Andrade Forces Lucas To Quit

31-year-old Librado Andrade (29-3, 22 KO's) bounced back from a knockout loss against Lucian Bute, as veteran Eric Lucas (39-8-3, 15 KO's) could not persevere after eight completed rounds due to a severe cut sustained above his left eye.

Lucas, 39, landed some sharp counter punches in round one, but Andrade scored early with an aggressive body attack. After getting struck with a right uppercut in round two, Lucas hammered Andrade with a flush right. However, Andrade shook off the effects of the punch quickly, and opened up an arsenal of vicious body and head shots. Then, Andrade opened a gash above Lucas' right eye when he landed a piercing left hook. Toward the end of round three, Andrade landed a series of left hooks to Lucas' body.

Andrade continued his assault in round four, hurting Lucas when he unleashed multiple shots. Next, Andrade threw and landed a large volume of punches in round five subsequent to Lucas catching him with a harsh left hook.

In the seventh round, Andrade connected with consecutive left hook - right hand combinations. Afterward, Lucas countered swiftly with a decisive left hook, but Andrade ripped off a string of devastating uppercuts in close range. Consequently, Andrade sent Lucas into the ropes in round eight when he landed a concrete right hand. At this point, Lucas was awfully bloodied and bruised, although he was giving a valiant effort. It seemed a right hand shot from Andrade opened a massive cut above Lucas' left eye. A ringside physician briefly examined it during the round, and let the fight pick up again. After that, Lucas came on strong instantly, however, he was met with an onslaught of grueling punches from Andrade. When the ringside physician examined the cut for a second time following round eight, he ruled that Lucas should not keep going.

 UPSHAW DEFEATS ST. JUSTE

In a middleweight bout, Marcus Upshaw (13-4-1, 6 KO's) won a ten round, split decision versus Renan St. Juste (21-2-1, 14 KO's). Official scores were 96-93 and 95-94 for Upshaw, while St. Juste received a 95-94 scorecard. MMA Training Gloves

Upshaw, 29, seriously hurt St. Juste in round four when he connected with a lunging left hook. After absorbing the blow, St. Juste turned away and moved toward the ropes. Referee Jean-Guy Brousseau appropriately scored a knockdown in favor of Upshaw. St. Juste, 38, continually got beat to the punch by Upshaw from the sixth round until the end of the fight. Upshaw comfortably landed his punches in spots, scoring with crisp left hooks and straight rights repeatedly. As the fight moved into the later rounds, St. Juste could not match the pace of the younger, faster Upshaw.