VFC 30: NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS - FULL RESULTS

Story completed by MFF contributor and MMA competitor Brent Ault

On the amateur side of the card:

Jason “Lionheart” Russel 2-1 Vs. Mirsad Bektic 3-0

 Round 1: The fight starts off with Bektic and Russel trading some bombs. The fight then proceeds into a scramble and lands Bektic into half guard, raining down some beautiful blows setting him up (Mirsad) take full mount on Russel. Jason ends up giving his back to prevent further damage from the shots being landed. Mirsad Bektic shows his strength and hammers down on Russel for the victory, taking his record to a perfect 4 and 0 as the ref steps in to bring a halt to the fight.

Cody “Locked and Loaded” Land 8-2 Vs. Mark “Mayhem” Mickells 9-2
   
 Round 1: The fight gets to a quick start with Cody slamming Mark into his own corner. Mark begins to work his jiu jitsu and quickly locks up a triangle, then Cody does a great showing of power and slams Mark straight to the mat still locked up in the submission. With no stopping in sight, Mark rolls right over to try and lock up an armbar. The two men begin to scramble while Cody takes a half guard position throwing down some amazing ground and pound, bloodying the face of Mayhem. Through the scramble Mark is able to take Cody’s back and look for the rear naked while the round ends.

 Round 2: Once again Cody shows great wrestling ability with another slam. The men quickly return to their feet. The two get back into Cody’s corner as Mark keeps attempting submission after submission, from an armbar to a go-go plata, the jiu jitsu keeps coming out. Marks ground game was just too much for Cody to keep up with and was eventually caught in a tight triangle, to end the fight at 1:56 of round 2. Mickels  showed great heart coming back from a losing first round to increase his record to 10-2

Dallas “The Beast” Barrett 11-3 Vs. Steve Lucchino 9-2-1

 Round 1: The match gets started with both men circling feeling each other out. Dallas get rocked with a heavy right hand from Steve. Steve then moves into side control and sets Dallas up for a set of nasty elbows. Dallas reverses Steve, however it is quickly reversed once again in Lucchino’s favor. With the bout slowing down the men begin to stall in the red corner. Dallas begins to hit Steve with knees to the body while on the ground. The round comes to a close with little activity.
 
 Round 2: Both men show their respect with the touching of gloves. The two begin to circle once again. A slew of right hands land flush to Barrett’s chin. You can see the pain these punches are taking on Dallas, as the fight finally comes to an end with Steve knocking Dallas clean out. The knees buckled and the fight was quickly called by referee Mark Powell at 56 seconds into round number 2.

Brian Houston Vs. Jeff Souder 8-0

 Round 1: The bout starts of with Brian SLAMMING Jeff to the mat. The fight gets back to the feet within seconds, as the men lock up over unders. Brian once again shows his great wrestling abilities by catching Souder with another double leg taking him into the cage. Souder attempts to try and lock in a guillotine while it goes back to the feet. The men go back in the cage and straight to the ground. Once on the ground Souder at first takes the initiative and ends up in mount, but just for a moment as Brian reverses Souder and scrambles his way right back into mount himself. The round ends with the horn sounding just as Brian cocked his right hand back.

 Round 2: The two men meet in the middle to trade blows, but Brian has other plans and puts Souder to the ground with another big slam. Brian once again gets into mount, however quickly gets reversed. Souder gets into Brian’s open guard and attempts some ground and pound, but Houston is showing some great striking defense. The men work back towards their feet and once again Souder attempts the Guillotine. The round ends in this fashion. The round could have went either way for the judges.

 Round 3: The competitors meet in the blue corner as Souder lands a decent uppercut. Houston quickly recovers from the blow and takes it straight back to the mat with another giant slam. Brian gets into mount and yet again it goes back to the feet. At this point it is seeming that Souder may be tiring as his hands get lower and lower. The fight goes back to the ground as Houston claims the mount position. Little actions takes place until the last few seconds of the round where Brian postures up and lands two solid blows to the head.

 A great fight took place and was left up to the judges to decide the victor of this tough three round battle. Brian Houston’s wrestling helped him tremendously, as the slams and control on the ground seemed to be the deciding factor in the judges notion giving this split decision to Houston.

