Saturday April 23rd marked the return of Fightcard Entertainment to Joe’s Sports Bar in Chicago, Illinois. The fight lineup, titled “Vendetta”, featured a total of seven fights headlined by a Bantamweight contest between Abel Alvarado and Reggie Brown. The event is the first part of doubleheader lineup that includes a Muay Thai event by Fightcard Entertainment on Saturday April 24th at Jesse Oaks Food & Drink in Gages Lake, IL. MMA Recap’s DC Baker was on hand for the event.

The first bout of the night featured a pair of Welterweight competitors, Ricky Munoz and George Horton. The contest started out slow as each fighter looked for an attack point to disable the other. Munoz was the reluctant aggressor but literally fell short with his reach, landing very few strikes throughout the bout. Horton seemed fairly unengaged in the early rounds of the contest but managed to secure a series of takedowns that earned him early points. As the fight progressed into the later rounds, evidence of Munoz’s fatigue had grown much more apparent. Neither of the two fighters successfully controlled the fight by the end of the third round, although it was easy to see why Horton clinched the unanimous decision victory thanks to his five takedowns, scored at 30-27 and 29-28.

Fightcard Entertainment went to the Sports Zone in Melrose Park, Illinois.  The night saw a total of ten fights headlined by a middleweight title bout between Jeremy Godina and Luke Austin.  MMA Recap’s Brent Todd and DC Baker were on hand for the event.  Read on for the full recap and results.

The night’s first fight set the stage as Tony Ortiz needed less than thirty seconds to finish off Allen Hile.  After two leg kicks by Ortiz, Hile shot for a takedown, but Ortiz countered with a big knee that dropped Hile.  Ortiz then unloaded several shots to Hile’s head forcing the ref to stop the action.

The second fight kept up the excitement of the first.  While both John Melencio and Robert Chancellor were a bit hesitant at the start, Chancellor landed a good jab that hurt Melencio.  Melencio tried for a takedown, but Chancellor unloaded several shots before Melencio was able to complete the takedown.  Once on the ground in side control, Melencio worked small shots and attempted to pass to mount.  While Melencio attempted to pass, Chancellor rolled and reversed the position landing in side control.  Melencio was able to quickly pull guard but Chancellor just picked him up and slammed him four times before getting mount.  Once in mount position, Chancellor rained down blow after blow until the ref halted the action.

Continuing the technical knockout streak, Eric Baehr handed Carlos Encinas his first FCE loss.  The first round Encinas swung with a big right that Baehr ducked under and scored a takedown.  From there he worked several shots until he got mount but Encinas gave up his back.  Baehr worked for a rear naked choke but Encinas turned into Baehr and reversed the position.  After no action the ref stood both fighters up.  The end of the round saw very little action.  The second round Encinas landed a big knee that hurt Baehr, but Baehr took the fight to the ground.  From there he worked several small punches until he was able to pass to mount.  Baehr then pinned Encincas right arm with his knee and landed five punches squarely before the referee ended the fight.

The night’s first/only submission of the night happened between E.J. Vazquez and Victor Johnson.  Johnson landed a big right, but Vazquez countered with a kick forcing Johnson to clinch.  In the clinch Vazquez landed several knees.  After a big knee, Vazquez was able to secure a standing guillotine choke.  Johnson tried to break free with a trip takedown, but Vazquez kept the choke.  Johnson tried to posture out of it, but Vazquez secured a body triangle and squeezed harder ensuring the tap.

The super heavyweight matchup featured Ivan Garcia and Jerry Garcia. The bout began with a series of jabs dealt by I. Garcia landing the occasional combo in between several failed takedown attempts from J. Garcia.  Heavy leg kicks were the prime weapon for the heavier J.Garcia who seemed unable to catch his opponent in the open. As a result, I. Garcia continued to dominate throughout the first two rounds by dodging takedowns and landing swift jabs. The start of round three only further sealed the fate of J.Garcia who at times flinched repeatedly at taunting swings – at one point collapsing backwards without so much as a touch. Following the conclusion of round three the judges scored a unanimous decision win to I. Garcia by a score of  30 to 27.

