Stockton, California, was heavily represented at the Last Man Standing boxing event in Anaheim on Saturday, as Chris Avila picked up a win for the city.
In a result that was somewhat surprising to many spectators, Avila (6-1) defeated former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (1-1) by unanimous decision (58-56, 59-55, 59-55) in a six-round 175-pound fight on the main card of the Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal boxing event.
Avila used a high-volume attack that was very similar to Diaz, as commentator Sean O’Malley pointed out on the show. There were plenty of arm strikes as Avila successfully implemented his unusual but effective approach.
Pettis kept up with Avila but couldn’t get much, if anything, done. Avila stopped him several times with hooks that visibly threw Pettis off his rhythm.
One point for the 209#LastManStanding pic.twitter.com/38BV13ffxj
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 7, 2024
This was Avila’s sixth consecutive win since losing his professional boxing debut in 2014. Avila has also won in boxing over MMA stars Jeremy Stephens and Anthony Taylor.
Pettis has fought throughout the combat sports world since leaving the UFC in 2020. He remains under contract with the PFL, but has also competed in boxing and karate combat competitions.
Current Last Man Standing results include:
- Chris Avila defeated Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision (58-56, 59-55, 59-55)
- Curmel Moton defeated Nikolai Buzolin by TKO – Round 2, 1:39
- Amado Vargas defeated Sean Garcia by TKO – Round 6, 0:46
- Devin Cushing defeated Manuel Correa by unanimous decision (77-75, 78-74, 80-72)
- Dan Hernandez defeated Luciano Ramos by unanimous decision (38-36, 38-36, 39-37)
- Luis Lopez defeated Alan Sanchez by unanimous decision (77-75, 77-75, 77-75)
- Gabriel Costa defeated Steve Dunn by KO – Round 2, 2:50
- Bryce Logan defeated Jose Aguayo by TKO – Round 3, 1:20
- Ken Lopez defeated Andres Martinez by unanimous decision (59-54, 59-54, 58-55)
For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Diaz vs. Masvidal 2.
