We had the pleasure of covering Bangkok Fight night at Center Stage Atlanta once again. Certainly my favorite venue for fights in town, not a bad seat in the house. The place was packed for this night of fights and the crowd was electric. Khunpon puts on a great card with high production value every time. If you live in Atlanta and have not made it to a Bangkok Fight Night, you owe it to yourself to set aside a night for the next card.
Let’s get down to business.
Cody Maiden vs Christian Arguello
Cody comes out with a quick combo and drops Christian early. Cody pounces and looks to sink an armbar to finish the fight quickly. Christian regains his composure and rises into Cody’s guard. Cody throws the legs up and hits an armbar.
Cody Maiden def Christian Arguello by sub. (armbar) 0:51 in rd. 1
Ja Lowery vs Warren Smith
Ja looks to control the ring but Warren is a quick striker. Ja tried a single leg takedown that Warren stuffed. Ja is throwing some jabs and leg kicks. Warren is throwing some stiff counter punches but not landing anything clean. Ja clinches up and gets a trip. Ja passes to side control and punishes Warren with punches to the face. Warren gets to his knees to escape; Ja switches to his back and sinks the hooks in. Warren defends the rear naked choke and they end the round in that position.
Round 2 Ja catches a leg kick and returns a straight right that gets Warren to cover up. Ja does not take advantage and instead throws some leg kicks from range occasionally following with a straight punch. Ja is dictating the pace and range of the standup, Warren is dodging some punches but not landing his share. Ja continues to press with leg kicks and jabs. Warren is throwing a roughly 20% of the strikes in this round. Ja has a strong gameplan and is sticking to it.
Round 3. Ja delivers more of the same leg kicks and jabs. Ja misses a body kick and Warren has an oppotunity to get to top position on the ground. Ja stands and gets back to work. Ja’s superior reach is a huge problem for Warren. The fighters circle for a frew more seconds when Ja lands a solid body shot to Warren’s left side. Warren takes a knee and waves him off.
Ja Lowery def Warrn Smith by TKO in 1:53 rd. 3
Jad Kamchamnan vd Robel Kebede
These guys come out swinging. They close to brawl some then clinch. Jade likes straight shots in the inside. Robel is trying to stay at range with some leg and front kicks. Jade trips Robel twice in a row and lands some more good shots to the head with hooks. Robel is having trouble mounting an offense in the first stanza.
Round 2 Jade maintains the pressure with kick and punch combos. Robel seems to turn the tides when he starts counter kicking. Jade takes some shots he shouldn’t have due to some fatigue. The fast action and body shots Jade is absorbing is taking a toll. Robel may have given the judges a reason to keep him in this fight. If Jade continues to wane and Robel lands the shots he’s throwing, this could be his fight.
Round 3 Robel lands a front kick to the body early. Jade turns it on looking to score some points. They clinch up and neither is able to land much there. Robel hits a big body slam from the clinch and follows with a jab and another body slam. Jade has a lot of heart and keeps coming. Jade certainly feels the pressure late in this round but Robel is getting the better of the exchangs in the clinch with some knees to the body.
Robel Kebede def Jad Kamchamnan by unan. dec.
Rafael George vs Gui Cury
Gui takes a shot early and tries to get it to the ground. Rafael wants to keep it standing but hasn’t throwing anything yet. Rafael circles but gets clipped with a left hook and Gui jumps on him. Rafael gets his composure back and gets Gui in guard. Gui gets to pass and eventually take the back. Rafael tries to turn and escape but Gui puts both hooks in and flattens him out. Gui works some punches to the body looking to soften him up for the Rear Naked Choke. The round exprires with Gui on Rafael’s back.
Round 2 Rafael lands a shot early and Gui drops for a takedown. Rafael follows him down to guard. Gui has an active open guard and is looking to catch an arm or sweep. Rafael defends an armbar and omaplata before he stands. Gui shoots immediately and gets on top. Rafael tries to kick Gui off and turn instead of a technical stance and gets his back taken. Gui works quickly for an RNC and picks up a victory.
Gui Cury def Rafael George by sub (RNC) 2:09 in rd. 2
Josh Downing vs Erik Castro
Erik holds the center of the ring and Josh circles. Neither wants to engage. Erik lands some solid leg kicks. Josh takes a couple shots and looks to want to counter with hooking punches. Erik lands some more solid leg kicks and Josh hates it. Josh approaches and takes a body shot and jab for his trouble. The round comes to a close with Erik landing all but 1 strike apparently.
