Cage Fury Fighting Championship 3: “battleground”
Cage Fury Fighting Championship 3: "Battleground" Report by Gaby Genia – Photos by Keith Mills (Atlantic City, NJ — January 19th) "Battleground", the aptly named third installment of Cage Fury Fighting Championship, delivered an action-packed night to a sold-out house. While fans fought for a chance to meet celebrities such as Arturo Gatti, Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson outside the cage, inside the cage the athletes fought hard not to wither under the pugilistic pressure. In an evening of upsets, submissions and all-out wars, three new champs were crowned and a belt changed hands.
Highlights of the night included: Deividas Taurosevicius, the number-three lightweight in New Jersey, taking on highly-touted UFC vet Dan Lauzon, and beating him at his own game. Looking to catch his opponent in submissions, Lauzon jumped to guard at every opportunity, and paid for his folly with an onslaught of strikes from above. Tapping out the Team Aggression fighter with a rear-naked choke, Taurosevicius displayed an intensity that is sure to land him in the big show sooner rather than later.
Without question, the standout fight of the night was that of Nissim Levy vs. Alexis Aquino. These two hard-hitters spent a solid three rounds giving it their all, and there was no shortage of leather exchanged. For every punch thrown by Levy — and there were many — Aquino answered in kind. In the end, it was Aquino’s cardio that proved to be the deciding factor. Though the unanimous decision was awarded to Aquino, there was no shame in Levy’s loss; he displayed an amazing amount of heart. Paired up against the lean and lanky Erick Charles, Dante Rivera once again demonstrated the deadly submission skills that have catapulted him to the upper echelons of the Garden State rankings. After a battle for dominance in the clinch, Rivera took his opponent to the ground and put the upstart Bombsquad rep to sleep. Next stop for Rivera: the IFL.
Full Results
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Horn Digs Deep and Guts out Big Victory in IFL Season Opener Report by Steven Marrocco – Photos by Daisay Rosas Friday, January 19 — Despite an unruly audience and several questionable referee decisions, the IFL featured two new teams taking home victories against veterans as the Condors defeated the Tigersharks and the Lions bested the Razorclaws. Tallied at 5,005 attendees, the event was far from a sell-out, but Commissioner Kurt Otto was still positive about the event. "What’s important is that we have a great event which will translate to a great TV show," Otto said afterwards.
Otto also revealed more specifics of the sudden cancellation of the Tiger White/Raphael Davis bout, stating that White had been medically cleared by the CSAC, but had drawn "red flags" from the commission that caused them to review the fight more stringently, one being that White was over 36. The originally stated justification of White’s level of experience was apparently an afterthought in the decision. "In every other state, that fight would have happened," Otto said. "The commission should really trust that these coaches are going to bring guys that can compete at this level. But that’s their system and I have to respect it. I don’t agree with it, but I have to respect it." In the night’s superfight, Jeremy Horn bounced back from a disappointing loss against Matt Lindland to overcome the game Falankio Vitale, wearing the Hawaiian down with a relentless assault of punches, kicks, and knees to score a split decision victory. For his part, Vitale made Horn pay at every turn, using his supremely crisp boxing skills to put two nasty shiners under Horn’s eyes, but Horn’s clinch work and control on the ground ultimately gave him the go ahead nod. "I kind of lost the fight in me at some point," Horn says of his recent past. "I still enjoyed training, but when you get in the ring, you need that extra something. This fight was a chance for me to find out if I still had that." Condors vs. Tigersharks Lightweights: An early stoppage marked the first evening of the night, as Adam Lynn got caught with an overhand right early in the first. Though Lynn tied Lierly up, grasping the newcomer’s side as Lierly sought to end the bout with hammerfists, the ref saw fit to stop it at 0:44 of the first. Heavyweights: Despite showing well refined boxing technique, Curtis Crawford was overmatched on the ground against Antoine Jaoude and was eventually worn down by the Brazilian’s assault on the mat. On all judges’ scorecards, he walked away with an extra point, giving him the Unanimous 30-27 decision.
Lightweights: Alternates Tristan Witt and Danny Suarez tangled in a brief, but decisive victory for Condor Suarez as he took the youngster down after a brief exchange on the feet. Witt managed to reverse his foe fairly quickly, but fell right into a triangle and tapped when Suarez added a shoulder lock that he cranked simultaneously, bringing the tap out at 1:28 of the first frame. Middleweights: Condor Jeremy Williams continued the trend of quick submissions, falling short with a standing guillotine to sink a triangle in the opening minute. Williams cranked so hard that it was at least ten seconds before his screams of "he’s out!" to the ref were heeded. After being released, Marunde slumped back, completely unconscious, at 1:13 of the first. Light-heavyweights: In one of the most impressive performances of the evening, Tigershark Reese Andy stood toe to toe with Condor Justin Levens, outwrestling him at every turn, taking Levens out of the first round for the first time in his career. Despite throwing several hopeful bolos at Andy, Levens banked too heavily on a guillotine counter to Andy’s takedowns, which were turned away unanimously. So followed the decision, with Andy taking away three 30-27 scores for his effort. Razorclaws vs. Lions Lightweights: After surviving a punch that dropped him in the opening exchange, Lion John Gunderson had his way with newcomer Josh Odom, controlling him for the duration of the bout. Powering his way through an armbar, Gunderson easily took the mount and nixed an easy armbar of his own to sink a triangle from the mount, rolling Odom over for the tap out at 3:05 of the first. Heavyweights: Undefeated Lion Roy Nelson dominated the inexperienced Razorclaw Vince Lucero, driving him back to the edge of the ring with punches before slamming him onto the mat. Immediately taking the mount, he toyed with Lucero with strikes, leaving him nowhere to go as the ref stepped in to stop the punishment at 1:58 of the first. Lightweights: In the other bizarre stoppage of the evening, Lion Joe Martin caught a big right hook in the second and clinched with Razorclaw Clint Coronel’s body, as Adam Lynn had done earlier in the evening. Though he was defending and cognizant of his surroundings, the ref stepped in and stopped it to the outrage of the crowd. Welterweights: Veteran Lion Ryan Healy grounded and pounded his opponent, Razorclaw Ray Steinbess, for a methodic and plodding three round fight. Steinbess proved to be too anxious to secure a leg lock, and fell prey to Healy’s superior wrestling skills and calm under fire. Healy won a Unanimous 30-27, but did not win many fans for his measured approach. Middleweights: Razorclaw Dan Molina and Lion Brian Foster survived a total arena power outage to leave everything in the ring, as the majority of their fight was lit by spotlight. Foster showed a remarkable toughness in his return to the competition as he defended submission attempt after submission attempt by the crafty Molina. Interestingly enough, it was a kick thrown by Foster when transitioning from a leg lock of his own that set up the TKO victory. Rocked by the kick, Molina then took four head-snapping shots before rolling onto his stomach and giving Foster the victory at 2:05 of the second. IFL Full Results:
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