CutThroat MMA Invasion took place on Friday January 27th at La Sierra Banquet Hall in Aurora, Illinois just outside of downtown Chicago. The night of amateur fights action saw two Muay Thai fights and eight mixed martial arts bouts. Headlining the night of action were two title fights as David Hammons taking on Eddie Castillo for the heavyweight title and Sam Ferguson going to battle with Ryan Kirwan for the vacant middleweight title.

Kicking off the night of action were two Muay Thai bouts. Axel Mendez needed just over a minute to dispose of Mike Girton. Mendez came out with a big leg kick, but Girton countered with some good jabs and a hook. Mendez returned the favor landing a big combo that forced the fighters to clinch. Good knee work by both fighters before separating at which point Mendez unloaded a barrage of attacks. Girton went down but was able to get up within the ten count. Mendez again swarmed starting with a big body kick, followed by body punches and a head kick that sent Girton down again. He was unable to stand by the ten count and Mendez was announced the winner.

Women were up next with an exciting Muay Thai bout. Dorothy Schultz brought a massive fight to Katie Fry. Schultz came out with kicks that forced Fry to work a clinch game. Unfortunately she didn’t get the better of it, as Schultz landed multiple knees. As the round was ending, Schultz nearly landed a head kick to the crowd’s delight. Schultz opened the second round with two big front kicks and Fry again went to clinch. Schultz landed knee after knee to the body of Fry. She let go of her clinch and landed an uppercut as Fry was waving off the fight.

After the two Muay Thai fights it was time for some MMA action. Tim Kallas took on Anthony Corder in the lightweight division. Corder came out with a high kick that just missed. He landed a leg kick and Kallas came forward with massive punches. Corder shot forward and looked to grab a heel hook. Kallas spun free and landed punch after punch while taking Corder’s back. Corder turned into Kallas and wound up in a triangle choke. Corder tried to punch his way out, but Kallas adjusted the choke and squeezed. Two more punches by Corder and he knew he was going out so he tapped.

Brandon Conner and Travis Simpson came out swinging with bad intentions. Neither fighter was throwing crisp punches, but the wild hooks were landing for both. Conner shot for a takedown, but Simpson grabbed his neck and worked for a guillotine choke. He couldn’t get it as Conner was trying to roll out of it. As he adjusted to prevent Conner from escaping, he did just that and rained down hammer fists onto Simpson’s face. Conner looked to stand back up, but realized that Simpson left his neck open and grabbed a guillotine choke. He fell back and torqued the choke forcing Simpson to tap.

Andrew West came out with a big front kick to the belly of Mike Zahn that sent Zahn stumbling back. West pressed forward and hip tossed Zahn to the ground landing in side control. West tried to lock in an arm triangle choke before moving to mount. He kept the choke on and squeezed while on top of Zahn. Zahn tried to punch his way out, but West continued to squeeze and forced a tap.

Fight of the night went to Michael Manning and Shane Camp. The first round Camp likely won as he was able to land some massive punches on Manning. Manning threatened with a guillotine and an armbar submission, but Camp was able to escape by punching Manning in the head. At the end of the first round Manning was developing a mouse under his eye. The second round Manning turned up the pressure as he put Camp in submission after submission and nearly always had the better position. Manning was a little hesitant to punch Camp as he seemed to be setting up his submissions, but regardless he won the round. All tied up at the start of the third and Camp shot in for a takedown. Manning again worked a guillotine choke, but Camp was able to escape. Manning with his long legs kept pressure on Camp and switched to his back. Camp turned into Manning and was on top, but Manning wanted to secure an armbar. Camp escaped and got Manning’s back and locked in a rear naked choke with just twenty seconds left of the fight.

After the exciting battle between Manning and Camp, it would have been difficult to have another exhilarating fight. But that’s just what Jon James and Kyle Kurt did. The first round James looked for a takedown but got reversed. It wasn’t long however until he rolled and took the mount. James unloaded punch after punch after punch and Kurt was in danger. Kurt managed to grab a leg and escaped the bad position, but was nearly finished by a kimura as time ran out. At the start of the second round it was apparent that Kurt had more in his gas tank than James did. White spent most of the round on top of James raining down punches from James’s back. James finished the round with a takedown, but it wasn’t enough to win the round. The third round started and the crowd went wild. Both fighters looked to finish with a big single punch, but it was Kurt who scored first with a big knee that hurt James. Kurt rode James’s back again landing punch after punch. He nearly finished the round that way, but again James was able to escape and score a takedown as time expired. It was clear that Kurt had won rounds two and three, and the judges were all in agreement that that was the case awarding him the fight.

