MMA XPLOSION TEAM QUALIFIER POST-FIGHT REPORT

Posted on | September 19, 2011 | No Comments

By: Rich Bergeron
=================
EDITOR’S NOTE: Special Thanks to Marcel Emerson of THE EDGE. Marcel hooked me up with a sample of Boost Oxygen, and it really does work! To watch a quick video about the benefit of using oxygen, CLICK HERE.

A healthy crowd packed into “The Joint” at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Friday Night, September 16, 2011 to see a slate of exciting amateur fights. Mixed martial artists from multiple gyms in the local Las Vegas area fought to secure a spot on the MMA Xplosion team circuit with the Las Vegas Scorpions and Las Vegas Spiders. The main event fight featured an extra incentive with the winner getting a professional contract.

Four fighters made their amateur debuts Friday night, including 171-pounder Josh Bleeker in the evening’s first bout. Deandre Marshall (0-2) had his guard tested early in the fight after a Bleeker takedown. Bleeker quickly moved to full mount and began to rain down left hands to the head and right hands to the ribs of Marshall. Suddenly Marshall squirmed out from under Bleeker and pulled off a reversal and an escape back to the feet. Marshall tried to get fancy with a jumping kick and punch combo that missed the mark. Bleeker took him down again and wound up in full mount again at the end of the first round. Marshall looked gassed and appeared to be in need of some lessons on how to fight off his back.

The second round also began with a Bleeker takedown. He quickly transitioned to full mount once again and hammered the head and ribs of Marshall. Bleeker also went for an armbar that looked promising only to watch Marshall work his way out of the submission. Marshall missed a roundhouse kick early in the round along with two front kicks. A guillotine attempt that failed seemed to be his best hope in the round. Marshall escaped back to his feet after being mounted only to get planted on his back right away. He held tight to Bleeker allowing little separation for punches through the rest of the second round.

Marshall began the third round with a wild Superman punch attempt and a follow up right hand that landed weakly. Bleeker took his opponent down once again, working a head and arm triangle attempt with no luck. Marshall came on strong late in the round, landing looping punches from his back and leaving Bleeker with a bloody nose at the final bell. Bleeker took the win by unanimous decision.

AARON FONSECA (0-0) VS. KHALIL ROUNDTREE (2-0), 205 POUNDS:

Omar Sierra (1-0), of Team Torres, and Sean Cantor (3-0), of Wand Fight Team were the only 135-pounders fighting Friday night. Cantor set the pace early, throwing punches that opened up an early cut over the eye of Sierra. Cantor dominated the remainder of the first round with uppercuts and knees. He displayed some excellent boxing and Muay Thai in the match. Sierra landed a nice front kick in the round and almost pulled off a head throw take down, but Cantor foiled the attempt and popped out the back door. The referee stopped the fight in the middle of the round to have Sierra’s eye checked. The cut proved to be a major problem, and the fight was stopped before the second round could get underway.

Hugo Gonzalez (0-0) of Team Torres and Ramsen Merza (1-2) of Tapout squared off at 140 pounds in the 4th bout of the evening. The fight was over in a flash as Gonzalez could only manage a few feeler jabs before getting slammed to the canvas. Merza threw some heavy right hands from the top, and Gonzalez tried to work his way back to his feet with some upkicks. Merza wrangled him into a guillotine choke as Gonzalez stood up. Merza held onto the choke until Gonzalez was completely out cold. The referee had to rip the choke off to get Merza to let go, and the crowd let the winner have it with boos for his extra aggressiveness. The submission win came at :52 of the first.

The lightest fighters to battle Friday were 125-pounders Cruz Ramos (0-0) of Team Torres and Richard Patini (1-0) of Sunset Boxing and MMA. Ramos landed an early head kick only to be subsequently taken down. Patini scrambled to maintain top control for a while before grabbing an armbar and closing out the fight with classic BJJ skills.

SEE THE FOLLOWING VIDEOS OF THE REST OF FRIDAY’S FIGHTS, INCLUDING THE MAIN EVENT: