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Gladiator Challenge Newsletter Travis
Browne Claims The Belt At GC's "Vision Quest"
February 21, 2010 Soboba Casino San Jacinto, California
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 spec tacle 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 sh ots 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 leg itimate threat in the heavyweight division, and he will be matching up with Angel De Anda to unify the belts soon.
Head to GladiatorChallenge.com for the full “Vision Quest” results.
For more information on Gladiator Challenge and all its events, please visit www.gladiatorchallenge.com.
For additional information please contact: Phil Lanides, Publicist - (408) 439-3245, phil@fightofyourlife.com Tedd Williams, Owner/Promoter – info@gladiatorchallenge.com
ABOUT GLADIATOR CHALLENGE: Gladiator Challenge is a world-class mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion established in 1999 by Tedd Williams. A former UFC fighter, Williams is a former national AAU Sambo Champion (1997), a former California State Judo Champion (4th Degree Black Belt under “Judo” Gene Lebell) and a former college All- American wrestler (Cerritos Jr. College, 1988-89). Gladiator Challenge runs 12-18 MMA events per year, and has featured MMA superstars Uriah “The California Kid” Faber, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, James Irvin, Tyson Griffin, “Sugar” Rashad Evans, Scott “Hands of Stone” Smith, “The Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia, Joe “Daddy” Stevenson, Mac Danzig, Dan “The Beast” Severn, Jerry Bohlander, “Krazy Horse” Charles Bennett, Chris Leben, Chael Sonnen, Jake Shields, “The Secret Weapon” Pete Spratt, Nate “The Rock” Quarry, Jason “The Punisher” Lambert, Bobby “The Bad Seed” Hoffman, and Cal Worsham, among many others. Gladiator Challenge can be found online at http://www.gladiatorchallenge.com/
- From Gladiator Challenge Newsletter
Subject to change
(2/23/10) |
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