"Vision Quest" results: fans get their money's worth
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Article By Phil Lanides & Matt Clarmont
This recap of this past Sunday's "Vision Quest" event comes courtesy of Matt Clarmont of MMARecap.com and Examiner.com:
Gladiator Challenge returned to San Jacinto, California's Soboba Casino on Sunday, showcasing nearly 50 fighters in all, including women and children. Featured attractions included 3 title bouts, a women's bout, and a children's Pankration bout between two of the world's top youth amateur Pankration competitors.
The threat of rain only brought a collective sigh of relief from promoters and fight fans alike as the outdoor Soboba Arena hosted a mostly dry, if slightly cold event. When all was said and done, the four and a half hour show provided every aspect of an MMA spectacle one could hope for, including some inspirational words from the founder of UFC, Art Davies, during intermission.
Most of the bouts ended in dominating and quick fashion and only three decisions occurred in all. Perhaps due to his skills being put on display for longer than the vast majority of the other competitors, John Mercurio (2-2) stood out as a potential future star. He was awarded a split-decision victory over Gabriel Goodly (0-2). Mercurio exhibited good hands, regularly countering when the fight was on the feet and when things hit the ground, he was able to work to top position nearly exclusively. The Ultimate Training Center product is one to keep an eye on.
Kenny McCorkell (6-2) returned to action coming off a spectacular triangle-choke victory over Ben Lagman at an event last December. He continued to prove his worth as an under the radar prospect, taking out Daryl Smith (1-1) by way of a TKO via verbal submission due to punches. Exercising a formidable striking attack, he was able to bring Smith down and overwhelm him with powerful and carefully placed punches.
In a surprising turn of events, two very young children strapped on headgear and took to the cage for an Amateur Pankration bout just prior to intermission. Billed as the “#1 and #3 ranked Pankration fighters in the world” the sub-100 pound future stars exhibited some prolific MMA skills before Harley Stokes forced a referee stoppage due to an armbar he executed on Zander Dumas just a minute into the opening round. The kids got one of the most audible rounds of applause of any one fight of the night.
Millennia MMA's gym boasted two of the most eye-opening performances of the night. Darrel Montague (6-1) earned a dominating unanimous decision victory over previous GC flyweight titleholder Chino Nicolas (2-2), dominating all facets of the fight including a moment where he dropped his hands and allowed himself to be hit repeatedly with clean shots before firing back with some stiff counters of his own. Montague appeared to be on his way to becoming a factor in the 125 lb. ranks.
For an entire round, UFC veteran Wes Combs (15-4) stormed Archie Thompson (1-2) and left him little chance to mount any offense of his own. Thompson's chin was the only thing that carried him to the first bell, and it wouldn't hold up as the assault continued in the second frame, eventually forcing a stoppage after six minutes of brutality.
Sean Loeffler (18-4) extended his winning streak to six in a row after taking out Sam Salas for the GC Superfight belt. The bout was contested at 185 pounds. Later, Travis Browne (9-0) rounded out the title fights, overwhelming Aaron Brink (22-18), who looked to be in great shape. Brink survived the initial onslaught but Browne was able to knock him down and achieve a dominant side mount position where he pressed him against the cage and finished the job in just 35 seconds. Browne is a legitimate threat in the heavyweight division, and he will be matching up with Angel De Anda to unify the belts soon.
Here are the full “Vision Quest” results:
Bout 1: Darren Smith defeated Victor Miranda via unanimous decision
Bout 2: Frank Avias defeated Mike Willis via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:39 of the 1st round
Bout 3: Jonny Cisneros defeated Nelson Alvarado via TKO (strikes) at 1:46 2nd round
Bout 4: Tom Gloudman defeated Jaime Martinez via submission (armbar) at 0:59 of the 2nd round
Bout 5: Jewon Peoples defeated Patrick Fitzgerald via TKO (strikes) at 0:52 of the 1st round
Bout 6: David Salas defeated Miguel Ruvacaba via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:56 of the 3rd round
Bout 7: John Robles defeated Aaron Anderson via KO (strikes) at 0:48 of the 1st round
Bout 8: Robbie Peralta defeated Ben Champoux via TKO (strikes) at 1:21 of the 1st round
Bout 9: Sam Rodriguez defeated Vance Betarano via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:51 of the 1st round
Bout 10: Eddie Mendez defeated Rob Hawks via TKO (strikes) at 1:00 of the 1st round
Bout 11: Travis Thompson defeated Dan Fair via KO (punch) at 0:16 of the 1st round
Bout 12: Harley Stokes defeated Zander Dumas via submission (armbar) at 1:29 of the 1st round (children’s pankration bout)
Bout 13: Sean Loeffler defeated Sam Salas via TKO (strikes) at 0:30 of the 1st round
Bout 14: Darrell Montague defeated Chino Nicholas via unanimous decision
Bout 15: Travis Browne defeated Aaron Brink via KO (punches) at 0:35 of the 1st round
Bout 16: Keith Berry defeated Brian Campbell via TKO (verbal submission) at 0:14 of the 1st round
Bout 17: Wes Combs defeated Archie Thompson via TKO (strikes) at 1:12 of the 2nd round
Bout 18: Luis Iniguez defeated Koji Ijima via unanimous decision
Bout 19: Joey Guevara defeated Steve Egg via TKO at 1:03 of the 1st round
Bout 20: Lucas Tabor defeated Calvin Bell via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:08 of the 1st round
Bout 21: Justin Polendy defeated Doug Raver via submission at 1:45 of the 1st round
Bout 22: Johnny Mercurio defeated Gabriel Goodly via split-decision
Bout 23: Kenny McCorkell defeated Daryl Smith via submission (verbal) at 2:01 of the 1st round
Bout 24: Tina Willis defeated Sylvia Ruiz via submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:42 of the 1st round |
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Gladiator Challenge
12277 Apple Valley Road
PMB 265
Apple Valley, CA 92308 |
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