To contrast the super heavyweight bout, the next fight featured dual bantamweights  who each burst out of the gate swinging. From the blue corner, Mike Kriewalt, a self-trained fighter was the early aggressor. Kriewalt was able to land initial strikes on Chyle Vance. After a quick takedown by Kriewalt, Vance assumed control of the fight by dodging wild haymakers and repeatedly unleashing well-timed strikes. Vance was able to reverse his positioning each time the fight hit the mats until earning a verbal submission due to strikes at just 2:12 into round one.

The next bout of the night featured featherweight competitors Zack Hernandez and Ken Hansen. Hansen started the fight with a powerful leg kick followed by a striking combo. Hernandez was able to recover quickly with a heavy takedown followed by downward striking. From the ground Hernandez seemed in control with continuous submission attempts that were successfully weathered by Hansen throughout round one. At the start of the second round the two exchanged strikes and kicks until Hernandez lands his second major takedown which was quickly reversed by Hansen. On the ground the two grappled for positioning stopping occasionally to exchange jabs and knees until the end of round two. The fight came to an unexpected end via verbal submission when Hernandez threw in the towel due to symptoms from asthma, earning Hansen a win via second round stoppage.

The second set of bantamweight fighters for the evenings event wasted no time taking the match to the ground. Brian Ortiz opened the match by dodging a heavy  right from Dominic Costantini and followed up by delivering a powerful takedown. Once on the ground Ortiz unleashed a series of strikes to open up the guard of Costantini and ultimately lock him into a rear naked choke hold. Ortiz captured one of the fastest victories of the night at just 0:28 into round one following the tap from Costantini.

The final bout before the main event featured two featherweights, Joaquin Sanchez and Jonathan Terry. The bout began with a series of jabs from Sanchez which subsequently forced Terry to the corner. Unable to pull free from Sanchez, Terry was forced to wrap himself around his competitor and endure jabs and knees. The ref breaks the hold by Sanchez who immediate follows up with a takedown. Once on top of his opponent Sanchez rained down windmill strikes until Terry caught his arm for an unsuccessful armbar attempt. At the end of round one, Terry stayed on the ground suffering from a noticeable shoulder injury, the result of which earned Sanchez the TKO victory.

The main event of the event of the evening featured a title match between the interim FCE middleweight champion Luke Austin and reigning FCE middleweight champion Jeremy Godina. Austin started the fight out with combination of wide stance strikes until Godina forced him back into the cage. Godina wasted no time demonstrating his power by slamming Austin to the ground and hammering away at his head and side. Godina stayed in control throughout round one, blocking the reversals and a mounting attempt, occasionally peppering his opponent with strikes. Round one came to an end with Godina pounding away at a floored Austin. At the start of round two, Godina launched another big take down on the visibly gassed Austin. From the ground Godina continued to work the face and sides until mounting Austin to lock in the rear naked choke which ended the bout at 1:29 of round two. Godina emerged victorious and successfully defended the FCE Middleweight title.

Quick Results
Tony Ortiz defeated Allen Hile by technical knockout 0:26 of round 1
Robert Chancellor defeated John Melencio by technical knockout 2:54 of round 1
Eric Baehr defeated Carlos Encinas by technical knockout  1:31 of round 2
E.J Vazquez defeated Victor Johnson by guillotine choke 0:50 of round 1
Ivan Garcia defeated Jerry Garcia via unanimous decision scored 30-27
Chyle Vance defeated Mike Kriewalt via TKO (verbal submission) at 2:12 of round 1
Ken Hansen defeated Zach Hernandez via TKO (fighter unable to continue) at the end of round 2.
Brian Ortiz defeated Dominic Costantini via rear naked choke at 0:28 of round 1.
Joaquin Sanchez defeated Jonathan Terry via TKO (fighter unable to continue) at the end of round 1.
Jeremy Godina defeated Luke Austin via rear naked choke at 1:29 of round 2.