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 EVENT REVIEW – MAIN CARD
With a selection of RFCs big guns on display, RFC 10 – Wakahisa v Cortez was the most anticipated event in the organizations short history. With the inaugural title tournaments just around the corner, a loss tonight could well send the losing fighter tumbling down the rankings and out of the tournament, so there was a lot on the line. With that in mind, you could have forgiven the fighters if they played it safe just to get the W but as we’ve come to expect from RFC fighters, fighting for decisions just aint what they do. Here’s how the night went down.
FIGHT 1 - 185LB – DIESEL ARMSTRONG (3-1-0) V JAXON JEFFRIES (2-1-0)
Both these guys were hovering just outside of the top eight 185lbers so a win for either guy should put them in a spot to be selected for the 185lb tourney. Jeffries was making his RFC debut after 2 impressive 1st round KO’s in QFC and was pretty confident he would do the same to Armstrong. Armstrong himself was coming in off of a 1st round (T)KO W at RFC 4 after being KO’d himself at RFC’s inaugural event back in September. With both fighters being well versed as pugilists, Jeffries was expected to make his superior wrestling ability be the difference between the two once the bell rang.
Armstrong opened the fight wanting to make a statement. He got the first shots off and after missing with a left hook, he hit Jeffries with a perfectly placed uppercut that burst open Jeffries lips. Jaxon appeared to be stunned by the shot and to gain himself time to gather his thoughts, he shot in for a nice double leg and landed in Armstrongs guard. Jeffries attempted to land with some ground n pound but Armstrong was constantly on the move which forced him to miss with most of the shots thrown. Armstrong waited until Jaxon postured up before powering out from below and reversed the position. Nice. Now on his back, Jeffries was obviously uncomfortable and was content to control Armstrong and wait for an opportunity to reverse or get back to his feet. After over a minute of relative inactivity, the referee had seen enough and stood the fighters back up.
Back on the feet, both fighters seemed to have a sense of urgency about them as they engaged in a series of exchanges that seen both of them land with some nice looking punches. The crowd were going crazy and the fighters took a second out to high five before getting back down to business. It was Armstrong who was coming out on top now though and he began to find a home for his punches more often than not. Just after 3 minutes, out of nowhere, Armstrong cracked Jeffries with a right hook to the temple that had him out before he hit the floor. Armstrong was forced to throw a few more shots at a defenceless Jeffries Jaxon while on the floor as the referee refused to call the fight off! For what reason is anyones guess as it was plain for all to see that Jaxon was out. W
When he did call the fight, a disgusted Armstrong jumped to his feet and began berating the referee and in a show of class, he knelt back down with Jeffries until he came around. Referees incompetence is becoming more and more prevalent in MMA and if you ask me, it’s about time it was addressed before someone gets seriously hurt. Diesel Armstrong picked up (T)KO OF THE NIGHT for his work and our announcer, Kenny Florence gave him the news that he would he be fighting 6-0-0 undefeated wrecking machine, Gus Spencer in the first round of the 185LB tourney should he accept it. HELL YEAH!!! Was Armstrongs response
RESULT – DIESEL ARMSTRONG – W – KO (PUNCH) – 3M 13S ROUND 1
FIGHT 2 - 265+LB – JON BATES (6-2-0) V MARCUS PEREIRA (3-0-0)
After suffering a decision loss back in September, Jon Bates has since employed a clinch heavy approach in his fights that has seen him go on a 3 fight win streak. Far from being the most exciting fighting style to watch, Bates’ clinch work has proved to be effective and he’s managed to stifle and frustrate his last 3 opponents on his way to picking up his wins. Facing 321LB Marcus Pereira tonight, his clinch work would prove to be his undoing. On a 2 fight win streak himself, Pereiras opponents have been unable to deal with the sheer size and weight of the man, add to that, Olympic level judo and there you have a guy who’d give any of the worlds top 265+LBers problems.
Unsurprisingly, Bates went for the clinch straight at the opening bell but the SURPRISINGLY, Bates took Pereira down. Bates realized his mistake almost immediately and tried to get back to his feet but now the fight was on the floor, there was no way Pereira was going to let that happen. As we’ve seen in Pereiras previous fights, he began probing with half-hearted submission attempts to distract or lull his opponents into a false sense of security and as Bates defended a tri-angle attempt, Pereira swept him and ended up in half guard. Now in complete control, Pereira lay with his weight on Bates while he figured out his next move. Pereira then set about advancing position to side control and as he was doing so, wrapped an arm around Bates’ head as if he was trying for an arm tri-angle. Bates adjusted to defend the submission, just as Pereira had predicted and he then pressed all of his weight onto Bates chest and sinched in a kimura. Unable to get his arm from between himself and Pereira, Bates was unable to tap and with Pereira unaware of this, he cranked on Bates’ arm until it popped. It was only when Bates let out a scream that Pereira realized what was going on and he looked to the referee to call the fight. Once he did, Pereira rolled off of Bates, picked himself up and walked over to his corner where his cornerman handed him what seemed to be a huge frikadeller in a bun and an XL Coke. Pereira walked back over to Bates to see if he was OK before offering him a bite of his frikadeller.
