Angel Pacheco

Santiago Luna vs. Angel Pacheco
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Luna (-425); Pacheco (+325)

Round 1
To kick off the main card, a pair of bantamweights with 100% finish rates square off. Repping the host nation, Luna (7-0, 1-0 UFC) firmly has the crowd on his side. He meets Minnesota native Pacheco (7-3, 0-1 UFC), who earned a contract off DWCS despite losing, and went on to drop his debut as well. Betting lines are appropriately lopsided in Luna’s favor. Referee Fernando Salas Navarro does not need to know the odds to do his job, and he stands guard for what is about to happen next. The fighters clap their hands together prior to engaging.
Luna gets his boxing going early, prodding Pacheco with his jab. Pacheco answers with a few of his own, and strings a trio of punches behind the jab to get Luna’s respect early. Luna backs him off with a front kick and a few body shots, and he even fakes a level change to keep Pacheco honest. Luna swats out when Pacheco closes in and grabs the back of his head, but he lets it go so he can trade more hands. Luna jams his foot on the belly, and he chains several punches into knees as he works the body. They both toss out low kicks, and Pacheco splits the guard with a strong jab. Luna scores a right hand, digs a kick to the body and changes levels to strip Pacheco’s feet away beneath him. The Minnesotan bounces back to his feet, where Luna controls him in the clinch as he frames off the face with his palm.
Pacheco fires off a one-two as he presses the action, and Luna meets him in the middle and scores a knee to the belly. Luna keeps pawing out his jab when there is a lull, and Pacheco thumps his inner thigh with a kick. Pacheco drives home an uppercut that Luna no-sells, and Luna swings a right hand on the temple and catches him a second time with a right hook as Pacheco’s legs go stiff for a second. Luna unleashes a torrent of strikes as Pacheco is stunned from the strikes, with Luna’s body shots already having an impact as Pacheco’s guard drops to protect his gut. Luna completes and easy double in the open cage, and Pacheco hits his back and sets up an armbar that forces Luna back to his feet. Pacheco flips to his knees to explode up, and Luna fires off a head kick at him that bangs into the gloves. Pacheco sneaks in a jump knee when Luna is about to change levels, and they both let fly big punches. Luna knocks Pacheco off his feet before the bell with a sweeping left hook, although it may have been a slip.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Luna
Christian Stein scores the round: 10-9 Luna
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Luna

Round 2
Pacheco comes out of his corner no worse for wear, and Luna immediately stalks him down behind his jab. He follows his jabs with right hands and knees to the gut, and when Pacheco backs off, Luna targets the midsection with a kick. Pacheco digs his own left to the liver, but his volume significantly trails that of his opponent’s. Luna telegraphs a double, and Pacheco defends it and is forced to take a knee. Luna welcomes this by taking the back, and Pacheco blocks the hooks from getting in so Luna spins around to establish himself on top with Pacheco trying for butterfly hooks. The American considers an armbar again, but he is not in the right place to pull it off. Pacheco uses upkicks to push Luna away and stand back up, and he is met with a thumping knee to the abdomen. Luna drills his foe with two more knees, one to the stomach and one to the jaw, and Pacheco pushes him away and resets. Luna goes to the head and body, whiffing with a monstrous uppercut that would have knocked out a much larger man.
Luna strikes the body in the midst of his fluid combinations, and his jab has marked up the bridge of Pacheco’s nose. Luna lets fly a fast one-two and sets a knee behind it, and Pacheco stumbles back but is still in the fight. Luna chops at the front leg and is backed off with jabs, leading both men to attack the body. Pacheco tries for his own body shot, and Luna knocks him back with a right hand and then raises his arms to have Pacheco throw down with him. Luna stalks Pacheco down and unloads with a flurry, and he transitions to grappling and tries to hit a suplex rather than getting things done on the feet. Pacheco sells out for an armbar, so Luna presses his weight down to thwart it. Pacheco stands and blocks the knee he knows is coming, and he loops a left hand around the guard and gets popped with an overhand right. Pacheco uses a modified Philly shell to block when Luna lets go with combinations, and the two bang it out to the horn.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Luna
Christian Stein scores the round: 10-9 Luna
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Luna

Round 3
Luna scurries to the middle of the cage to start off in the final round, and he proceeds to let loose a combination of punches to the head and body. Pacheco counters him on the way back and dislodges the undefeated fighter’s mouthguard, and Salas retrieves it for him. Pacheco breaks off to get a modicum of space, lumbering forward with reaching punches and tossing out the occasional off-speed uppercut to catch Luna standing still. Luna swings far more furiously, and his knees are starting to have an impact as Pacheco nearly doubles over when absorbing one. Luna chains his punches together with ease, and Pacheco loads up on his counters as his volume is falling to one or two at a time. Luna backs him off with salvos of punches, and he ducks down to dodge a counter and complete a takedown. Pacheco’s upkicks keep Luna from establishing himself on top, and he is aware that a knee is coming when standing so he defends it. Luna gets right back in Pacheco’s face with his hands, resulting in a clinch as he bullies Pacheco to the wall.
With his back to the wall, Pacheco offers up a knee or two, but Luna is firmly in the driver’s seat. Pacheco’s swings rebound off the guard, and Luna splits it and slams a kick on the lead leg. Pacheco lowers himself down as if to take the fight down, and Luna snatches up his neck and jumps guard to hit a guillotine choke. Like most of Dustin Poirier’s attempts over the years, Luna fails to snare him in the submission, and he winds up on his back. Luna defends from most of the strikes that Pacheco hurls at him and smacks Pacheco in the face with an illegal upkick. Pacheco motions to Salas, who apparently did not see anything even though he was looking right at them, and they fight on. Luna walks forward without fear to let go with combos of punches and knees, and Pacheco is tough as a two-dollar steak and throws back with a vengeance. Luna tees off on the Minnesotan, nails him with a jump knee and connects with a looping right at the sound of the horn. It was one-way traffic, but it did go the distance.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Luna (30-27 Luna)
Christian Stein scores the round: 10-9 Luna (30-27 Luna)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Luna (30-27 Luna)

The Official Result
Santiago Luna def. Angel Pacheco via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)