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 Rev Island Let's Bang 1 Event Review
Another successful event from Revolution Island, Let's Bang 1 thrilled a nearly sold-out crowd at The Underground on Friday with only one fight going the distance and thrilling upsets and finishes throughout.
155 lbs - Emmitt Brown Jr. (0-1-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI) vs. Phil Morris (debut)
In a dominant effort from "Doc" Brown Jr., the dirty boxer paid no heed to his opponent's submission ability, trusting in his wrestling as he put the much larger man in the clinch and shut him down completely, shrugging off some sloppy takedown attempts while hammering Morris with heavy punches to the head and body. Badly hurt near the minute mark, Morris was unable to recover from the onslaught and ate several more punches than were really necessary, with Brown criticizing the referee for the late stoppage in the fight's aftermath.
Prediction: Phil Morris by 2nd round submission
Actual Result: Emmitt Brown by 1st round TKO (1:29)
185 lbs - Dab Daddy (debut) vs. Mel Neelin (0-1-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
The fight game is a tough way to make a living, even in paradise, and not everybody is cut out for it. There's no shame in hanging things up when it doesn't work out, as it didn't for the fighter formerly known as Mel Neelin. Things started well enough for him in this fight as he scored with some stiff punches at a distance and in the clinch against the American Dab Daddy, but after a nice shoot takedown near the midpoint of the round you could see the drive leave him. Daddy fought through some half-hearted submission attempts and passed to side control where he softened his opponent up with ground and pound before transitioning beautifully from an arm triangle choke to an armlock to elicit the tap. Neelin announced he would no longer be fighting professionally, or even going by the same name, at the post-fight conference.
Prediction: Dab Daddy by 3rd round submission
Actual Result: Dab Daddy by 1st round submission (4:28)
205 lbs - Rico Dimelo (debut) vs. Sylvester Stallone (debut)
The rough road for many of the younger Dimelo brothers continues as 20-year-old Rico proved a game opponent but simply couldn't overcome the significant edge in experience enjoyed by his opponent. A quickly-bloodied Dimelo started strong, scoring a takedown and connecting with some ground and pound but an ill-advised leglock attempt resulted in him losing top position and though he again dragged the battle to the feet near the end of the round the younger Canadian was clearly beginning to fade. With his hands dropping from exhaustion, Dimelo was a sitting duck for "The First Black Belt" in the second as the American teed off, stumbling him with a jab befoer a massive overhand right shut out his lights entirely for a highlight reel knockout.
Prediction: Sylvester Stallone by unanimous decision
Actual Result: Sylvester Stallone by 2nd round TKO (0:21)
205 lbs - Daichi Nomura (debut) vs. Jimmy McPaddy (1-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
The next bout of the night held much better luck for the ground fighter as debuting Japanese submission whiz Daichi Nomura lived up to the hype and more with a lightning-quick victory over the Scottish boxer Jimmy McPaddy. Perhaps surprisingly, McPaddy did not attempt to outfight the much shorter man as he clinched immediately after the opening bell and pushed Nomura back against the cage. "Okami" was happy to oblige as he had little trouble in pulling guard from that position and needed only a few seconds to latch on a triangle choke, switching to an armbar when the tap wasn't forthcoming. At the post-fight press conference it was announced that McPaddy would no longer be competing under the Rev Island banner, having opted to take his considerable striking talents to the competing Lighthouse organization.
Prediction: Daichi Nomura by 1st round submission
Actual Result: Daichi Nomura by 1st round submission (0:26)
170 lbs - Hugo Dimelo (debut) vs. Grognak the Barbarian (1-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
Another of the older Dimelo brothers, ground and pound specialist Hugo displayed the advantage that comes with experience by having a much more successful debut that some of his siblings. After a rough start to the round that saw Grognak the Barbarian connecting with some hard blows to the head, Dimelo landed the takedown he needed. From there the smaller man was able to control his Swedish opponent with ease, slipping into half guard and raining down a seemingly endless series of blows. Some hammerfists appeared to hurt Grognak near the midpoint of the round but he seemed to clear the cobwebs and return to intelligent defense, prompting Dimelo to pass all the way to side control where a series of vicious elbows, and eventually more strikes from mount, finally forced the referee to intervene and save the protesting Barbarian from his own toughness.