In his post-fight speech, Pereira thanked all the fans in attendance while spitting bits of food all over our reporter, Kenny Florence. When Kenny announced Xanana Dias would be his opponent in the 265+LB tourney, Pereira just smirked and burped down the microphone.
RESULT – MARCUS PEREIRA – W – SUBMISSION (KIMURA) – 1M 58S ROUND 1
FIGHT 3 – 205LB – MARC CHARBONNIER (3-0-0) V MATHEW JENKINS (4-1-0)
Since bursting onto the scene at RFC 1 back in early October, Marc Charbonnier has taken the RFC 205LB division by storm. Rattling off 2 first round finishes so far, he was full of confidence going into tonights fight and has predicted he will be the RFC 205LB champion come the end of the tourneys. Although making his RFC debut, Mathew Jenkins had quietly built himself a 4-0-0 record in QFC bouts and he too, has never been taken out of the 1st round. The chances of this fight going to decision were practically zero and the chances of it making it out of the 1st round were equally as slim. Both fighters have relied heavily upon their wrestling in previous fights to get the job done and although being at 4-0-0, Jenkins has not yet faced anyone of Charbonniers calibre. Charbonnier on the other hand has destroyed 2 pretty solid fighters in his previous fights and the raw power and strength he possesses has proven to be too much to handle so far in his career.
After stuffing a Jenkins takedown early in the 1st, Charbonnier drove in from a long way out and yet, in a clear sign of his strength and power, still managed to get the fight to the floor. This was the 1st time Jenkins had been in this position and to be placed in it by Charbonnier, his mettle would be well and truly tested. Using his trademark ground n pound, Charbonnier immediately went to work on softening Jenkins up. Unable to get out from under Charbonnier, Jenkins ate a monster elbow which momentarily sent his eyes rolling to the back of his head, but there was to be no respite. Charbonnier continued to have his way with Jenkins and just over a minute in, he made himself a little space, just enough for him to unleash a series of blows to Jenkins’ body and head that had him stunned and winded. Confident he coiuld now finish the fight, Charbonnier stood up, threw Jenkins’ legs to the side and dived in with a hammerfist that had Jenkins’ head bouncing of the canvas and before the referee could jump in and save Jenkins from further punishment, Charbonnier had pummelled him with further strikes to his head. Brutal!!! Can anybody stop this man?
With none of the fighters offered the fight, willing to face Charbonnier in the 205LB tourney, Kyson Dale stepped up and offered his services. Although a fairly accomplished fighter, it’s hard to see him, or anybody else in the RFC 205LB division for that matter, having much of a chance against Charbonnier.
RESULT – MARC CHARBONNIER – W – KO (STRIKES) – 1M 33S ROUND 1
FIGHT 4 – CO-MAIN EVENT – 155LB
MAGNUS MAGUMEDOV (5-0-0) V WOODWARD GLASS (0-1-0)
Both fighters were making their RFC debuts tonight but with Magumedov rattling off 4 (T)KO wins in QFC bouts, he had a definite advantage due to his experience. Making the transition from pro muay thai, undefeated Master Sken prodigy, Woodward Glass wasted no time accepting the fight when it was offered to him but as he would go on to find out, MMA is not muay thai.
Feeling confident in his clinch game, Glass immediately rushed Magumedov at the opening bell and tied him up against the cage. Glass looked confident enough as he got busy throwing short punches but Magumadov, unfazed, defended beautifully, deflecting every one of Glass’ shots with his arms and elbows. He allowed Glass to continue to throw shots and as soon as he felt a drop in pace, he popped Glass with a lovely short uppercut and then went to work himself, softening Glass up with shots to the body. Surprisingly to many, Glass was making a fight of It by firing back and not letting Magumedov have it all his own way. The fight continued this way but as the time passed, it was Magumedov who began to exert himself and started landing the more punishing shots.
