CLEVELAND – She entered to a chorus of boos to the partisan hometown crowd in Cleveland, but Aisling “Ais the Bash” Daly (11-2) left to a round of applause, as the veteran Irish fighter submitted hometown favorite Jessica “Evil” Eye (3-1) to claim the women’s 125-pound title in the main event at “NAAFS: Fight Nite in the Flats VII” from Jacobs Pavilion in Cleveland, Ohio.

The massive crowd was raucous in the outdoor venue, but fighters were also looking to impress two special fans sitting at cageside, as Bellator Fighting Championships CEO Bjorn Rebney and the company’s matchmaker Sam Caplan were both in attendance to witness the action.

The night’s main event featured a women’s bout for the first time in the history of “Fight Nite in the Flats,” and both Daly and Eye weren’t planning on making NAAFS officials regret the decision. Both fighters came out at a break-neck pace, as Daly immediately pushed Eye against the cage and looked for the takedown. Eye was able to stay on her feet, and they clinched against the cage until referee Mark Matheny separated them.

Eye immediately landed a takedown after the break, and she spent the rest of the first round on top landing enough shots to clearly win the round. The fighters clinched again early in the second round, but Daly landed an early takedown to put Eye on her back for the first time in the fight. The fighters scrambled for a couple of minutes, trading dominant positions, but when Eye went for a heel hook Daly countered and immediately took her back and sank in the rear naked choke for the victory.

Clark survives, eventually TKOs injured Aeschlimann

The middleweight title fight featured two notable wrestlers, but it appeared early in the bout that AJ Aeschlimann (3-2) would get the better of the grappling battle, as he picked up the undefeated Travis Clark (6-0) and carried across the cage, eventually finishing the takedown with a big slam against the cage. Aeschlimann wrestled his way through the first round, clearly edging out Clark, but the champion seemed gassed after one, while Clark came out refreshed after the break.

The tide turned early in the second round as Clark landed a solid combo early in the frame, but Aeschlimann countered with a takedown. Clark landed one leg kick to the left knee that Aeschlimann injured in his last bout in February, and the champion was immediately wobbled. The partisan crowd smelled blood and begged for Clark to capitalize, but Clark continued to throw punches to Aeschlimann’s head and almost forgot about the injured knee. The two fighters refused to engage for much of the rest of the round, with Clark clearly not wanting to injure the leg of Aeschlimann any more.

It appeared as though Aeschlimann would quit in between rounds as he stayed on the mat after the bell rang, but he eventually made it back to his feet and courageously went back into battle in the third round. A clearly fatigued Aeschlimann landed a takedown in the third, but Clark eventually ended up on top and the fighters were stood up after a period of inactivity. The crowd booed as Clark refused to attack the injured leg, but Clark eventually landed a leg kick and a right hand to finish the fight.

After the bout, Clark, who spent a year in a wheelchair after a dirt bike accident, explained why he didn’t attack the leg earlier than he had, “I’ve had knee injuries before, and I know what he is going through. I had surgery on both of my ACLs and I know how that feels.”

Regardless of the way he finished the bout, Clark is the new NAAFS champion and and is still undefeated.

Top prospect Miocic claims heavyweight title in academic performance

It was clear early on in that the heavyweight title fight was Stipe Miocic’s (6-0) to lose. He landed strikes early and often against the super tough Bobby Brents (9-2), but Brents ate most of his shots and looked for takedowns. The takedowns were not to be made against the former Division II national champion wrestler Miocic, as he preferred to showcase his impressive boxing landing crisp strikes throughout the bout. A vicious right hand early in the second frame appeared to be the beginning of the end, but Brents complained of an eye poke that the referee didn’t see. A leg kick dropped the rotund Brents, and he let the referee know that he had taken enough punishment.

Miocic, perhaps the top heavyweight prospect in the sport, was crowned the new champion, and Rebney appeared impressed at the performance from the hometown favorite.

Lozano and Musser impress with early stoppages

Bellator fighter Chris “The Cleveland Assassin” Lozano (8-1) won his second bout in a row after losing in the Bellator welterweight quarterfinals, and he did so as his boss Bjorn Rebney looked on. Derek Smith (6-4) came in as a huge underdog, and he ate a solid combination early in the first round before missing on a takedown and handing Lozano his first career submission.

NAAFS 2010 amateur lightweight champion Clint Musser (1-0) was obviously happy to be a pro, as he used now-legal elbows to earn the “finish of the night” with a TKO victory against an outmatched Devin Miller (0-2).

Garbrandt makes statement in amateur main event

Amateur bantamweight Cody “No Love” Garbrandt (5-1) made the statement that he promised before the bout, as he took a lopsided decision victory over Tyler Saltsman (5-2) in the amateur main event. Garbrandt stuffed Saltsman’s takedowns early and often, and he hurt the former Penn State wrestler with precise strikes just seconds into the bout. Garbrandt spent the entire fight defending the takedown and landing shots on Saltsman, and the lopsided decision went his way after three rounds of action.

Other notable winners on the night were Andria Caplan (3-1), 2010 amateur bantamweight champion Isaiah Chapman (11-1), top-ranked light heavyweight Tommy Deroia (6-0), and Francis Healy (7-2).

Full results from the event are below:

Amateur bouts:

Pro bouts:

*fight was for heavyweight title

^fight was for middleweight title

+fight was for women’s 125-pound title