UNTAMED 14 FIGHT WRAP UP

Posted on | June 30, 2007 | 1 Comment

[mpinpage]

UNTAMED 14 UNDERCARD BOUTS REPORT

By: Rich Bergeron

A crowd-pleasing set of fights unfolded throughout the Untamed 14 card on June 16th at Plymouth’s Memorial Hall, with many of the fighters matched well and providing plenty of excitement.

Only one fight seriously disappointed, riling up fans and eliciting a steady chorus of boos. The only saving grace of the match-up between 210-pounders Mark Hoxie and Chris Devno was that the action—or lack thereof—didn’t last more than a round.

Hoxie (Shikaku Ryu) came in with a mark of 0-5 against Devno (AZMMA) and looked like the first win of his career was the last thing on his mind. From the very beginning both fighters showed their sloppy nature in the first exchanges. Neither man landed a significant blow, but Devno did get the better of a few wild, glancing shots that penetrated Hoxie’s guard. Hoxie hit the canvas twice in the early going, and it was more a matter of poor balance than any effective attack of Devno’s.

As if the fighting on the feet was not horrendous enough, Hoxie set the crowd into an uproar when he hugged the ankles of Devno and wound up with the ugliest takedown of the night. Devno tried to skip away on one foot from the tackle and fell flat on his face. Seeing the two fighters had absolutely no plan for what to do on the mat, the referee soon stood both fighters up again where they actually began stringing punches together, which eased the crowd’s dissension. Devno landed a crisp right in the first exchange and followed up with a kick to the ribs. Hoxie found his range and started landing his own shots. Waiting for the right moment each time, he managed to get in a few timely, accurate bombs before going for a flying knee that missed. He quickly recovered with a right hand that would be his last punch of the night.

Devno waded in and pummeled Hoxie with a heavy-handed set of punches that left Hoxie flat on his back. Clearly dazed, gassed, and out of options, Hoxie didn’t even make an attempt to get back to his feet and told the referee he was all done. Devno picked up the KO win at 2:09 in the round.

Middleweights Mike Laliberte and Kip Kollar appeared to be a mismatch on paper with Kollar making his pro debut against the 5-1-1 Laliberte. The quick finish of the fight instead proved that anything can happen in MMA. Kollar (NESF) ended up on his back early after Laliberte (Irish) secured the takedown. Kollar proved to have the superior defense and left his opponent few options on top. As he locked up a triangle choke on Laliberte, he inched closer to his first win and made it a reality when he sunk it deep enough to force the tap.

Juan Urena and Chris Rondeau provided another fast fight at 185 pounds. Urena (Ultimate MMA) began working Rondeau’s heel early after being taken down. Urena tried to pull him in close and work the ankle into a submission to no avail. Rondeau (Fightzone) reeled him into range and unleashed a series of non-stop punches from a standing position. Throwing bombing hooks to the head to finish it off, Rondeau’s onslaught was enough for the ref to jump in and call a stop to the action at 1:46 of the first.

Damina Vitale and Mike Gresh both made their professional debuts against each other at 155 pounds. Vitale (Ultimate) picked up the first takedown after an early close-quarters flurry of punches resulted in Gresh’s head getting cut open from a butt. Gresh (CCFA), battled with vision problems through the whole fight as blood trickled from the open wound.

Back in a standup position, Gresh had his best moments of the night when he landed a thumping leg kick and followed up with a fantastic head throw takedown right out of a wrestling textbook. Unfortunately for Gresh, he went into the throw with way too much steam. Vitale rolled right out of it and wound up with a reversal. Vitale secured the top position and unloaded a right to Gresh’s forehead, trying to keep the head wound open. A lack of action forced both fighters to their feet again. Both men traded punches and knees for a few moments until Vitale tripped Gresh up and took him down hard. Gresh rolled and made the fatal mistake of giving up his back. The inevitable ensued. Vitale won by a picture-perfect rear naked choke at 3:16 of the round.

