Saturday night January 30, 2010 the Softball Country Pavilion was filled to capacity for the Fight To Win show. 13 bouts were contested with two titles on the line and five professional bouts to end the evening.
Bout one: Jay Wymer VS Dominic Moya. Moya landed multiple leg kicks before Wymer got a double leg takedown. From there Moya used GNP to pass to side control in order to continue his GNP attack until the round ended. Round two started with Moya landing a solid punch-kick combination before Wymer got a takedown. From his back Moya tried to push Wymer away, but one of his feet landed solidly to the face of Wymer who was grounded. With Moya unable to continue Jay Wymer got the victory by way of disqualification.
Bout two: Daniel Bentz VS Loranti Nelson. Fast paced striking was displayed by both fighters with each landing all manner of strikes in and out of the clinch. Nelson landed a series of solid body punches before Bentz pulled guard. Both fighters scrambled back to standing and Nelson landed solid punches that stunned Bentz. Nelson then used head control to throw Bentz to the mat in order to take top position and work GNP until the round ended. Round two started with Nelson landing solid punches that stunned Bentz, but Bentz was able to turn Nelson, jump to standing back control, flurry with punches then set in the RNC while standing. Bentz was able to pull Nelson over backward and at 2:01 of round two Bentz closed off the choke for the submission victory.
Bout three: David Trenor VS Michael Zaragoza. Zaragoza opened with strong kicks and a flurry of knees before getting a head toss takedown. Trenor came back to his feet and slipped a spinning back kick thrown by Zaragoza. Trenor then stepped in and threw a right hook that landed solid giving him a clean knockout victory at :26 of round one.
Bout four: Diego Alvarez VS Corey Wilson. Alvarez spent all of round one pressing forward landing solid leg kicks while Wilson used evasive footwork and head movement. Round two saw Alvarez continue with the low kick attack until he was able to make Wilson drop to a knee following a kick and the follow up GNP got Alvarez the TKO win at 2:24 of round two.
Bout five: Todd Meredith VS Kene Jefferson. Jefferson landed solid strikes early that Meredith answered in kind. Jefferson was knocked down by punches but was able to scramble back to standing. Meredith got a bodylock takedown into half mount and each fighter flurried with strikes on the ground. Meredith was able to get 2-3 very solid head shots to land from the top in order to get the TKO win at 2:07 of round one.
Bout six: Josh Goldberger VS Sebastian White. White started with several jab-low kick combinations that set him up to score a double leg takedown. From half mount White used strong GNP to isolate an arm of Goldberger before transitioning to full mount in order to lock in the Kimura shoulder lock for the submission win at 1:54 of round one.
Bout seven: Vinny Palone VS Miguel Garcia. Round one was all kickboxing with each landing solid head punches. Palone had a strong flurry mid round while Garcia scored with hard low kicks. Round two had Palone shoot for a takedown, but Garcia stuffed it and landed a solid uppercut. The fighters then stood toe-to-toe in the middle of the cage and exchanged punches until Palone was able to rock Garcia enough to get the TKO win at :37 of round two.
Bout eight: Jeremy Hastings VS Travis Hollis. The first half of the round was nonstop flurrying by both fighters with each landing solid punches and kicks. Hollis was able to spin Hastings to the mat off of the clinch and once on the ground Hollis passed from half mount into full mount and flurried nonstop with punches to get the TKO win at 1:57 of round one.
The rest of the fights were professional bouts.
Bout nine: Kenneth Seegrist VS Jeremy Kimball. Kimball threw an early striking flurry while Seegrist landed strong counter punches. Kimball was able to work to standing back control in order to set up a bodylock takedown. Seegrist rolled through when it hit the mat and scrambled to back control in order to sink in the RNC for the tapout victory at 1:27 of round one.