Best takedown of the night went to Anthony Nichols who just powered his way through Tom Shoaff and drove him not only into the cage, but also into the canvas. But Shoaff was extremely comfortable working off his back. Nichols did little to try and advance his position as Shoaff threatened with multiple submissions. Shoaff nearly finished the fight with an arm triangle from the bottom, but Nichols was able to escape. In the second round Nichols again scored a big takedown and again Shoaff threatened with a triangle. Nichols slammed his way out, but Shoaff used the opportunity to go for a takedown of his own. Shoaff quickly took the mount and from there went after Nichols’s arm. Three different versions of an armbar were attempted, but the third was the one that secured the win.

The heavyweight title was on the line as David Hammons challenged Eddie Castillo for his belt. Hammons immediately shot in for a takedown, but Castillo defended well. Castillo landed a knee and an uppercut that seemed to rock Hammons. Hammons shot for another takedown, this time eating three more knees. Hammons went down and it looked like the ref was stepping in to call it but Hammons said he was fine. Castillo came in again and landed several knees that sent Hammons to the canvas. Castillo continued his attack with several punches and the ref was forced to stop the action.

The main event feature Sam Ferguson and Ryan Kirwan battling for the vacant middleweight title. Ferguson came out looking for a takedown, but Kirwan was swinging for the fences. Ferguson worked a Thai clinch and landed a couple of knees. Ferguson then scored a takedown but was nearly rolled. As he was punching Kirwan, he did get rolled. Kirwan on top throwing punches, but Ferguson threatened with an armbar. Kirwan postured out of the submission and then just started throwing massive left hands. Ferguson visibly hurt by the left hands, but they still kept coming. Kirwan continued the assault until the ref mercifully stepped in and stopped the fight crowning Kirwan the new middleweight champion.

Muay Thai Quick Results
Axel Mendez defeated Mike Girton at 1:29 of round 1
Dorothy Schultz defeated Katie Fry at 0:47 of round 2

Mixed Martial Arts Results
Tim Kallas defeated Anthony Corder by triangle choke at 1:07 of round 1
Brandon Conner defeated Travis Simpson by guillotine choke at 1:00 of round 1
Andrew West defeated Mike Zahn by arm triangle choke at 0:45 of round 1
Shane Camp defeated Michael Manning by rear naked choke at 2:39 of round 3
Kyle Kurt defeated Jon Jones by unanimous decision 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
Tom Shoaff defeated Anthony Nichols by armbar 1:49 of round 2
Eddie Castillo defeated David Hammons by TKO at 0:46 of round 1
Ryan Kirwan defeated Sam Ferguson by TKO at 2:16 of round 1

photo gallery to follow in the coming days

This post has no comments. Click to voice your opinion.

The first Muay Thai event for Fightcard Entertainment is in the books.  Over 600 people filled Joe’s Sports Bar in Chicago, Illinois for “CounterStrike 2010″.  In all a total of eight Muay Thai fights and one MMA fight took place.

Before the action started pop singer Carla Kosak performed her hit single “Don’t want your man”.  The performance got the crowd excited for the night’s action.

The fans in attendance showed a bit of confusion as they have been used to seeing a cage and instead were treated to a ring.  Also of slight confusion was why some of the fighters were wearing headgear and shin guards and others were not.

The opening bout saw Dan Okendal take on Mark Winslow.  The first round Okendal controlled the action and landed several big shots including an uppercut.  Winslow came back in the second round as the fresher fighter and used his speed to his advantage landing several unanswered strikes.  The third round was the deciding round and while Okendal was the more visibly tired fighter, he controlled the action and ended the round with a flurry of punches pushing the score cards in his favor.

Roger Dorado dominated Ryan Clark in their three-round battle.  Dorado showed his Muay Thai skills by using multiple combos.  Clark was able to land some strikes of his own including some big kicks, but he never followed them up with a second or third blow.  Dorado was able to knock Clark down multiple times with devastating leg kicks to Clarks plant leg.  By the end of the fight it was a clear 30-27 decision for Dorado.