The professional fights card:

Ted “Red” Worthington 29-18 Vs. Leonardo Pecanha 10-6

 Round 1: The men circle around as Red looks to set things up with his jab. Leo takes a shot and is able to take Red down. Now that Red is in Leo’s element you wonder what will happen as the two jockey for position. Leo achieves half guard and lands a few shots from top. Leo stands over Red kicking at him as he lays on the ground. Leo then makes his move on Red and quickly proceeds into full mount. While rolling, Leonardo sets up a sick triangle from mount and then moves to his side to tighten the choke. Red attempts to slam Leonardo, but when you try this with a 2nd degree black belt it usually results in failure as was proved here. Quickly after the attempt Red taps out from the triangle.

Jeremy “Tic-Tac” Malaterre 3-1 Vs. Dakota Cochrane 1-0

 Round 1: The guys begin the bout with the men trading leg kicks back and forth, with Dakota taking the better of the exchange. Dakota catches the mid section kick and tosses Jeremy to the ground and signals for him to get back up. The men circle and Dakota’s power seems too much for Jeremy to take. Standing over him time after time raining down fierce blows, one after another. The referee stands them back up as Dakota rushes in for a takedown. Now split apart due to Jeremy taking a shot to the groin by one of Dakota’s knees. Jeremy is telegraphing his punches and giving Dakota far too much time to react and counter. With the round coming to an end Cochrane uses his power to keep Jeremy pinned in the corner.

 Round 2: Meeting in the middle to touch gloves, Dakota is able to land a small combination of a left right that land flush on Jeremy’s chin. Once again pinned into the corner, Cochrane uses his power to land a few punches. A shot attempt does not work out well and the two men get into a fight for position on the ground, with Jeremy ending up in the front headlock position. Dakota then is able to flow through and hit a great reversal landing him in closed guard, where he postures up and attempts some ground and pound. Throughout the fight Jeremy’s legs keep moving and any jiu jitsu practioner can tell he is trying to set Dakota up for submissions. Cochrane is able to escape into half guard where he then gives up his position to stand over Jeremy and try to land some blows, but the round ends as well as the attempts Dakota was trying for.

 Round 3: Cochrane attempts a takedown, but Jeremy is able to sprawl out and escape the shot attempt, landing once again in the front headlock position. The men both being skilled on the ground keep scrambling for a better position. The Referee stands the two men up and yet again Cochrane shoots for a takedown, it is stuffed by Jeremy. With two minutes remaining in the fight the two fighters keep working on improving their position, but for the most part it is just a stalemate. Stood up again, Jeremy is looking for some nice kicks to take him to a victory, one final shot attempt is taken by Cochrane, but it is up to the judges who will pull off this win.

 With Dakota coming out strong in the first round, it looked to be too much speed and power for Jeremy to handle, yet in the 2nd and 3rd rounds Jeremy’s cardio played a huge role in the fight. One judge gave a single round to Jeremy, but all three judges gave this victory to Dakota Cochrane. Dakota’s wrestling and pushing the fight seemed to be enough to put this one in the bag.

Jake Hecht 4-1 Vs. Anthony “Lionheart” Smith 5-4

 Round 1: Smith comes out throwing nice jabs and lead hooks to set up his powerful right hand, up until this point Hecht seems nervous to pursue anything. Hecht then powers smith into the corner and proceeds to take his lead leg before breaking off and taking him to the mat with a power double. Smith is too smashed into the corner to attempt any sweeps. Smith is able to get his head out of the corner and put Hecht into a tight rubber guard, Smith then sets up and attempts and omoplata. Failing the omoplata he is able to move into full mount before Hecht attempted a kneed bar the. It moved the men into position to better themselves with Hecht landing in Smiths guard. Smith was able to lock on a triangle, but the round ends.

 Round 2: The round starts off slow, but Hecht takes an attempt at flying knee, with Smith falling to the side to miss the shot, he falls to the ground where Hecht takes a front headlock position before shucking him to the side to take his back and land some serious blows. Smith finds it to be a better option to role to his back and give up half guard rather thank to take more punishment. Hecht takes a shot at a keylock, but fails as Smith muscled through it. Hecht stands up and signals for Smith to get up as well. Within seconds of standing it goes straight back to the ground with Hecht getting half guard and putting some damage on Smith. The round comes to a close with Hecht landing some short left hands.

 Round 3: Again the round starts slow with the two men picking a few shots to throw on each before Hecht is able to grab Smith up in a nice muay thai clinch and throw some knees to the body. Hecht threw the clinch and went for a takedown, getting Smith in half guard at a neutral corner. Smith is attempting to shrimp out of the guard, but it is only setting Hecht up to throw some right hands. The men are stood up and Smith tries to muster everything he has into a few shots, but the shots do not land and Hecht is able to take him down once more. Taking Smith’s back, Hecht is able to flatten Smith out and throw a mess of punches to end this fight at 4:35 of the 3rd round by tko, referee stoppage.

