Scott Holtzman seized the night at XFC 24 on Friday night at the Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla., capturing the vacant XFC lightweight title. Holtzman had initially planned on facing XFC champion Nick Newell for the belt on Friday night, but that was before Newell declined the fight, was stripped of his title, and eventually exited the promotion, signing with the World Series of Fighting. With Newell out of the picture, the XFC matched Holtzman up with John Mahlow for the vacant title, and Holtzman took full advantage of the moment. Mahlow scored an early takedown, but as the fight wore on, Holtzman ramped up his takedown defense and a blistering offensive attack. He cut Mahlow with a spinning elbow, then took him down and ground and pounded in the opening round. Holtzman kept the attack going in round two, grounding Mahlow again. He attempted a submission, but eventually finished the fight by unloading with punches until the referee called a halt to the bout. XFC 24 Results Main Bouts: – Scott Holtzman def