahmad Hassanzada stunned local favorite Chasen Blair with a first-round kneebar to claim an eye-catching submission win, while Bobby Winther needed just 84 seconds to finish Anthony Zaragosa via armbar.
The battle of the namesakes saw Anthony Orozco stop Benny Orozco in the final minute of their welterweight matchup, while San Diego-based Indonesian prospects Ronal Siahaan and Eperaim Ginting both picked up important victories on adopted home soil.
Cage Warriors 165: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Roberto Hernandez def. Trevin Jones via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ahmad Hassanzada def. Chasen Blair via submission (kneebar) – Round 1, 4:24
- Bobby Winther def. Anthony Zaragosa via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:24
- Anthony Orozco def. Benny Orozco via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 4:23
- Ronal Siahaan def. Andrew Cabrera via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Corvan Allen def. Brandon Carrillo via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 4:47
- Manuel Medina def. Enrique Montalvo via technical submission (RNC) – Round 1, 0:33
- Xavier Vines def. Miguel Peimbert via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28)
- James Settle def. Johnny Gill Jr via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:23
- Eperaim Ginting def. Shawn Johnson via TKO (strikes) Round 1, 2:46
