RUF 68 / Cinco de Mayo Fight Night / Fight Preview
RUF 68 Early Finishers: Elliott, Preissing and Encinas Are Not Going to a Decision
- Saturday, May 2, 2026
- Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
- Live on Spectation Sports
Three names on the RUF 68 fight card share one stat that fans should know about before May 2: a combined 100% finish rate. Featherweight champion Ezra Elliott (6-0), flyweight prospect Alex Preissing (2-0), and amateur flyweight Marcos Encinas (2-0) have ended every professional or sanctioned amateur fight of their careers, most of them inside round one. If you want a card that is built around action, this is your starting lineup.
RUF 68: Cinco de Mayo Fight Night runs Saturday, May 2, 2026 at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, with 15 bouts on the card. Below is the official RUF Nation breakdown of the three fighters most likely to give you a finish before the second horn.
8-0
Combined Pro Wins
100%
Combined Finish Rate
Round 1
Avg Round of Finish
1. Ezra Elliott
- Record
- 6-0 Pro
- Weight
- 145 lb (Featherweight)
- Finish Rate
- 100% (5 SUB, 1 TKO)
- Gym
- The MMA Lab, Glendale, AZ
- Hometown
- Phoenix, AZ via Montana
- RUF 68 Bout
- Ashton Caniglia (8-8) — 145 lb Pro Co-Main
The reigning RUF Featherweight Champion is the most experienced finisher of the three, with an average winning fight length of one minute and 35 seconds. Elliott has been openly chasing a UFC contract, and at RUF 68 he closes the gap with a non-title professional bout against Midwest veteran Ashton Caniglia.
- Submitted Darian Padgett at RUF 63 (June 2025), first round
- Submitted De'Aundre Tipton at RUF 65 (November 2025), first round
- Quickest pro submission: 61 seconds
- Trains alongside UFC, Bellator, and PFL veterans at The MMA Lab
2. Alex Preissing
- Record
- 2-0 Pro
- Weight
- 125 lb (Flyweight)
- Finish Rate
- 100% (2 SUB)
- Gym
- Red Hawk Academy, AZ
- Hometown
- Phoenix, AZ
- RUF 68 Bout
- Kendell Ward (1-1) — 125 lb Pro
Preissing has the cleanest RUF finishing streak on the entire May 2 card. Both of his pro fights have happened inside the RUF cage. Both ended by first-round submission. At RUF 68 he meets Kendell Ward in a flyweight bout that should answer one of the bigger questions about his ceiling: how the rear naked choke specialist handles a live puncher.
- D'arce choke over Shawn Winland at RUF 65, R1 — 2:13
- Rear naked choke over Alexander Carrillo at RUF 66, R1 — 2:41
- 5-1 amateur record before turning pro
- Has not seen the second round as a professional
3. Marcos Encinas
- Record
- 2-0 Amateur
- Weight
- 125 lb (Flyweight)
- Finish Rate
- 100% (1 KO, 1 TKO)
- Gym
- Arizona Combat Sports, Tempe, AZ
- Hometown
- Phoenix, AZ
- RUF 68 Bout
- Niko Mills (3-2) — 125 lb Amateur Prelims
The newest of the three, Encinas exploded onto the Arizona scene with a 20-second knockout in his amateur debut. At RUF 68 he draws his most experienced opponent yet in Niko Mills, a fight that will tell us whether his early-round violence scales up against a veteran amateur with more cage time.
- 20-second KO of Omar Barrera at RUF 65, amateur debut
- TKO doctor stoppage over Paul Alvarado at RUF 66, R2
- Trains under longtime AZ coach Trevor Lally at Arizona Combat Sports
- Both wins by finish, neither out of round one or early round two
What This Means for the Card
Fight cards live and die by their pace, and RUF 68 is shaping up to be one of the most finish-heavy events Celebrity Theatre has hosted in the last year. Elliott headlines the co-main against Ashton Caniglia at 145, Preissing slots into the pro flyweight division where he is quickly becoming a problem, and Encinas continues an amateur run that already looks like a future RUF prospect signing.
For fans, the math is simple. If even two of these three deliver the result they have been delivering, you are going to see early finishes on a card that already features a championship main event between NFC Bantamweight Champion David "El Tigre" Pérez and UFC veteran Kevin "Quicksand" Natividad.
RUF 68 Event Details
Date
Saturday, May 2, 2026
Venue
Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
Doors Open
5:00 PM
First Fight
7:00 PM
Live Stream
Spectation Sports PPV
Main Event
Pérez vs. Natividad, 135 lb Pro
Co-Main
Elliott vs. Caniglia, 145 lb Pro
Tickets
rufnation.com & Etix
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is RUF 68?
RUF 68: Cinco de Mayo Fight Night takes place Saturday, May 2, 2026 at Celebrity Theatre, 440 N 32nd St, Phoenix, Arizona. Doors open at 5:00 PM, first fight at 7:00 PM.
Who are the fastest finishers on the RUF 68 card?
Three fighters on the May 2 card have a combined 100% finish rate: featherweight champion Ezra Elliott (6-0, all first-round finishes), flyweight Alex Preissing (2-0, both first-round submissions), and amateur flyweight Marcos Encinas (2-0, including a 20-second KO).
What is Ezra Elliott's pro record?
Ezra Elliott is 6-0 as a professional with a 100% finish rate (five submissions, one TKO). He is the reigning RUF Featherweight Champion and trains out of The MMA Lab in Glendale, Arizona.
Who does Alex Preissing fight at RUF 68?
Alex Preissing (2-0) faces Kendell Ward (1-1) in a 125-pound professional flyweight bout. Both of Preissing's pro wins have come by first-round submission inside the RUF cage.
How can I watch RUF 68 live?
RUF 68 streams live on Spectation Sports pay-per-view worldwide. Tickets to attend in person at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix are available at rufnation.com and Etix.