Shane Young knocks out “Julz Jackal” to defend featherweight title at XFC 24

In a highly anticipated showdown, New Zealand based Shane Young successfully defended his Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) featherweight title tonight with a first-round knock-out of Julian “Julz The Jackal” Rabaud. 

The two met in the main event of XFC 24 which took place at the Mansfield Tavern in Queensland, Australia.

Fighting for the first time since his viral bout against Ben Nguyen, “Julz The Jackal” was eager to overcome that loss however the defending champion from Auckland had other plans. Rabaud started with an early jab and strong leg kicks. Rabaud swung wildly as Young slipped the shots and landed a nice three punch combination that rocked his opponent, before a follow-up hook sent Rabaud to the canvas.

The end came only 1:16 into the fight as Young defends his featherweight title for the first time since capturing it back in November. It’s back to the drawing board for Rabaud who lost his second consecutive fight by a knockout to take his professional record to 5-3.

Making her XFC debut Brooke McLeod started strongly against Terissa Wall in a women’s flyweight bout. McLeod looked stronger standing and landed some big knees both to the body and to the head while clinched. Wall though remained in the fight and turned the tide after getting a takedown and working her ground-and-pound. McLeod left her back open which enabled Wall to capitalise, getting the rear-naked choke submission to force the tap with only a second remaining in the round. 

Another women’s professional bout between Megan Anderson and Helen Malone was scheduled for the card, however Malone failed to appear for the weigh-ins and the fight was ultimately scrapped. The promotion gave Anderson both her purse, and her opponent’s. 

In amateur title fights on the card, Joel Fahey captured the XFC amateur welterweight title with a third-round TKO finish of Nathan Wilson, while Matt Thompson overcame Michael McDaniel to capture the XFC middleweight title with a second round TKO.

Results (Pro):

• Shane Young def Julian Rabaud via KO (Punches), Rd 1, 1:16 – XFC featherweight title
• Terissa Wall def Brooke McLeod via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 4:59

Results (Amateur):

• Joel Fahey def Nathan Wilson via TKO (Punches), Rd 3, 0:27 – XFC amateur welterweight title
• Matt Thompson def Michael McDaniel via TKO (Punches), Rd 2, 1:38 – XFC amateur middleweight title
• Tommy Aldous def Mat Moore via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 1:24
• Joel Johnston def Kris Mulhall via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 1:17
• Benny Millman def Glen Pettigrew via Submission (Kimura), Rd 3, 1:57
• Justin Wilson def Jamahl Kelly via TKO (Punches), Rd 2, 2:18
• Hiki Paikea def Jon Willox via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 1:30