Score Fighting Series results

HAMILTON - John Alessio showed he can finish a tough opponent, and he hopes that tenacity will help him get him back into the premier promotion in mixed martial arts.

Alessio continued his push for a return to the UFC with a unanimous decision win over Ryan Healy at a Score Fighting Series event Friday.

Alessio knocked his opponent to the mat in the first to win the round, but allowed Healy to take over in the second.

With the scorecards seemingly even in the third, Alessio dug deep to score two late takedowns as the Vancouver native picked up his 10th win in 11 fights.

"(Healy) had zero quit on him and is damn near impossible to finish," Alessio said. "I showed I can take a pounding and come back and pull of the win. I hope this is the one that can get me back to the big show."

In the semi-main event, hometown favourite Josh Hill dominated Saskatoon's Eric Wilson by holding top position throughout the fight as the crowd chanted his name.

After the unanimous decision victory for Hill was announced, the chant changed to "UFC, UFC" as the crowd believed Hill's 8-0 record is enough to move him into elite company.

"I kept my base strong and just tried to pound him every time he moved," Hill said.

In the fight of the night, UFC veteran Forrest Petz stopped Lithuania's Sergey Juskevic in the second round.

Juskevic dropped Petz with a left early in the first round and followed up with uppercuts and knees. However, Petz reversed the momentum and knocked down Juskevic early in the second frame. Petz kept up the pressure throughout the round and the referee was forced to stop the exciting fight.

"(Juskevic) had me in trouble, but I knew I could hang on. I knew that once I got my wits back about me, I could get back into the fight," Petz said. "Luckily, I did."

Alex Ricci improved his MMA record to 5-0 with an impressive knockout of Iraj Hadin. The Woodbridge, Ont., fighter stopped Hadin with a left hook at 3:16 of the first round.

Shane Campbell defeated Derek Boyle by unanimous decision. The former muay thai world champion outstruck his opponent throughout the matchup.

In featherweight action, hometown favourite Lyndon Whitlock floored Winnipeg's Corey Houston at 4:28 of the first round to claim knockout of the night honours. Houston had been controlling the fight with his jab before Whitlock sent him to the canvas.

In earlier action, Jason Meisel stayed undefeated, running his record to 3-0 with the decision over Mike Sledzion.

Elias Theodorou dominated Erik Hebert for three rounds, defeating the former United States marine by unanimous decision.

Adam Assenza got his first professional victory by overwhelming John Roche with strikes in the first round.

Craig (The War Dog) Hudson landed a head kick on John McPherson and finished him with strikes for the first round victory.