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 Sydney FC 1: "Birth" Recap Show
Sydney FC ran its first event on April, 6th, headlined by a blue chip prospect contest between Mikel Page and Maximo Bonini. The event started with a series of knockout finishes then settled into a more technical trend with outcomes ranging from dominant victory to highly controversial judging. Drama, controversy, brutal knockouts...There was flavor for all tastes in the Sydney night.
Main Event - 185 lbs - Mikel Page vs. Maximo Bonini
Complete domination by Mikel Page. He attempted and landed three takedowns, each within the first seconds of each round, and spent the entirety of the fight throwing submission attempts and punishing Bonini with ground and pound, having rocked his opponent with punches in the first round, and earning a 10-8 score from all three judges in the third. Bonini literally didn't do anything and is now left with his morale at the lowest levels after dropping his second decision in as many career fights. Page is poised to be a force in SFC's MW division with his blend of size, wrestling and granite chin.
Co-Main Event - 265 lbs - Mark Hunter vs. Samoa Joe
Great performace by Samoa Joe scoring a pretty big win in his second profesional fight. He landed 5 of 6 takedown attempts and the fight was contested mostly on the ground where he put a hurting on Mark Hunter with 46 ground strikes landed according to MMA Tycoon fight statistics. On the feet, Joe avoided Hunter's power and relied on body punches repeatedly to wear down his opponent en route to a dominant, impressive win.
135 lbs - Dilaan Dinnis vs. Supertuk Halaptung
Dinnis did a great job in his profesional debut, landing four takedowns and taking the fight to the ground for the most part, where he had his best chance to win, as shown by his impressive 13 submissions attempts. He also showed good composure dealing with Supertuk's kicks. Supertuk on the other hand showcased undeniable heart, having survived almost 30 sub attempts in his first two MMA fights. He scored with strikes from the clinch and gorgeous kicks to all levels, but keeps spending too much time on the ground for his own good. In a very controversial decision, Supertuk took the 3rd round in all scorecards despite spending almost the entire frame getting dominated in side control by Dinnis. One would wonder if the judges were shy of scoring a close bout in favor of Dinnis because of his ties to SFC owner Billy Deegan?
185 lbs - Jack Souza vs. Scott Reeder
One of the best fights of the night, with the absolutely evenly matched foes standing toe to toe on the feet trading punches as well as showing good skills on the ground. Reeder surprised with an impressive counter boxing game, connecting clean with Souza's jaw several times and scored two takedowns leading into his nine submission attempts, all of them denied by the blue belt Jack Souza. Don't be fooled by the unanimous 30-27, this was a close fight that could've had a change of momentum at any time. Both fighters look to be top players in SFC's MW division from now on.
155 lbs - Ahmad Safwan vs. Tuny Fergossun
Fergossun earned KO of the night honors connecting with Safwan's good chin and getting rid of him in under two minutes. Fergossun instigated a few clinches for good measure but he looked keen to score with punching combos. With about one minute and a half into the fight he dropped Safwan with a combination, waved his man back to the feet and put him out with another combo. Really badass stuff. Safwan had problems making weight and didn't have the chance to do much in the fight.
155 lbs - Finn Balor vs. Chaslov Westlum
Westlum had the balls to stand and bang with the remarkable boxer Balor, putting on a show that had the Micro Arena crowd in Sydney cheering from the first exchanges up to the dramatic finish. He pushed forward since the first bell with big punching combos but as expected, Balor got the better of the boxing exchanges. Westlum kept pushing forward though, countering and attacking and mixing takedown attempts until one finally landed around the one minute mark in the second round.
From then on, Westlum was perfect with his ground and pound, landing 11 of 11 ground strikes, rocking Balor and finishing with elbows and punches from side control. Balor still figures to be a key player in SFC's LW division, while Westlum, now renamed "Shinsuke Nakamura", will fight for the inaugural Sydney FC 155 pounds belt in SFC 3.
265 lbs - Alistaar Uberveem vs. Harrison Summer
The first fight in Sydney FC history. In a classic striker vs. grappler matchup, it was up to dutch boxer Alistaar Uberveem and South African grappler Harrison Summer to hold the honors. In a cleverly set up throwback fight reminiscent of MMA's earliest days, Summer immediately looked to clinch and take it to the ground while Uberveem tried to say on the feet and hurt his opponent with strikes. It would be a quick, dramatic birth to Sydney FC.
Harrison Summer achieved a clinch within a few seconds and tried to hold Uberveem against the cage. They broke the clinch but Summer kept trying to get a hold of his foe, attempting four takedowns in the limited duration of the contest. When Uberveem put his hands on him though, Summer didn't have an answer. With one minute into the fight, the dutch striker connected with a series of hooks to the body and head, then floored Summer with a quick combo. He allowed Summer to stand up, and kept throwing hands until an uppercut through the guard finished him, knocked out cold against the cage in brutal fashion.
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