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 Empire 45 - Recap and Bonus Awards
The 2nd June marked the occasion of Empire 45 in Los Angeles, only available on PPV, here's a quick recap of all the action and the results of the bonus awards as we go over a great night of fights!
205 lbs - Gristle McThornbody vs Ignatius Reilly
McThornbody controlled this one for the majority of the fight, cutting open Reilly early on and never really allowing him to work his way into it. McThornbody was throwing more and landing more throughout the rounds, working some tidy boxing along with some heavy low kicks to the leg and body. Reilly tried to stay competitive bur with his hands struggling to land he was restricted to only really having any success with leg kicks and with both guys nullifying each other in the clinch, it made it a comfortable decision victory for McThornbody
Winner – Gristle McThornbody via Unanimous Decision (30:27 on all scorecards)
185 lbs Championship - Pat McDermot vs Randal Pritchard
This one went on far longer than most anticipated with Pritchard's chin holding out surprisingly well and seeing him remain competitive for large portions of the fight. However with Pritchard only having any real success with his punches it was the diverse striking of McDermot who began to really dicate the fight, landing a variety of attacks including several heavy leg kicks and some nice punches of his own. It was also McDermot who got the better of things in the clinch, mixing in punches, elbows and a heavy knee to the body while 'The Punisher' could only really land some short head shots. Towards the end of the fourth round a good shot landed for McDermot which put Prtichard on queer street and just moments later a huge uppercut landed, leaving the challenger lying on the mat not knowing what day it was.
Winner and still Empire Middleweight Champion – Pat McDermot via KO (Uppercut, 4.34, RD4)
170 lbs Championship - Dave Bower vs Doc Chillum
The Welterweight title fight ended up as a split decision but in my eyes it was clearly a dominant performance by Bower who more than held his own in the striking and in the clinch as well as landing five takedowns throughout the bout and working over the challenger with some heavy ground and pound. Chillum did edge the striking of course, landing several kicks to the leg and body and mixing in some heavy punches but with him struggling to keep the fight standing, despite stuffing nine takedowns, he was always going to be struggling to win the judges over.
Winner and still Empire Welterweight Champion – Dave Bower via Split Decision (49:46 Bower, 49:46 Bower, 49:46 Chillum)
265 lbs - Budo Rei vs Oscar Amazon
There was always going to be blood in this encounter and both men were donning crimson masks early after a couple of stiff shots from both men, Amazon gave as good as he got for a while but after a heavy succession of low kicks from Rei it was Amazon who was beginning to breath heavily shortly before the two minute mark. From then on it was all Rei who began to work his opponent over with a variety of strikes including two huge head kicks, then with just 2.45 on the clock in the first round Rei connected with a monster uppercut out of nowhere and quickly finished Amazon with more strikes on the ground for the TKO finish.
Winner – Budo Rei via TKO (Strikes, 2.45, RD1)
265 lbs - Theoran Fleury vs Jeff Munster
Fleury came out aggressive in this one and looked ready for a war from the get go, landing heavy straight punches at will by utilising his reach and punishing Munster with strong leg kicks. With Munster unable to get the fight to the ground he was forced into a striking match and as he struggled to get inside it was Theoran Fleury who popped him with a stiff jab and followed it up with a nasty right straight that put him down to the canvas. Fleury dived into mount and quickly finished the job for the TKO finish and this one was all over.
Winner – Theoran Fleury via TKO (Strikes, 3.32, RD1)
170 lbs - Jase Newson vs Angelito Barraquinha
This bout turned into another kickboxing match with neither choosing to take it to the mat and both competitors remaining pretty even in the clinch. They both mixed up their striking really well working their punches and kicks which gave neither man much time to settle. However it was Newson who was just that little more aggressive each round and landing more regularly, he really found a home for his punches right on the jaw of Barrraquinha. It was Newson who ended up edging every round but Barraquinha should have no reason to be disappointed in this bout and gave it everything until the very end.
Winner – Jase Newson via Unanimous Decision (30:27 on all scorecards)
185 lbs - Big Pox vs Peter Tosh
Big Pox comfortably won the first two rounds by keeping the fight standing against an opponent who never seemed overly interesting in engaging, making it a pretty dull affair. Pox won the first two rounds largely just on being more aggressive and controlling where the fight took place, neither man were having much success with any damaging strikes. Tosh came back in the third after landing an early takedown and outgrappled Pox on the mat, attacking with strikes and submissions but Pox defended well and rode out the tough period, winning this one by two rounds to one.
Winner – Big Pox via Unanimous Decision (29:28 on all scorecards)
155 lbs - Aiden ORielly vs Luke Fluke
This was a pretty good showing from O'Rielly who landed nearly double the strikes of his opponent and took down Fluke several times in the fight, five times over the course of three rounds. O'Rielly wasn't overly successive on the mat but stayed active with the ground and pound to win over the judges, Fluke managed to land a few sweeps on the mat but never did enough offensively to score many points so it was ultimately O'Rielly who took this one.
Winner – Aiden O'Rielly via Unanimous Decision (30:27 on all scorecards)
155 lbs - Calogero Anello vs Hidalgo Montoya
This was another quiet affair with Montoya desperate to get the fight to the mat and never looking comfortable on his feet. Montoya did get the fight to the ground three times but with Anello defending well he was never able to mount enough offence to score heavily in the judges eyes. He did edge the first round with two of his takedowns coming in that session and while he did land some accurate strikes in the latter rounds it was Anello who was landing the much more damaging blows and scoring more frequently with an abundance of heavy leg kicks and technical boxing which really began to take his toll on his opponent as the fight wore on. Anello showed great heart and determination to win the final two rounds after falling behind in the first.
Winner – Calogero Anello via Unanimous Decision (29:28 on all scorecards)
155 lbs - Gustav Graves vs Mason Dixie
Dixie won the first encounter between these two and looked like he might do the same here after a strong first round where he worked Graves over with strong leg kicks and some nice dirty boxing towards the end of the round. Dixie began to tire after that and it was Graves who began to take over by mixing up his strikes well and then working some aggressive dirty boxing of his own to win the second round, he followed that into the third and looked set to win a decision but a late flurry from Dixie saw Graves rocked by a stiff left hand in the clinch. Dixie tried to finish but the buzzer sounded just in time saving Graves and earning him the decision victory after his strong work earlier in the round.
Winner – Gustav Graves via Unanimous Decision (29:28 on all scorecards)
That completes our recap of the event and all that's left to do is to inform the winners of the $30,000 bonus awards
Submission of the Night – None Available
KO of the Night – Pat McDermot – A destructive uppercut late in the fourth round put his opponent out cold meaning Pat McDermot had not only just defended his Middleweight title but also picked up a 'Knockout of the Night' award for his troubles.
Fight of The Night – Dave Bower vs Doc Chillum – Both fighters fought it out for five hard rounds mixing it up standing, in the clinch and on the mat leading to a split decision victory and succesful title defence for Dave Bower and a 'Fight of the Night' bonus for both men.
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