https://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid4621179066001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAABvaL8JE~,ufBHq_I6FnxR-PQW_F3sm5QdUbP7D6E9&bctid=5517089015001

Robert Watley smiled before every round started. He was that comfortable.

Watley (8-1), competing in his fourth regional championship fight, put on a masterful performance as he defeated Thiago Moises (9-2) with a clean sweep on the scorecards to win LFA’s inaugural lightweight title at LFA 17.

The event took place tonight at Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, N.C., and the main card aired on AXS TV.

“I can’t even put into words,” Watley said. “I’ll be up here babbling up here forever.”

Speaking of forever, that’s how the five rounds must’ve felt to Moises, who was competing for the first time since September of last year. Was the problem rust? Was it Moises’ notoriously slow starts? It didn’t matter as Watley was in a zone the entire time 25 minutes.

Watley changed up his attacks constantly to dictate the pace and keep Moises off balance. Any time Moises managed to get into good position, it was brief as Watley kept his composure and escaped.

There was just one instance in which Watley was in serious trouble. It was in the fourth round when Moises transitioned from Watley’s back standing and dropped into a heel lock submission attempt. It was deep for a moment, and Watley even grimaced in pain, though he managed to free himself after a few seconds.

“That dude was strong, and he was hitting me hard,” Watley said. “I was just trying to stay in front of him and mix it up a little bit.”

Gravely’s dominant wrestling leads to win over Richardson

Credit to Keith Richardson for taking this fight on three days’ notice. But in the end, the wrestling and endurance of Tony Gravely were simply too much.

Gravely put on a dominating performance and took it to the veteran Richardson right from the start in scoring a clean-sweep unanimous-decision victory in their catchweight bout that served as the co-main event.

The fight was simply an impressive display of grappling from Gravely (10-4), but it wasn’t without its scares. Richardson (17-9), even as he struggled from the bottom, was relentless with arm and elbow lock attempts. On several occasions he had it in deep, only for Gravely to somehow find a way out.

In the final round, Richardson came out and ran into Gravely, providing the momentum for a takedown. Gravely stayed active with ground-and-pound for the duration of the round, though he almost fell victim to a deep armbar as Richardson tried everything in power to go for the finish.

Gravely simply had an answer every time and left no doubt about the three scores of 30-27 being in his favor. He continues to be supremely active in MMA, with this his 14th fight in 25 months.

Gordon capitalizes on Cole’s predictability for TKO win

You might say Tebaris Gordon saw this TKO victory coming from a mile away.

Gordon expected Chandler Cole to try to take him down in their heavyweight bout, and sure enough that’s what Cole did.

The result? Gordon (2-0) stuffed all three takedown attempts, each time raining hammer fists on Cole (2-1). On the third try, it was simply too much, and the referee had seen enough, calling off the action at the 4:25 mark of the first round to stop the vicious beatdown.

“He did exactly what I thought he was going to do,” Gordon said. “He just shot in on my legs. That’s all he knows how to do.”

Sweeney’s slick choke earns him submission win

John Sweeney said debuting Shelton Sales was in over head, and he wasn’t lying.

Sweeney (2-0) took advantage of Sales’ (0-1) inexperience, leading to a submission win in their featherweight fight.

It came in the first round, when Sales, rebounding from a quick flurry of punches, shot in for a takedown. In the moment, Sweeney went for a guillotine choke. Rather than fight for hand control, Sales pushed forward for the takedown, allowing Sweeney to transition to a standing inverted rear choke. It was in tight, and when Sales went limp the referee stepped in at the 1:57 mark for the finish.

“I mean, he’s a good kid, but this is a whole other level,” Sweeney said to the sound of boos. “He’s stepping up a whole other level.”

Official up-to-the-minute results:

• Robert Watley def. Thiago Moises via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
• Tony Gravely def. Keith Richardson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Mike Stevens def. Hugo Prada via TKO (punches) – 3:47, Round 2
• Tebaris Gordon def. Chandler Cole via TKO (punches) – 4:25, Round 1
• John Sweeney def. Shelton Sales via technical submission (guillotine choke) – 1:57, Round 1
• Ryan Jett def. Nick Rodrigues via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

For more on LFA 17, check out the MMA Events section of the site.