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 This was a big day for the newly formed organisation as it was the debut event in the small 750 capacity venue at Wild Bob’s Bar in New York. The event was a success and with a sold out venue the fans were treated to six stoppages, five of which were stopped in the first round which added a lot of excitement to the event and showed that TTFC:A has the roster to hold their own within the lower tier organisations. Let’s take a look at last night’s card and how things went down.
[MAIN CARD]
[01] Jeremy Staton def. Simon Mann via Unanimous decision
[02] David Cross def. Arn Anderson via first-round TKO
[03] Dan Kennedy def. Connon McManus via Unanimous decision
[04] Barristan Selmy def. Gurit Singh via first-round TKO
[05] Andreas Rahn def. Ben Webster via first round KO
[UNDERCARD]
[06] Frankin Bruisevelt def. Jeremy Church via Unanimous decision
[07] Ellic McCrae def. Lick Myballs via Submission
[08] Diego Biamonte def. Deli Karabre via first-round TKO
[09] Toms Gailitis def. Lamont Banner via first-round TKO
[10] Parminder Singh def. Kacy Stalcup via Unanimous decision
[01] [HEAVYWEIGHT – JEREMY STATON VS. SIMON MANN]
By the end of round one of the TTCA: TFN main event at Wild Bob’s bar it became quite apparent that the match wasn’t going to go in Mann’s favour. Despite winning his previous four fights by TKO all in the first round you could already sense that the fight was going in Statons direction. One of the major aspects of this main event was that Mann came into the fight weighing at 183lbs and when that’s compared to Staton’s weight of 265lbs you can already sense who is going to win the fight. Which asks the question as to why Mann came into the fight at 183lbs? Or why did he even take the fight at all?
The second round began and Staton avoided the early flurry from Staton, landed a body shot, threw a fake and took the fight to the ground. However even though there was a significant size difference Staton could only stay ontop of Mann and everytime he seemed to make pass to a new position Mann would answer by returning the postion to his guard. Towards the end of the round the referee finally stood the fighters up. Both of them throwing a few punches and kicks which got avoided by both fighters before the bells rang for the end of the round.
By the third round the fans and Mann knew he had to finish the fight if he was going to come out with the win, but how would he do it? He hadn’t landed many strikes during the fight and the whole of the second round Staton had quite literally sat on him which must effect the fighter to some degree because even if not that many strikes were landed Mann was still alot smaller and had 265lbs ontop of him for the duration of the round. Both fighters came into the ring and started throwing punches, body kicks but both fighters were content on dodging and blocking. Finally some of Mann striking ability came through and he landed a 3 punch combination however this was answered by a leg kick from Staton. The crowd were waiting for a repeat of round two and as they predicted Staton went for the takedown, however this takedown was defended by Mann which showed he wasn’t done yet. Before Mann take advantage of blocking the takedown Staton had grabbed him in the clinch. Staton managed to get a strike to the body in before both of the fighters started attacking each other with Knees to the body coming from Mann and Staton replying by landing punches and an uppercut. The pace started to slow down abit, the crowd seeing this but being very pleased with the fight started giving it up for both the fighters who replied by breaking the clinch and started striking! This is where Mann’s striking started to blossom; starting off by dodging some of the strikes thrown by Staton he then answered this by throwing various kicks and punches to Statons body. As the action started picking up Mann was caught in the groin by a low kick. After a 5minute break Mann had recovered and he was back in the action. Mann came out with looking angry and started throwing punches wherever he could hit Staton. This seemed to make Staton pick up the pace who started throwing shots to the body. The crowd were going nuts and off their seats for the last 30 seconds of the round while the two fighters threw punches and kicks at each other. This was what the fans came to see and even though the significant weight difference between them they gave the fans what they wanted.
The main event started off slow and even though everyone in the venue knew the result by the end the fight ended in a classic and exciting standoff where anything could have happened.
Maybe next time Simon Mann accepts a fight he should bulk up to be the correct weight or shouldn’t accept the fight; he was like a lamb to the slaughter!
