Fouse earns title shot

Clinton Fouse won his No. 1 contender fight at Gladiator Challenge: Unchained against Tony Dominguez on Sept. 14 and will fight for the Featherweight title against Daniel Aguiar later this year.

Fouse, who is from Colusa, stopped Dominguez midway through the second round after catching a kick and knocking his opponent down. He followed Dominguez to the ground and unloaded a flurry of punches, forcing referee Richard Goodman to stop the fight at 2:31 in the second round.

"I caught his leg and threw two punches and I think I kind of rocked him. I hit him a few times on the ground and he rolled over and the ref stopped it," Fouse said.

Since losing for the first time in December, Fouse (4-1) began training at Urijah Faber's Ultimate Fitness gym in Sacramento and won three consecutive fights in the 145-pound weight class.

"I think (Dominguez) thought I was going to be a southpaw because in all my videos online I was a southpaw, but I switched it up in my last fight," Fouse said.

Fouse escaped the fight without any major injuries, just a badly bruised thigh, and he will be back to training after taking a week off.

His next opponent, Aguiar, will provide a different challenge than Dominguez because he is a high-level Brazilian jiu jitsu fighter whose four victories in the cage came via kneebar submission.

David Covarrubias, of Williams, also had a fight on the Unchained card but lost a decision.

Facing a wrestler, Covarrubias (1-1) was unable to keep the fight on his feet but got the better of the exchanges when he did, according to Fouse.

Losing the takedown battle was the difference in the fight and Covarrubias suffered the first loss of his career.