Round 2 Erik lands more leg kicks and Josh trades a pair with him that get Erik dropped from a slip. Erik maintains his range and lands more leg kicks followed by some jabs and hooks. Josh is a fish out of water against this attack.
Round 3 Josh is popping in and out with punches and kicks. The varied attack is keeping Erik at bay to start. Erik lands a big body kick but Josh catches it and trips him to the ground hard. Erik goes for a big head kick and barely misses. They clinch in the corner and trade some knees. The round runs much the same way the other rounds went with Erik maintaining range and stymying Josh’s attack. Tough fight for Josh, Erik really maintained that range and landed kicks all day. The judges may see the pressure put on Josh for points though.
Josh Downing def Erik Castro by split dec.
Teddy Williams vs Dexter “Bolo” Carthon.
Bolo is a physically imposing gentleman. Huge shoulders. Teddy lands some probing strikes to start but Bolo manages to barrel into him and land on top. He does a little damage there but prefers to stand and throw big heavy strikes with the hands. Bolo has a strong 1-2 combo that he throws with bad intentions. Teddy gets Bolo to come to the ground and Bolo lays on him heavy. The get stood up but Teddy wants none of this work on the feet and pushes Bolo to the ground during a combo. Teddy hops on immediately to lock in a guillotine. Bolo bucks like a bull until time expires. Teddy is streaming blood from the nose.
Round 2 Teddy looks to have a little more confidence from the end of the last round and throws some more jabs. Bolo may have hit some gas tank issues having such a high offensive output in the first. Teddy is also still wary of the heavy hands. They seem to almost stand in front of each other tentative to strike. Terry builds some confidence and comes in with a flurry. Bolo pushes him off with hands on his hips, obviously fatigued. Bolo throws 2 punches on the ground, Teddy may just win this on conditioning alone.
Round 3 they clinch for the first time and trade some knees and uppercuts. Bolo pushes Teddy off and lands another 1-2 combo and then another, Teddy has a strong chin but is taking some shots. Teddy clinches up again and gets taken to the ground between the ropes. Bolo looked to have purposefully left the ropes and had a point taken away. The fatigue is apparent but Bolo still manages to land a strong shot occasionally. The round ends with the fighters hesitant to engage.
Teddy Williams draws Dexter “Bolo” Carthon in a majority draw.
Mary Matia vs Colleen Louima
Both girls have a reputation for brawling. Colleen closes early and clinches, they trade some knees and body strikes and separate. Colleen is trying to stay outside and then close for clinch work. Mary has fought fighters like this before and maintains a resilient chin and infinite gas tank for punches. Colleen took a straight shot and got dropped. Mary is unloading her patented machine gun punches. The round ends and Colleen returns to her corner with a mouse over her left eye.
Round 2 picks up where thye left off, Mary punches non-top and stuns Colleen. Colleen tries to clinch up and work knees but Mary just goes to the body and turns her, disengages and throws more punches. Colleen tries to keep distance with front kicks but Mary keeps drilling her over her left hand. Mary lands a big leading left hook towards the end of the round and lands a few more shots before the close of the second stanza.
Round 3 Colleen is able to land some punches but Mary is as fresh as round 1 and stops forward through combos landing stiff punches. Colleen starts to wilt against Mary’s superior strength and fortitude but they bang it out till the very end. Big heart in both of these girls.
Mary Matia def Colleen Louima by unan. dec.
Amir Dadovic vs Steele McCall
Both long lanky fighters at 170, they want to use their range and are looking for some rhythm. Steele is pushing the pressure coming in and out and landing some long punches. Steele finds his rhythm early and is landing some good punch/leg kick combos. Amir hasn’t solved the puzzle yet. Steele maintains the pressure with the same angled attack. Amir manages to land a counter jab or two but nothing of note yet. Amir does land a glancing head kick but Steele lands his own body kick. Steele shoots for a takedown and they body lock fight for some time. Amir puts in a guillotine and jumps guard. Steele stacks Amir and is trying to avoid the submission. Steele finishes the round with body shots for points.
Round 2 Steele is immediately on the attack with the same multiple jab/cross/leg kick combos. Steele backs him into a corner, Steele looks to setup the guillotine and pushes Amir around in the clinch. They separate and get back to striking, Steele shoots a takedown and Amir gets a momentary advantage. Amir works in top position for a kimura, Steele snakes out the side and gets the back, works for a triangle/armbar/kimura all in a few seconds. Amir escapes and get on top after a lot of work from Steele. Amir works from Steele’s guard when steel throws up the legs for an armbar, Amir keeps his head in and defends, Steele transitions to a triangle but back to armbar real quick. Amir is turned over and he looks like he tapped. The crowd flips out, the ref steps in a little late, but it is a righteous stoppage.
