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Tokyo’s sold out Shinjuku Indoor Arena welcomed back Unleashed Fighting Championship and Sun-Tzu
the fight fans returning for a second night of action in as many days, for UNFC60: Alvarez Vs Paskalev. Alvarez continued his dominant form, successfully defending his featherweight title with a judge’s decision win.
The judges were busy, 7 out of 10 fights needing their input which pushed the action to 2+ hours. In all it wasn’t May’s best card, but it also wasn’t the worst, hitting #9 on UNFC’s top 10 ratings list.
Featherweights made up half the event, with 10 145 lbs fighters on show. Overall it was a solid night of UNFC fights to end May and setup a strong run in June for one of Japan’s premier fighting promotions.
UNFC60 was brought to you by Sun-Tzu; fight gear spawned from the greatest battles on earth, punched to perfection by shaolin monks to outlast mankind.
Let’s take a closer look at how things went down.
[Main Event) Alvarez def Paskalev by Unanimous Decision (49-46 x3) to retain the UNFC Featherweight (145 lbs) title
Alex Alvarez followed Nicolosi’s lead and defended his title for the second straight time, taking a decisive judges win in a fight that had a good mix of stand-up and ground action. Alvarez won his 8th straight, is undefeated since joining UNFC and is now equal second in most UNFC decision wins (5).
All 3 of Giorgio’s title fights have made it to the fifth and final round, the second straight that has gone all the way, his 10hh out of 14 fights. The Polish Eagles’ Nest fighter had slightly better accuracy in this defensive minded battle, landing 15 of 41 total strike attempts (35%) compared to Paskalev’s 15 of 55 (27%).
When the fight went to the ground, both BJJ black belts showed great skill, neither one able to get on top for any lengthy period of time as they exchanged top position with some good sweeps in the first round. In the rounds to follow though, the ground action dried up considerably and became more about controlling instead of finishing.
Arnost Paskalev was the more aggressive of the two, especially with his kicks (29 attempted to 12) and takedowns. The featherweight champ stuffed 19 of the Bulgarian’s 21 takedown attempts (90%), and conversely took Paskalev down 4 times out of his 10 (40%) efforts.
Overall the defending champ had better accuracy, a couple more takedowns and spent more time on top in control. It wasn’t the most entertaining fight by any means. Judges Yuuki Gou, Shirou Masuda and Yukihiro Yamamoto all gave the first round to the challenger, the final 4 going the way of Alvarez.
With that win, the Mexican decision specialist Alex "Giorgio" Alvarez leaps to the front of the Pound-4-Pound pack with UNFC, taking the #1 spot in the Japanese organization. Paskalev drops out of the top 10 and is 3-3 since fighting in Japan, sliding down 5 spots to #12.
Arnost "Honey Badger" Paskalev felt he should’ve won this fight, maybe even taking the champ for granted, stating beforehand: “If I lose I will reconsider my career choice. I really don't know. I should really win this one. If I lose, something is wrong.”
[Co-Main Event] Kraken def Vos by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
Jack Kraken won his first with UNFC (13-3), taking a decision victory and bouncing back from a title shot loss last time out. The one time Bulldogs Upcommings 135 lbs champion edged himself inside UNFC’s top 20 P4P fighters and jumps 5 positions in the featherweight division, becoming the #4 145 lbs contender.
The Dogs of War affiliate used his superior Muay Thai skills to outwork Vos in the clinch (13 from 18 punches), utilized his lethal leg kicks (18 from 31) and showed great defensive ground skills to pull out the win.
Jake Vos showed good confidence behind his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, pulling guard twice from the clinch to work a handful of submission off his back, but he just couldn’t get anything to stick. The American did outpunch the Brit, landing 19 from 56 (33%) compared to 6 from 19 (31%) but couldn’t match Kraken’s strength in close. He’s left feeling the sting of a third straight loss, his 4th out of 14 fights.
Both men had some words to say regarding the fight, and both seemed to want a piece of Alvarez at some point. With the loss though, Vos drops 6 places to #11 in the division. The former featherweight champ had this to say: “My last two losses were very hard on me. I don't care who I fight next, but I want a chance to avenge my losses.”
Kraken said he felt Vos was a worthy opponent, before going on to address the #1 UNFC fighter: “Alvarez, I'm coming for you man. Get your shit together and let’s do the rematch and give the fans what they want!”
Danneskjöld def Mori by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
Ragnar Danneskjöld broke his 4 fight losing streak in a win that had the fans watching a technical battle on the ground. Pirate landed a heavy and accurate amount of ground strikes, 32 of 36 (88%), yet was unable to finish.