Prediction: Hugo Dimelo by split decision
Actual Result: Hugo Dimelo by 1st round TKO (4:36)
265 lbs - Jamason Brown (1-0-0 MMA, 1-0-0 RI) vs. Greg Monson (0-1-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
Few observers gave the granite-chinned but overmatched Greg Monson much of a chance against the hard-hitting Jamason Brown, and the few who did should not have gone against the grain as their bout unfolded exactly as would be expected. The hard-hitting Brown immediately worked his way to close quarters with his smaller opponent and began to unload aggressively with punches, targeting the body with particular ferocity. Able to offer nothing in return but a few desperate takedown attempts, the Floridian was eventually overwhelmed, desperately reaching to protect his bruised ribs and opening himself up for a massive uppercut that put him out cold for a walk-off KO.
Prediction: Jamason Brown by 1st round KO
Actual Result: Jamason Brown by 1st round KO (1:54)
155 lbs - Anthony Jay Bronie (1-0-0 MMA, 1-0-0 RI) vs. Slow Learner (debut)
The scarred and battered A.J.B. - Anthony Jay Bronie - remains undefeated on the Island as the American grappling wizard easily outclassed Albanian Slow Learner on the ground en route to an impressive victory. The boxer Learner did his best work early in the first round, marking up Bronie's face with repeated jabs to the face but Bronie was holding his own and gave a hint of things to come with a late takedown and guard pass in the first round. Ducking under a pair of sloppy hooks earlier in the second, Bronie effortlessly passed to side control on a botched sweep attempt, then mount, where he rained down a series of punches and elbows that seemed to cause some serious damage somewhere as Learner began tapping furiously from the pain.
Prediction: Anthony Jay Bronie by 1st round submission
Actual Result: Anthony Jay Bronie by 2nd round submission (1:30)
205 lbs - Karol Rudszewski (debut) vs. Tyler Jensen (2-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
This featured bout at light heavyweight delivered all the stand-up fireworks it promised as the overconfident Polish boxing stylist "Carlitto" Rudszewski focused all of his effort on trying to land knockout combinations and insteaf found himself chopped down by crisp kicks to the leg and body before being smashed to the canvas on the end of a beautiful combination himself, courtesy of the American Tyler Jensen. It was truly a flawless performance for the Denver-based Muay Thai practitioner as he overcame an early cut to put on a striking clinic at a range and in the clinch before finally forcing the referee to intervene after a series of hard punches rendered his opponent unable to intelligently defend himself.
Prediction: Tyler Jensen by 3rd round TKO
Actual Result: Tyler Jensen by 1st round TKO (2:57)
265 lbs - Tommy Rosario (1-1-0 MMA, 1-0-0 RI) vs. Prince Tycooner (1-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI)
In the co-main event Spanish knockout artist Tommy Rosario scored the biggest upset of the card by easily dispatching American striking sensation Prince Tycooner in just over six minutes, leaving "Pretty Boy" looking rather the worst for wear thanks to a four-inch gash over his right eye that was opened in the early seconds of the fight thanks to a picture-perfect high kick. Tycooner's lack of variety on the feet was a big problem as he fouht strictly as a boxer while Rosario connected consistently with a variety of flashy kicks as well as some hellacious clinch elbows. There was some talk of stopping the fight between rounds but Tycooner did answer the bell, lasting only another minute before being stunned by another close-range elbow and sent packing with a fearsome uppercut and follow-up strikes. With his combination of chin and power, Rosario looks to be one to watch in the division.
Prediction: Prince Tycooner by 3rd round TKO
Actual Result: Tommy Rosario by 2nd round TKO (1:13)
155 lbs - Anthony Pettis (2-0-0 MMA, 0-0-0 RI) vs. Eddie Alverez (1-0-0 MMA, 1-0-0 RI)
The main event provided a reasonably competitive, if still easy to call, bout between two very high level and evenly-matched fighters. Contested almost entirely at close range, Anthony Pettis appeared to be the stronger man and was able to control his opponent more effectively in the clinch with his accurate dirty boxing landing at a noticeably higher rate. Alvarez was never overmatched however and connected with some clean shots of his own, but it was clear by the time the final bell rang that the decision would not be going his way. Both men earned the respect from the crowd for their chins, never appearing to be close to being finished at any point in the bout, but the biggest pop from the fans definitely came in the post-fight interview when it was revealed that "Showtime" and Anthony Jay Bronie would be fighting in ten days time for the inaugural Rev Island lightweight championship.
Prediction: Anthony Pettis by 1st round KO
Actual Result: Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision
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