Steele McCall def Amir Dadovic by sub. (armbar)
Moe Travis vs Tecia Torres
Tecia has a stiff leg kick and is snapping each strike. Moe is a little more compact and is landing her strikes with some mustard behind them. Tecia fears no counter with 4 punch combos straight down the pipe. Tecia is staying outside using her reach and legs, Mo’s corner is calling for her to close and she does to clinch and land some knees.
Round 2 Mo closes early with a flurry and clinches up. Mo lands some knees and a trip. Mo closes again for more of the same, punch combos, knees and a trip. Tecia is having no success with her offense. Mo is able to close the distance and clinch regularly. Closing seconds of round 2 Tecia attacks with a flurry, but Mo locks up a clinch again and drives Tecia to the ground.
Round 3 Tecia lands the first couple shots with push kicks. Mo takes some punishment but closes, clinches, and pushes Tecia to the ground. Mo is using her superior strength and leverage to clinch up and drive Tecia to the ground often. Tecia lands a few shots but is overwhelmed in clinch.
Round 4 is more of the same, Tecia is trading a leg kick for getting dropped ater a clinch. Tecia does manage to keep her range and get dropped less in this round. Tecia ends the round with some solid 1-2 punches possibly stealing the round.
Round 5 Tecia keeps on coming, and takes some shots on the way in but knows she’s got to try to win the fight here. Mo waits for her to tire some and starts landing some clean shots with multiple takedowns from the clinch. They bang it out hard till the end.
Moe Travis def Tecia Torres by unan. decision
Will Kuhn vs Sasuke Zapata
Sasuke has a JKD background and throws some flashy kicks to start. Will is a banger but needs to get in close to execute. Will closes after a missed kick to clinch and Sasuke jumps guard. Will postures up in guard to work some GnP, Sasuke kicks him off and they stand. Will closes again after a missed kick and Will drives them to the ground. Will passes momentarily but Sasuke is able to get and underhook and stand. Will clinches with him again, Sasuke jumps up for a guillotine and Will carries him across the ring for a big slam. Will is able to maintain top position and then side control. Will is able to switch to north south, attempt a kimura, and eventually get Sasuke’s back. Sasuke gets to his feet and they clinch just as the round ends.
They feint some shots at each other in the beginning of the second and Sasuke launches an attack. They clinch and Will body locks him to the ground. Will lands a solid elbow to the body while in Sasuke’s guard but is otherwise unable to do much damage. They are stood up and we begin a display of kicks. Sasuke throws some flash side kicks, and lands a short axe kick when will attempts a leg kick. Will lands some more leg kicks and they clinch up again. Will gets him to the ground again but stands quickly. Sasuke misses a big kick and falls. Will let’s him back up and is lookign to land a big shot. Sasuke looks tired and one-dimensional but Will is just not on the attack.
Round 3 Sauske launches another kick that misses. Will closes with some punches, clinches, and trips Sasuke to the ground. Sasuke attempts some submissions from his back but is able to sink anything. Will works from top position and is nearly swept. They get back to standing and clinch up again, will drops for a double, Sasuke attempts another guillotine, and Will picks him up to drive him to the ground in his corner. Sasuke attempts a kimura there but Will escapes. Will works a little from top position but is unable to land anything clean. The ref stands them up and they circle each other until the fight ends.
Will Kuhn def Sasuke Zapata by dec.
Josh Glover vs Stephen Upchurch
Josh is landing the early shots first with some fast punches. Stephen wants to close and work but is just late on his attacks. The clinch up and Josh’s strength is apparent. Josh manages the clinch for the most part but when he goes for a throw ends up on bottom momentarily. Josh gets to his knees and Stephen jumps up for a guillotine. Josh jumps out of danger quick and is in Stephen’s guard. Stephen throws the legs up for some submissions but Josh stays heavy on him and further damages the cut Stephen has over his right eye. Stephen sits up, Josh attempts a guillotine, and Stephen is able to stand but is taken down again immediately. Josh gets mount, Stephen turns and nearly gives up the back, spins, and Josh follows him to lock in an arm triangle just as time expires in the round.
Stephen throws out some punch combos but is unable to land anything. Josh closes for a double and they get to the ground. Josh is on top in half guard and is working to lock in another arm triangle. Stepehen gets his arm over and out of danger for a moment before Josh passes to mount. Stephen turns to escape again but gives up his back and gets locked in a rear naked choke.
Josh Glover def Stephen Upchurch by sub (RNC) 2:15 in rd 2