[02] [LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT – ARN ANDERSON VS. DAVID CROSS]
The co-main event of the evening was hosted by two fighters that were both on two fight winning streaks, both had good wrestling backgrounds. Cross is a world class striker, with very good cardio and can also work on the ground while Anderson is a skilled counter striker and very fast. The only differences between the fighters was that Cross had far more experience in the fight game however he came into the light heavyweight fight weighing in at 168lbs. Could Anderson take advantage of the weight difference or would Cross’s experience help him reign supreme?
Once the bell rang Anderson stormed out and greeted Cross with a hook that Cross saw coming, dodged it with ease and countered with a stiff hook to the side of the head. By this point it was evident that it had done some damage to Anderson as he started backing towards the cage. Cross noticing this came in with a leg kick and then followed up with a series of strikes and finished the combo off with a solid shot to the body. Clearly going into a panicked state Anderson tried to throw a uppercut which was dodged easily and he then found himself in Cross’s clinch. Cross started to push Anderson against the cage and landed a shoulder strike and some shots to the stomach. Anderson in desperation tries to pull guard by wrapping his legs around Cross who just stays standing forcing Anderson to give up on the position. By this point you could see the effect it was having on Anderson because he’d failed three takedown attempts, which will affect any man!
Cross started to sense that Anderson was starting to slow down so he did the complete opposite and started to pick up the pace. Landing body shots and combinations with ease he kept forcing Anderson back against the cage. What was Anderson to do to get him out of this situation he had got into? Hold on until the end of the round where he could regain his composure? Anderson however kept coming at Cross who was answering with counter punches to the body and head. Out of nowhere Cross threw a head kick which landed and knocked Anderson down! Straight away Cross is in Andersons guard and he’s landing massive shots. After a few more strikes connect the referee has to get involved and stop the fight! The crowd were going crazy as soon as Anderson got knocked down; the sound in the venue was destructive as Cross celebrated while Anderson was holding his head in disappointment.
I certainly wasn’t expecting this as Anderson was the bigger man and I thought that might be a bigger factor than experience; however I was proved wrong by Cross!
I will be keeping my eyes on him in the future and I’m sure many other people will! He will be a big threat in the Light Heavyweight division.
[03] [MIDDLEWEIGHT – DAN KENNEDY VS. CONNOR McMANUS]
One of the main card fight’s was a bout between two fighters who would be making their debut into the mma world ontop of their debut for TTFCA. Both of the fighters seem to be matched as brawlers with McManus holding a blue belt in BJJ which is better than his BJJ white belt adversary Dan Kennedy.
The first round kicked off and McManus tried to takedown which got stuffed by Kennedy who replied by going for his own takedown and managed to get the fight to the ground eventually after countering another one of McManus’s takedown attempts and goes into side control. Kennedy seemed to go for an arm, but at the last minute seemed to choose the dominate position over the submission. Obviously McManus was affected from the failed takedowns, why didn’t Kennedy capitalise and take McManus’s arm home with him as a trophy? The round continued but as Kennedy couldn’t do anything in the position he stood up and returned the fight to standing. Both fighters trade blows, but don’t do much damage to each other. McManus throws a body kick which seemed to catch Kennedy off. The rest of the round had Kennedy taking McManus down and not being able to do anything in the situation again and is forced to stand up. The round ends and that would be a dominant round for Kennedy.
The corners had done their part and the next round was either going to be the same again or one of the fighters had a game plan! Kennedy immediately shot for the takedown and scored, rather than stay in position like in round one Kennedy started to actively try and get into the mount position with McManus underneath him just managing to hold him off. The referee stands up the fighters because as the referee put it ‘weren’t working hard enough’ McManus managed to stuff another takedown, there has been around 6/7 take downs blocked now, surely that must take it out of him as a fighter. Kennedy tries to go for another takedown but it gets stuffed and before McManus could react Kennedy already had him in a clinch and is working at him from there. Kennedy pushes McManus into the side of the cage and then drops him down. He throws a few strikes which connect and McManus got a warning from the ref! Kennedy continued to pressure and hold down McManus and got the better of the overall ground battle until the end of the round.
McManus had a look in his eye at the start of the third and final round. Once the bell rang he ran over and took Kennedy straight down. He had no idea what hit him and looked really angry that he was taken down so early and quickly. Kennedy seemed to lack the concentration for a split second and it spelt danger as McManus got himself into mount!!