The first round went to Taishi Mori who immediately got a takedown after being cut with a cross, and both fighters spent the remainder going back and forth trying to lock in submissions. The second started with a bit more time on the feet before Danneskjöld clinched things up, took Mori down and worked on his ground strikes, whilst Mori tried at a variety of submissions off his back.
The Norwegian managed to take down the Japanese fighter early in the third, and again kept his top position whilst working his ground and pound and trying for submissions, Mori once more clutching at submissions from the defensive position.
In the end, "Pirate" Ragnar Danneskjöld had 2 successful takedowns to Mori’s 1 and his ground-and-pound really stood out. The Evil Empire affiliate and previous UNFC light-heavyweight champion tallied his 3rd win with UNFC, 14th overall, takes the #10 spot in the 205 lbs division and hands Mori his 6th overall defeat.
The winner issued a statement that he’d like to fight the streaking Brad May next to avenge his latest loss, before going on to declare his ambitions: “This is the start of my run for another title shot. Watch for me, Champ, I will be there soon.”
Smith def Gregory by TKO (Strikes) at 04:32 of Round 2
Peter Smith issued a challenge to Jake Voss after his solid TKO win that gave him a leg up in the featherweight division to take the #6 spot and #5 as a contender to the title. The stoppage due to strikes gave the American his 4th win in 5 fights and his 4th straight.
Joe Gregory managed to regain himself after being cut and rocked with a strong knee to the head in the first. The Canadian managed to take Smith down twice, yet his black belt wasn’t enough, his American opponents brown belt enough to come out on top.
A nice reversal on the ground by Smith in the second, led to a strong session of ground-and-pound (8 from 8 shots landed) that had the referee decide enough was enough and call for a stoppage. The Bomb Squad would be happy with their representative, who’s having a strong run after moving over from New York’s Steel Penn – ICON.
Both men had a few words to say, Gregory sounding weary and doubting himself as of late, his recent run of bad form weighing on his mind: “I'll have to seriously reconsider my profession. I haven't had the kind of success recently that I feel that I should, so it might be time to accept reality.”
Smith seemed to agree with him: “"Monkeys should not be allowed in the ring. Especially the flying ones!!!"
The
Hound def Silver by Majority Decision (29-28 x2, 29-29)
60% takedown success (3 of 5) and more activity both in the clinch and on the ground led to The Hound keeping his undefeated pro MMA career status alive, taking a majority win and extending his streak to 6.
In the 2nd of 5 featherweight fights on the night, the Legion of Doom member attempted a handful of submissions but Silver’s ground defence held up. With 3 takedowns to none, The Hound came out on top, just; Judges Taro Takaoka and Hirohito Nitta giving him the second and third round whereas Yukihiro Yamamoto declared it a draw.
Even though Johnny Silver wasn’t able to get his 12th win, at least his 7th loss went the distance. The Hound came in with 5 first round Sub finishes to his name, and the Australian did well to land more punches but was outmatched when the fight moved away from where he could use his world class boxing.
The Canadian takes one step up the divisional ladder, standing firm on the #8 rung whereas The Corporation’s Silver drops 2 places to #13.
Undercard
The preliminary fights to open the card started a trend that seemed to catch fire throughout, with the majority of the 5 fights going the distance. There were, however, two finishes (1 Sub, 1 KO) and arguably the most entertaining fight that had the fans ecstatic for a good 29 seconds when Odell Paquette cut, rocked and smashed his way through Monroe with a spectacular KO.
With the help of the judges we also saw Kevin “The Skillz” Wibowo give Takayanagi his 5th straight loss, Raf Camora land 35 kicks (48%) in his third straight win and Duke Datsik grapple Koltun out of a perfect debut. Lucas Davenport also managed the sole submission of the night, executing a solid game-plan that strangled Bezoink’s better striking and ended his night early with a rear naked choke.
Undercard short results:
Wibowo def Takayanagi by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-28, 29-28)
Davenport def Bezoink by Submission (RNC) at 04:24 of Round 1
Paquette def Monroe by KO (punch) at 0:29 of Round 1
Camora def Pahlm by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
Datsik def Koltun by Unanimous Decision (30-28, 29-28, 30-27)
UNFC60 sponsors:
Sun-Tzu: The fight gear spawned from the greatest battles on earth, punched to perfection by shaolin monks to outlast mankind.
Sponsorship is available with Sun-Tzu for all UNFC Tokyo fighters. Get in touch with owner ‘The Philosopher’ to represent Tokyo’s #1 clothing company. Sponsorship deals are available for both new and old fighters.
Coming up:
UNFC61: May Vs Hong, Saturday June 6 at Shinjuku Indoor Arena, Tokyo.
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