After 2 minutes of non-stop trading, Glass looked as if he was tiring and started breathing heavy. He was still firing back but Magumedov seemed comfortable taking his shots but almost every shot he hit Glass with, hurt him. Glass was clearly hanging on now and constantly looking up at the clock. It was this that would bring about the end of the fight. Magumedov, aware of what Glass was doing, waited until he did it again and fast as you like, rammed his shoulder into Glass’ jaw. Glass’ legs gave out from under him and the only thing keeping him up was the cage on one side, and Magumedov on the other. Magumedov went looking to finish but Glass defended well and at one point looked to have recovered. Magumedov wasn’t going to let this go much further though. Pausing for a second, he stepped back from Glass and just as Glass let his guard down, Magumedov dipped his right shoulder and unleashed a devastating uppercut which sent Glass back against the cage, he then unloaded with a barrage of strikes that had Glass out in his feet. Magumedov looked to the referee to stop the fight but the referee waved him on, it was only when Magumedov began screaming at the referee that he jumped in and saved Glass from further punishment. Clearly not happy at having to dish out more punishment, Magumedov hurled abuse at the referee before storming back to his corner. Another brutal finish and another display of incompetence from the referee which had Magumedov apologising to Glass for having to punish him further.
For stepping in and taking the fight with Magumedov at short notice, Glass was awarded a spot in the 155LB tourney. Several fighters had turned a fight down with Magumedov and it was looking he may be given a bye into the next round until young RFC fighter, Joseph Hughes stepped into the Octagon. Shaking Magumedov by the hand and congratulating him on his victory, Hughes said he would be honoured to fight Magumedov in the tourney and had a few choice words for the fighters who turned the fight down. RFC matchmaker, Peel Steel then entered the Octagon and confirmed that Hughes would indeed be given the fight to the applause from the crowd. The youngster may well come to regret his decision but if he does manage to pull off a victory, it would do wonders for his career.
RESULT – MAGNUS MAGUMEDOV – W – (T)KO (STRIKES) – 2M 54S ROUND 1
FIGHT 5 – MAIN EVENT – 185LB
RYUU WAKAHISA – (5-1-0) V ZACK CORTEZ – (6-0-0)
Our main event would be contested between 2 fighters with perfect 5-0-0 records and between them, 10 finishes, 9 of which came in the 1st round. With Wakahisa possessing brutal muay thai skills and Cortez, devastating boxing, someones 0 was definitely going to go, and most likely in brutal fashion. Both fighters exchanged some light hearted banter in social media in the run up to the fight and both expressed complete confidence in their respective abilities to finish the fight.
Wakahisa immediately clinched at the start of the 1st and before Cortez knew what was going on, he’d taken a couple of knees to the head which opened a nasty looking gash on his forehead. Not letting him off the hook, Wakahisa used his muay thai and landed with some dangerous looking elbows and knees. It took a while for Cortez to get his thoughts together before he would offer up any offence of his own. When he did though, he stunned Wakahisa with a short uppercut which he followed up with some punishing body shots. Both fighters seemed happy to fight in the clinch and with the momentum swinging back and forth, both fighters were getting some good shots off. While Wakahisa was looking to open the cut on Cortez’ forehead with his elbows, Cortez was defending well and finding a home for some short uppercuts which would surely take their toll on Wakahisa.
Just over 2 minutes in, Wakahisa began to stall and Cortez took the opportunity to plant some thudding shots to Wakahisas body. With Cortez beginning to gain the upper hand, Wakahisa began to breathe heavy, obviously due to the body blows Cortez had been diligently landing. Cortez was now in control of the fight and although Wakahisa continued to fire back, his strikes were laboured and easily defended by Cortez. With less than a minute to go in the 1st, the referee separated the fighters for the first time after a lull in the action and it was Cortez who took advantage. He landed a stiff jab that stopped Wakahisa in his tracks which he followed up with an overhand right. With Wakahisa clearly in trouble, Cortez took a step back to assess the situation before darting back in with a straight right that knocked Wakahisa out cold. A beautiful KO victory for Zack Cortez sees him keep his unbeaten run intact and against an opponent of Wakahisas calibre, he’s shown he’s able to defeat quality opponents. Cortez now moves to the top of RFCs 185LB rankings and although losing tonight, Wakahisa stays where he was in the rankings meaning both fighters have made it into the 185LB tourney.
RESULT – ZACK CORTEZ – W – KO (PUNCH) – 4M 52S ROUND 1
Yet again, RFC puts on another fantastic event, this one being their most successful to date. We now have a break in the action with the next event being the opening night of the Tournaments for the inaugural RFC belts. RFCs top fighters are going to be pitted against each other and at the end of it all, only one can be Champ in each of their divisions. The action gets underway on 05/12/2015 with the opening round being the 1st round of the 135/145LB tournament. With RFC and its fighters now established firmly on the European MMA scene, the New Year will see a new format for events in place. Although there will be less events, each event promises to be packed with top talent and unmissable action. See you all at the next event.
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