Kennedy looked to panic the whole time he was on his back and in this position, his corner were screaming for him to get up, he was moving about frantically but McManus held the position like an expert. However he did that just to get up? I have no idea why he got up when he was in mount because he could have easily finished the fight there. I think that was a very big mistake on his part and his camps gameplan. Kennedy managed to take control again until the round finishes on quite a dull note.
There isn’t any real excuses for McManus, on paper he should have been better at the ground game and when he finally got into a dominate mount position where Kennedy was clearly panicking he got up? Why would you do that in that situation where you are already down by two rounds?
[04] [LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT – GURIT SINGH VS. BARRISTAN SELMY]
Selmy had one win prior to this match by way of TKO so we know he has the knockout power. This was Singh’s first match, so he hadn’t been tested yet.
The first round got off to an explosive start with both fighters throwing wild punches but Selmy was first to make the proper move by going for a takedown which he successfully achieved. He kept Singh down and threw wild punches while trying to improve his position, looking for help from his corner who couldn’t give him anything he continued to throw hammerfirsts. Singh already seemed in trouble because he couldn’t get up. There’s nothing Singh can do while Selmy continuously punches him in the face. Singh was blocking and dodging but they were still getting through and eventually he was cut. Once he was cut Selmy seemed to turn into a shark and could smell blood. He transition to mount and from the top threw down punches so powerful and fast it looked asif he was using Singh’s head as a basketball. Where was Singh’s ground game you ask? Apparently he left it in his dressing room as he had no answers to cope with the onslaught from Selmy. The crowd started to elevate in noise as the round was coming to the end as it seemed like Singh would hold on until the end. The cut by this point had grown in size and the referee had called for the doctor to check the cut just 6 seconds before the end of the round. The doctor then saw it as too dangerous for Singh to carry on, Selmy was the winner! He is definitely a shark like finisher in the 205lbs division and will finish you if he smells blood! Hopefully Singh will be back again soon, but he needs to work on his ground game as he just got dominated and embarrassed. I think Andreas Rahn would be the perfect opponent for Barristan Selmy, it’d be a very exciting match and test them both equally!
[05] [LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT – ANDREAS RAHN VS. BEN WEBSTER]
Webster came into this fight after losing three fights in a row so he was really looking to beat Rahn by taking advantage of having more experience than him. Rahn stepped into the cage with confidence and it really showed once the bell rang for the first round. Webster tried to come in for a clinch but got brushed aside by Rahn who didn’t seem bothered by the clinch attempt. Even early on you could hear the corner shouting Rahn and telling him what to do, and you know what? Rahn did exactly what they asked and landed everything. He landed a one, two combination perfectly and Webster tried to retaliate with a clinch that Rahn just pushed away like nothing. Rahn was really calm in the cage, was this first fight? He’s reacting like a veteran. Webster started to act more aggressively which ultimately led to more mistakes. He went for a takedown which Rahn stopped again which by this point was his forth takedown that was blocked. He was gassed. Rahn noticed this, went for a hook into Webster’s stomach which obviously hurt Webster as he went for another takedown that Rahn easily avoided again. Rahn went for another body shot and followed with his own combination which dropped Webster!! He tried to stay on the ground but Rahn had none of it and made him stand back up, he wanted the KO! No more than a second after Webster rose to his feet Rahn lunged at him with a straight punch and knocked him out cold! Such a brutal knockout and under 2 minutes!! What a beast. Back to the drawing board for Webster, tonight is Rahn’s night and possibly knockout of the night?
[06] [FRANKIN BRUISEVELT VS. JEREMY CHURCH]
Bruisevelt was looking for a victory after losing to a decision in his last face and he was up against Jeremy Church who was competing in his first official fight for TTFCA. He was underweight and not as heavy as Bruisevelt. The fight was dictated by Bruisevelt’s superior muay thai which helped Bruisevelt control the clinch and bag the decision win over Church. This brings Bruisevelt is now two wins and one lose! Church will have to get back to the drawing board and hopefully will return and do better next time!
[07] [ELLIC McCRAE VS. LICK MYBALLS]
This fight was over so quick no one knew what happened, both fighters McCrae and Myballs were debuting and wow was it a fast one! Myballs dragged McCrae to the ground from the ring of the bell, and before he knew it he was in a guillotine choke! Myballs had no answer for this and he tapped, only 32 seconds into the first round aswell! Submission of the night for me and does this mean McCrae has a future as a BJJ fighter? Or is it one of his many talents! Time will tell!