Bout 10: Justin Salas VS Robert Simmons for the Fight To Win 155 lb. professional title. Salas initiated the clinch and the fighters momentarily went to the canvas but immediately scrambled back to standing. Each had strong punches and Simmons pulled Salas back to the ground. From the top Salas landed solid GNP while Simmons worked to set in several solid armbar attempts. After escaping the submission attempts Salas took full mount and postured up and landed the title winning GNP to get the TKO at 1:40 of round one.
Bout 11: Cat Albert VS Barbarah Honchak for the Fight To Win 130 lb. female professional title. Albert opened with a head kick to set up the clinch in order to land knee strikes before getting a takedown. On the mat Honchak got a sweep and from off of her back Albert tried for an armbar. Honchak was able to defend but Albert transitioned to an attempted kneebar. Honchak escaped and worked GNP from half mount. Albert was able to regain full guard and set in another armbar that Honchak defended. In a scramble Albert got back control and ended the round working between GNP and attempting an RNC. Round two opened with Albert again landing a head kick before securing a standing guillotine choke. Albert used the position to turn the choke into a snap suplex takeover. On the mat Honchak had an armbar attempt that Albert escaped before transitioning to side control, then north/south, then mount to work GNP before taking full mount, then back control to try for an RNC. Honchak was able to turn in and ended in the half guard of Albert. Albert worked for and got full guard and both fighters landed solid strikes. After a referee stand-up Albert scored with a solid head kick then knees in the clinch. From the clinch Albert set in a standing guillotine to set up a transition into a rolling takedown that landed her in full mount. Honchak escaped from being mounted and ended the round working for an inverted Teepee choke. The scorecards from the judges were to decide the winner and it was Cat Albert that got an unanimous decision victory to become the new title holder.
Ryan Martinez VS Vernon Lewis. Martinez initiated the clinch and worked knees while Lewis threw solid punches to the body. Off of the cage Martinez got a bodylock takedown and worked a strong GNP attack from side control. Lewis was able to work back to standing but again Martinez got a takedown into side control for more GNP. Lewis scored a sweep and took full mount to get in GNP of his own. Martinez turned face down to escape the strikes and the round ended with Lewis in back control throwing punches. Round two saw Martinez land strong punches from the outside, Lewis dropped his hands, smiled and invited Martinez in to punch his head…Martinez obliged him and got in several hard punches before they clinched and Lewis scored with knees in the clinch. Off of the cage Martinez got a leg trip takedown to land in half mount. From there he worked GNP before transitioning to full mount and flurrying with GNP to get the TKO win at 3:22 of round two.
Main event: Ian Berg VS Lamumba Sayers. Sayers opened with a 1-2 punch combination that dropped Berg. Sayers closed in but Berg made it to his knees and drove forward for a takedown. Sayers set in a guillotine choke, fell back to guard and got the tapout for the submission win at :30 of round one.
“Of the night” moments.
GNP of the night goes to Ryan Martinez for his fight ending strikes from full mount.
KO of the night goes to David Trenor for his KO at :26 of the first round.
Takedown of the night goes to Cat Albert for using the standing guillotine choke to set up a snap suplex takeover that landed her in a dominant position.
In his bout Daniel Bentz seemed on the verge of losing several times, was rocked severely more than once and showed that tenacity and perseverance can be the deciding factors in a bout. Because of this, he is awarded Comeback of the night, chin of the night and for jumping to standing back control to set up his choke he also gets submission of the night.
Fight of the night goes to Cat Albert and Barbarah Honchak for their back and forth title battle that had each fighter in trouble, each escaping submission attempts of the other, each landing strikes that could have been fight ending in many bouts, both displaying tremendous heart, conditioning and superb technical skill that had the crowd on their feet cheering as the fight ended.
This was an event that cannot be done justice by a written article. Do yourself a favor and get a DVD of the show to see just how good it was.
Thanks to the sponsors for making it possible.
Be sure to check the site calendar for upcoming events.
Best in Health and Training,
J.R. Gordon.
