This week’s Thanksgiving edition of Throwback Thursday features a catchweight bout between Dom Steele and Ryan Thomas from XFC 27: Frozen Fury, which took place in Muskegon, Michigan on Dec. 13, 2013 and aired live on AXS TV.
This event was notable because it was the last XFC event on AXS TV and the last in the United States before they moved their focus to promoting events in Brazil.
The Cincinnati native Steele came into the bout with a 9-4 record, and was considered a heavy underdog to the UFC and Bellator veteran Thomas who possessed a 17-7 record.
Thomas started out fast, but Steele took control of the fight midway through the first round and didn’t look back. He was awarded the unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28. In an interesting twist, both commentators Michael Schiavello and Pat Miletich thought that Thomas clearly won the bout despite the judges awarding the decision to Steele.
The win was part of a 7-1 stretch that earned “Non-Stop Action Packed” a UFC contract. He made his UFC debut earlier this summer at UFC on FOX 16 where he was stopped by Zack Cummings in the first round.
Steele will return this weekend at UFC Fight Night 79, as he travels to South Korea to take on Dong Hyun “Maestro” Kim (13-6-3).
Check out the full fight between these two welterweights below, and let us know who you think won in the comments: