Burbank's Matthew Nester fought in front of a hometown crowd Saturday as part of the 17-bout mixed martial arts card “Up Next Fighting” at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel, hoping for a better result. was.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen for 21-year-old Nestor. He attended Burroughs High School before finishing his schooling with his home schooling.
Competing in the 150-pound amateur division, Nestor was eliminated by Anaheim's Joshua Brown with 1:52 left in the third round.
“We knew he was a Division 1 wrestler, so that's how he won. We didn't expect him to be very familiar with the ground, but he played good defense. I have it and I’m tough as nails,” Nestor said later.
Nester said he started karate at the age of 3 and has been involved in mixed martial arts since he was 15.
“It was weird not having to drive too far,” Nestor said of fighting in front of his hometown supporters.
In other bouts, Kester Abad of Las Vegas stopped Donovan Monroe of Compton with a triangle with 1:09 left in the first round of their 125-pound bout.
In the 160-pound weight class, Brian Navarro (Tujunga) defeated Axel Conrad (Malibu) by split decision.
Attila Ellet of West Hills knocked out Cole Smith, also of West Hills, at 1:47 of the first round.
In the 145-pound weight class, Glendale's Rafael Kitticyan earned a unanimous decision victory over Monrovia's Michael Williams.
In the 130-pound weight class, Anaheim's Jose Hernandez earned a split decision victory over Paramount's Sammy Caceras.
Riverside's Israel Salazar stopped Simi Valley's Daniel Labastida at 2:30 of the first round in the 125-pound weight class.
At 2:20 of the first round in the 135-pound weight class, Los Angeles' Bryon Valle stopped Norwalk's Adam Hulton with an armbar.
In the 125-pound title bout, Los Angeles' Parghev Khachatryan defeated Banning's Nathan Hawthorne by unanimous decision.
Also in the 125-pound title fight, David Rojas of Gardena defeated Eduardo Zarate of Santa Ana by unanimous decision.
Agoura Hills' Weston Quiroz knocked out Riverside's Isaac Enriquez at 2:37 of the second round in a 155-pound title fight.
In the 125-pound title bout, Mexico City's Gianni Vasquez defeated Temecula's Trevor Wells by unanimous decision.
In the 130-pound weight class, Glendale's Artur Arutyunian knocked out Northern California's George Paiva in 2 minutes, 24 seconds of the third round.
Rodney Kealohi of Las Vegas earned a submission victory over Narek Abagyan at 3:41 of the second round in the 130-pound weight class.
Norwalk's Brien Dao defeated Anaheim's Carlos Figueroa by unanimous decision in the 145-pound weight class.
In the 165-pound weight class, Fedya Chobanian of Artashat, Armenia, won a unanimous decision over Jeffrey Bishop of Long Beach.
In the 180-pound weight class, Compton's Minseo Jung defeated Travis Horne of Monrovia by unanimous decision.