[08] [DIEGO BIAMONTE VS. DELI KARABRE]
This matchup was a debut for both of these fighters and was your typical boxer vs muay thai fight. From the sound of the bell for round one Karabre was pushing the pace, dragging Biamonte into a clinch war with some dirty boxing. Biamonte was fighting back with some knees until he was taken down by Karabre. They both scramble to their feet after a little ground battle and Karabre clinched up with Biamonte again. This time it was his worst mistake, Biamonte threw an elbow from the clinch which cut open Karabre. Biamonte saw the cut and kept aiming for the cut and successfully landing the elbows. The round ended and Karabre’s cut was aweful, his corner tried to do all they could to stop the bleeding.
Round two began and Karabre came out with new orders! Keep distance and strike. He landed a few good shots until Biamonte decided he wanted to clinch again. He got the clinch he wanted and went straight back to the cut. He successfully landed more knees to the body however Karabre started defending well, until Biamonte caught his cut again. The referee asked for a doctor to check, the doc stopped the fight!
This time muay thai skills reigned supreme! What a good win for Diego Biamonte!
[09] [LAMONT BANNER VS. TOMS GAILITIS]
Both of these fighters are quite heavy for 205lbs so it was obviously going to be a heavy hitting match! Both of them wanted to impress on their debut aswell. Galilitis came out and stopped three straight takedowns from the very start! Gailitis landed a nice combo by successfully hitting the body and following with a leg kick. Almost instantaneously grabbing Banner and forcing him to clinch and cut him open. There was a smile on Gailitis’s face as he did this. You could see the hunger in his eyes. He just kept going, kicks to the leg, punches to the body, combined with quick jabs to snap back Banners head. Banner furiously tried to secure the takedown but couldn’t. In the final minute Gailitis landed a head kick that sent Banner tumbling to the mat. Gailitis signalled for Banner to get up. The warrior that Banner is he obliged and rose to his feet, swung for the fences and received another foot to the face for his troubles. The referee then stepped in and stopped the fight.
A nice dominating win for Gailitis, he will be happy with that!
[10] [PARMINDER SINGH VS. KACY STALCUP]
As opening fights go on a card; they generally aren’t ever the best fights in the word. When the two people fighting each other have only had one fight and they have both lost you can’t expect anything at all really. These two proved us wrong, the match started with Singh going straight into the clinch. Singh couldn’t achieve much at first and the clinch was broke, only to be grabbed again. However this time Stalcup responded with a knee to the face which opened Singh up! Singh then replied by taking down Stalcup with a successful trip takedown. After a roll around on the mat the referee stood them both back up. Both fighters started swinging for each other with reckless abandon, and Singh connected with a right hook to the jaw! Blood started to trickle down the mouth of Stalcup who looked up at Singh, smiled and went for a high five. Singh returned the smile and the high five and they got back into swinging for the fences! How crazy are these guys?! Singh caught Stalcup right in the jaw with a massive right hook; Stalcup was rocked and dropped to the mat! Singh followed ontop like a rabid dog with bloodlust in his eyes dropping hammerfists like bombs. Stalcup manages to survive and Singh went for a submission but he looked more like he was doing twister. The round came to an end shortly after this.
The second round starts and Singh took Stalcup straight to the mat and started to dominate with the ground game, sub attempt after sub attempt. After three minutes of failing submissions Singh turned his attention to ground and pound and all Stalcup could respond with was blocking and dodging. The second round ended with Singh ontop and he had clearly won that round
The third and final round started and straight of the bat he rocked Stalcup!!! Singh again jumped onto him and threw some bombs! However this still didn’t finish the machine Stalcup and he stuck in there. Singh dominated on the ground, switching positions and landing strikes. Then the incredible Stalcup manages to catch Singh in a submission! But Singh manages to slip free and keep in a dominate position ontop. Singh continued to strike and drop bombs from the top until the end of the round. Even though the venue wasn’t full yet, everyone who was early was on their feet screaming their heads off and clapping applause to these two warriors! They both showed respect to each other and Singh managed to get the decision. Hopefully we see them both again in the future, they have the heart needed to be MMA warriors.
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