Burbank’s Matthew Nester was hoping for a better result when he fought in front of his hometown crowd Saturday as part of a 17-bout Upnext Fighting mixed martial arts card at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for the 21-year-old Nester, who attended Burroughs High before finishing his studies homeschooled.
Competing in the 150-pound amateur division, Nester was knocked out with 1:52 left in the third round by Joshua Brown of Anaheim.
“I knew he was a Division 1 wrestler so that was going to be his way to win. I didn’t expect him to be super well versed on the ground, but he has some good defense and is tough as nails,” Nester said afterwards.
Nester said he started in karate at age 3 and has been working in mixed martial arts since he was 15.
“It felt weird not having to drive too far,” Nester said of fighting in front his hometown supporters.
In other bouts, Kester Abad of Las Vegas stopped Donovan Monroe of Compton with a triangle with 1:09 left in round one of their 125-pound weight division clash.
Bryan Navarro of Tujunga earned a split decision over Axl Conrad of Malibu in the 160-pound division.
Atilla Errett of West Hills knocked out Cole Smith, also of West Hills, at 1:47 of the first round.
Glendale’s Rafayel Kitikyan earned a unanimous decision victory over Michael Williams of Monrovia in the 145-pound division.
Jose Hernandez of Anaheim earned a split decision victory over Sammy Caceras of Paramount in the 130-pound division.
Israel Salazar of Riverside stopped Daniel Labastida of Simi Valley at 2:30 of the first round in the 125-pound division.
Bryon Valle of Los Angeles stopped Adam Halton of Norwalk with an arm bar at 2:20 of the first round in the 135-pound division.
Pargev Khachatrian of Los Angeles earned a unanimous decision over Nathan Hawthorne of Banning in a 125-pound title fight.
David Rojas of Gardena earned a unanimous decision over Eduardo Zarate of Santa Ana, also in a 125-pound title fight.
Weston Quiroz of Agoura Hills knocked out Izac Enriquez of Riverside at 2:37 of the second round in a 155-pound title fight.
Gianni Vasquez of Mexico City earned a unanimous decision over Trevor Wells of Temecula in a 125-pound title fight.
Artur Arutyunyan of Glendale knocked out George Paiva of Northern California with a knocked at 2:24 of the third round in the 130-pound division.
Rodney Kealohi of Las Vegas earned a victory by submission over Narek Avagyan at 3:41 of the second round in the 130-pound division.
Bryen Dao of Norwalk under a unanimous decision victory over Carlos Figueroa of Anaheim in the 145-pound division.
Fedya Chobanyan of Artashat, Armenia scored an unanimous decision victory over Jeffrey Bishop of Long Beach in the 165-pound division.
Minsuh Jung of Compton scored a unanimous decision win over Travis Horn of Monrovia in the 180-pound division.
Jim Riggio
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