The third fight was the only fight that did not end in a decision as Matt McCormick outmatched Chris Graham.  The first round was a very close round, as both fighters were landing big strikes on each other with McCormick landing more.  At one point McCormick caught Graham but couldn’t finish it.  In the second round McCormick took advantage of the fact that he had the fuller gas tank.  McCormick caught Graham and nearly ended the fight and after a separation by the ref was able to land multiple punches that ended the fight.
In the first women’s bout of the evening, Tanya Lohr took on Lauri Jacobchak.  All three rounds Lohr displayed much more experience than Jacobchak as she was able to dodge most of Jacobchak’s attacks.  Lohr on multiple occasions used a Muay Thai clinch and landed knee after knee.  While Jacobchak struggled to find her range, by the end of the fight she was able to land some powerful strikes but it wasn’t enough as the judges awarded Lohr the unanimous decision.

Corey Hogan and Brandon Bradbury had one of the most entertaining fights of the night.  In the first round Hogan scored a knockdown and ended the round with devastating knees.  Hogan opened the second round with a spinning backlist that knocked Bradbury down.  The ref gave what appeared to be a ten count, but Bradbury was able to get up and situated in time.  Hogan finished the round with more backlists and clinched knees.  The third round Bradbury tried to land combos, but Hogan was able to defend and counter well.  In the end, Hogan earned the unanimous decision 30-26.

Jon Walker and Chris Duran were the first fighters to not wear the headgear or shin guards.  The first two rounds Duran controlled the action with good combos and using his reach to his advantage.  The third round, Walker was visibly tired, but was able to land some powerful strikes that hurt Duran.  While Walker won the third round, it was not enough as Duran won the decision 29-28.

Mike Santiago and Fadi Rihani put on a non-stop battle from the opening bell to the closing bell.  In the first round Rihani was on his back three times due to being pushed or tripped down.  While these didn’t cause Rihani to lose any points, they caused a lot frustration for the fighter.  The second round Santiago landed several kicks which forced Rihani to attempt to shoot in for a takedown which is not legal in a Muay Thai match.  The third round Santiago again controlled the action and landed more and more strikes.  In the end, Santiago won the judges decision.

Like the first women’s fight, the second one was fairly lopsided with Dorothy Schultz showing her impressive arsenal over Rickie Gomes.  Schultz obviously had more experience as she was landing several combos with ease through out the three rounds.  To Gomes’s credit by the end of the third round she was able to fend off Schultz’s Muay Thai clinch and keep the fight on the outside.  In the end Schultz won the unanimous decision.

The main event saw a lightweight MMA matchup between Matt Dambrogio and Phil Hunter.  Hunter immediately shot in for a takedown and controlled the action from the top position before Dambrogio was able to work his way out.  Unfortunately for Dambrogio, he left his neck open and Hunter quickly grabbed it and squeezed.  Dambrogio was able to work his way out of the guillotine choke with just seconds left in the first round.  The second round Hunter decided to try and throw some leather which was working well.  Hunter set up a takedown and again worked good body shots.  Dambrogio had a beautiful sweep and landed in full mount on Hunter.  But Dambrogio wasn’t able to capitalize on his dominant position as Hunter escaped.  It was a close round and could have gone either way.  The third round Hunter and Dambrogio traded strikes with Hunter landing some devastating blows including an uppercut right hook combo.  Dambrogio was able to take the fight to the ground and tried to lock in a kimura, however Hunter escaped and reversed the position landing in Dambrogio’s guard.  In the end, the judges saw the fight for Hunter.

Quick Results

• Dan Okendal defeated Mark Winslow via unanimous decision
• Roger Dorado defeated Ryan Clark by unanimous decision
• Matt McCormick defeated Chris Graham by TKO 1:37 of round 2
• Tanya Lohr defeated Lauri Jacobchak by unanimous decision
• Corey Hogan defeated Brandon Bradbury by unanimous decision (30-26)
• Chris Duran defeated Jon Walker by unanimous decision
• Mike Santiago defeated Fadi Rihani by unanimous decision
• Dorothy Schultz defeated Rickie Gomes by unanimous decision
• Phil Hunter defeated Matt Dambrogio by unanimous decision

This post has no comments. Click to voice your opinion.