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