Travis “Hapa” Browne 7-0 Vs. Abe “Hurricane” Wagner 7-2

 Round 1: The heavyweight championship starts off with some intense action, with the men meeting in the middle to trade. Quickly Abe is rocked and even quicker he is finished with some shots on the ground, after being knocked down with strikes. 8 seconds into the fight it was called as a TKO by referee stoppage in one of the fastest flash knockouts in VFC history.

Nicholas “Garfield” Mamalis 7-3 Vs. Zach “The Maniac” Wolff 12-7

 Round 1: The Bantam weight championship starts off as any bout for a belt should, the men read each other as nick moves around the cage with quick and subtle feet. Neither fighter is landing any power until a right hook hits solid on The Maniac, but Zach gives a strong right hand back. Zach attempts an ankle lock before the two men end up in guard with nick on top. Garfield lands some nasty ground and pound until the fight goes back to the feet. Once the two men are standing Nick is able to unleash some killer combo’s. before going back to the ground. On the ground Zach starts working his submissions and tries for an armbar, but Nick is not letting it happen he slams him once and is about to go for another before going back to the ground to give more of a beating to The Maniac up until the round ends.

 Round 2: Leg kicks are exchanged between the fighters, but no damage is done. Nick grabs Zach with a headlock and muscles him to the ground where he fights for guard position. After a long fight for position Nick assumes the most practical strategy is to try and ground and pound while still being in closed guard. Zach keeps maneuvering for submissions, but nothing has come close enough to worry Nick. Nick is able to move into half guard and continue the assault on Wolff’s face. Not much damage has been done to either fighter, but with Nick being in constant control and a superior position it is not difficult to tell the round will be in favor of Nick. The round comes to a close with Nick firing down his hand trying to cause some damage.

 Round 3:  Round 3 begins with Nick muscling Zach into the red corner and taking him down to the closed guard. Nick keeps trying to improve his position, but Zach’s jiu jitsu is enough to keep him restrained. Nick is able to shove Wolff into the cage and limit his movements throughout the round. More shots are landed from nick while Zach seems helpless to this more powerful fighter. Nearing the end of the round nothing crazy or hectic is being tried by either fighter.

 Round 4: A beautiful superman punch is landed by Nick, while Zach tries to counter. Nick throws a flurry of punches as well as knees and kicks to the head of The Maniac. The fighters scramble to the ground and for the first time in the night Nick is able to take the full mount. Showing total control of the fight Nick continues to dominate the fourth round by getting into side control and then advancing his position into full mount once again. Nick is able to secure a very tight arm triangle, but being pinned up against the cage he is not able to sit out and tighten it to its fullest. Both fighters scramble and it ends with both men back on their feet with Zach in a loose guillotine. The 4th round ends the same as the others, with Nick in the guard over powering Zach.

 Round 5: The fighters circle for a bit before throwing some small shots on each other. The fight goes to the ground with a shot blocked by Nick. Again Nick is able to get into half guard and control the pace of the fight. The men get stood up and after 23 minutes of fighting you can just now start to see the cardio playing a factor. Zach takes another shot that is again stuffed by Nick and then able to get to guard. The men are stood up and a very strong right uppercut is landed by Nick. The fight stays on its feet for the longest of the evening. For nearly 20 seconds the men tried their stand up game with nothing coming from it. To finish the fight off, Zach is thrown to the mat in a dominant manner, just as the entire fight had gone for him.

 The fight comes to a close after 25 minutes of grueling battle between the two fighters. It should come out to be a clear win for Nick. The announcer comes out to let everyone know what we all knew. A unanimous victory with all three judges scoring it 50-45 for the winner of the newly made VFC bantam weight  championship Nicholas “Garfield” Mamalis

Chase Hackett 3-0 Vs. Jimmy Seipel 3-0

 Round 1: The final fight of the evening gets straight into the action with Chase throwing some goods kicks, before the men tie up in the over under position. Hackett takes the better of the tie up and takes Jimmy to the mat as well as finishing in side guard and improving even further to full mount. Jimmy felt to open in full mount and rolled over to give his back. Once Chase locked in the hooks he began to unload some clean shots from top to the side of Jimmy’s head. Setting him up with the shots, Jimmy opens up and gives up the rear naked choke to end the fight at 2:34. The win gives Chase Hackett his first professional championship belt.