Johnny Catarino and Ryan Parker also experienced their pro debuts against each other at 140 pounds. For Catarino (Independent) to even be in the ring is a victory considering his physical condition. The victim of a childhood shotgun accident, one of his legs is disfigured, but he is still able to compete with no trouble. Although he fought a tough fight, Parker’s experience paid off in the quick bout. Parker (Boneyard) scored a takedown almost immediately, positioned himself to throw some punches, and let loose with combinations. Catarino left his arm out there dangling, and Parker snatched it up and tried an arm bar. Getting no tap from that one, he let it go and tried again, this time getting the proper hold and leverage to make it work. He won by submission at 1:24 of the first.

AMATEURS:

Dan Cramer and Matt Burke provided one of the night’s quickest finishes with Burke (Feijao) making his amateur debut and Cramer (Best Way/ATT) coming in having won his first two bouts. Cramer had his fists flying early and left Burke in a purely defensive position. Securing underhooks, Cramer picked up his opponent and tossed him effortlessly to the canvas. Burke was able to sneak in a couple of his own shots from the bottom, but he wound up with his face to the mat with Cramer raining down shots on his head. Cramer unloaded with a final set of right hand power shots to end it by KO at 1:05 of the first round.

Bill Vasquezi (0-1) and John Morrissey, Jr. (1-0) fought the most entertaining amateur battle of the evening. The 165-pounders went all three rounds in an absolute slugfest. Vasquezi (IMDC) and Morrissey (Boneyard) spent much of the first round trading blows with Morrissey getting the first takedown only to roll right out of it and get back to his feet. Vasquezi found himself in a corner early taking serious punishment. Although he blocked most of the shots, some penetrated and knocked him around a little until he shot for a double leg takedown and couldn’t complete it. Both fighters almost went through the ropes at that point. The rest of the round featured Morrissey jabbing, connecting with a low blow kick, and grappling with Vasquezi.

Morrissey came out for the second round with a quick series of jabs. He followed up with a nice straight right. Vasquezi scored some counters during the exchange, but nothing with any serious pop. Guarding well from the punches, he neglected to block Morrisey’s takedown shot and wound up on his back again. Twisting out, he gave up his back and a rear-naked choke angle. Morrissey just couldn’t wrap it up, however. Instead, he worked to get the proper distance and dropped a series of well-placed bombs on the squirming Vasquezi. Riding Vasquezi nearly the whole round, Morrisey transitioned from looping hooks to straight shots until Vasquezi managed a last second reversal.

Morrisey’s worst round came in the third. He landed a few good shots early and a nice knee, but Vasquezi finally managed to get what he was looking for. He landed an awesome left uppercut first and then swept in for a single leg takedown, sending Morrissey to the mat. Controlling his opponent for much of the round, Vasquezi landed hooks to the head, a few shots to the back, and a smashing right hand to the ribs. Finally, Morrissey mustered up enough strength at the end to get a reversal, mounting his opponent quickly and landing five or six spot-on shots to Vasquezi’s nose before the final bell sounded. Morrissey won the unanimous decision by a single point with all three ringside judges scoring the bout 29-28 in his favor.

One of the most incredible knockouts for the amateurs set the tone for the night as the first bout. Nick Pepper (1-0) faced Jeremy Adley in the 140-pound contest. Adley (Generation) made his pro debut in the fight and looked to be well on his way to winning when he scored the first takedown. All Pepper (Aggression) could manage early on was a nice kick.

Adley made the best of his top position, grappling his way to a front headlock. Missing his best punches, he finally settled onto Pepper’s back and sunk in a rear-naked choke. Pepper somehow fought through it and popped out. Standing up, he seized his chance. Storming in with 1-2 punches he staggered Adley and then struck the finishing blows in the next exchange that dropped Adley to a motionless heap on the canvas. Sporting a fat mouse under one eye, Adley learned an important lesson in his first fight: never give your opponent a second chance.

Lots of quick finishes throughout the night made some of the longer bouts stand out, and despite the one dud the night was another success for co-promoters Mike True and Mike Varner. As a fighter and promoter, Varner seems to know what the formula for success is. Losing a hard-fought battle to Nick Serra by second round submission on June 23rd in Atlantic City, Varner showed that he can compete with the best of them both inside and outside the ring. The climate of MMA in Massachusetts has been much improved thanks to Full Force Productions and the Untamed series. In a year’s time they have blown the lid off the local scene and can only improve in the months and years to come.

[/mpinpage]

Comments