THE CORRAL COMBAT CLASSIC: DOMINATION REVIEW
McMahan Retains Belt in One of Five Title Fights
Review by Dustin Lee DePue FcFighter
Hammond, IN—The Corral Combat Classic (C3) held a night of excellent fights featuring five title fights and a card mixed with tough up and comers and more established talent. Credit goes to promoter/matchmaker Braulio Corral and matchmaker Ray Flores for putting together a card that, on paper, was rock solid and brimming with potential. As luck would have it, a jam packed Hammond Civic Center, with at least three thousand in attendance, was witness to a potential that delivered.
In the main event, undefeated featherweight Jared McMahan successfully defended his title against Eugene Crisler, using his superior ground game to wear down his opponent before latching on an armbar. The fighters traded strikes to open the fight, with Crisler landing counters off of McMahan’s low kicks. McMahan answered with a solid kick to the body that hurt Crisler before taking the fight to the ground. On the mat, McMahan stayed tight, scoring with elbows and knees from side control. He used a kimura setup from side control to transition to mount and opened up with a flurry of punches to punctuate a dominant first round.
In the second round McMahan dropped Crisler with a left hook, following it up with a dozen knees to the body from side control. Crisler was game, reversing McMahan, however he quickly found himself on defense again as he found himself in an armbar. He was able to escape but it was clear the end was nigh.
Indeed, the end came in the third round after McMahan, standing southpaw, landed a stiff left cross and a takedown that led to a series of submission transitions, ending with an armbar that forced Crisler to tap at 2:55. McMahan improves to 10-0 and further solidifies himself as one of the top featherweights in the Midwest.
Matt Sassolino won the C3 light-heavyweight title, outworking Jason Guida en route to a majority decision victory. Sassolino showed his grit early, eating a big punch from Guida that put him flat on his face. Guida followed up with a flurry of punches, enough to stop many a fighter, however, Sassolino was able to recover and work back to his feet. Seconds later, Guida grazed Sassolino’s chin with a big right hook. An inch or two closer and the fight would have been over. Instead, Sassolino survived the early onslaught, losing the round but putting money in the bank by ripping Guida with nasty body shots from the clinch.
His inside work would pay off as Guida lost his step in the second round. Sassolino was able to repeatedly bull him into the corner, mixing in knees and uppercuts. Guida scored with knees from the clinch but it looked like he was running out of answers as his gas tank was left with little but fumes.
In the third round, Sassolino scored with a flying knee to the body and punches. Guida continued to work knees from the clinch but was not able to fire off any punches as Sassolino would smother him before he could fire, taking him down several times and earning a majority decision by a score of 29-28, 29-28, 28-28
Two undefeated fighters, Darren Elkins and Pat Curran squared off for the lightweight title, with Elkins emerging as the fighter still undefeated after taking a hard fought unanimous decision. Curran, cousin of Jeff Curran and featured fighter on the Tapout reality television show, was the more explosive fighter early on, opening the fight with four big knees to the body from the clinch. He threw everything heavy, landing a kick to the head, knees to the ribs and several stiff right hands, including an overhand punch that rocked Elkins. For his part, Elkins remained in the game, working hard to get the fight to the ground. Curran was able to fend off most of the takedown attempts, usually giving Elkins a few knees for his trouble.
In the second round, Elkins was finally able to get Curran on the mat and keep him there. From here, Elkins was able to implement his game, tirelessly pursuing Curran’s head and body with fists and elbows. Curran was active on the bottom, moving his hips as he looked from sweeps and submissions. Elkins kept the pace up, forcing Curran to work even harder to avoid taking shots, which over the course of the round sapped his explosive power.
In the third round, Elkins quickly took Curran down and repeated the formula from the second round. At this point, it was clear that Curran was fighting with a dull blade. Though he didn’t take any particularly punishing shots in the third, he was unable to implement any form of offense and thus, suffered his first defeat. Elkins improved to 7-0 and successfully defended his title with all three judges scoring it 29-28.
Another three round battle marked the welterweight title fight as DeRay Davis successfully defended his title against Jay Buck in a hard-fought three round war that left many questioning the judge’s unanimous decision. From the beginning, it was clear that Buck wanted the fight on the ground. He continually clinched with Davis and worked for the takedown. Unfortunately, the ring was not cooperative as the ropes were loose and the two fighters often fell out of the ring, only to be restarted in a neutral, standing position. This worked to Davis’s advantage as he used his stand-up game to attack Buck’s legs with kicks and his body with knees. When Buck was able to get Davis down, he didn’t land much in the way of ground and pound, leaving Davis as the likely winner of the round.
In the second round, Davis landed more knees to the body from the clinch before Buck was able to get Davis to the ground and get side control. After controlling Davis on the ground for a good portion of the round, Davis was able to reverse Buck and open up with punches, many of which landed.
In the third and final round, Buck finally was able to put everything together, dominating Davis on the mat, landing punches and keeping top position for nearly the entire round. He came close to finishing with strikes at one point but Davis was able to hold on and ride it out until the bell. Though the scores were never read, Davis was given a unanimous decision victory.
Jon Hossman won the bantamweight title in quick fashion, catching Elton Chavez’s kick and taking him down where he quickly latched on an armbar for the tapout just twenty-two seconds into the fight.
Former WEC bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland brought the crowd to a frenzy with his expert and destructive stoppage of Wade Choate. A local favorite, Wineland came in with his familiar intensity and tactical aggression. After stuffing a takedown attempt, Wineland fired off a low kick and then countered Choate’s return kick with a left hook. Wineland then did his best Anderson Silva impression, catching Choate’s kick like it was a routine fly ball and dropping him with a right cross. Waving Choate up, Wineland then caught another kick and again dropped Choate with a right cross. This time, Wineland went to the ground, landing a big punch before getting mount. Choate gave up his back and Wineland took the opportunity to drop some leather, landing several hard shots before Choate tapped out at 2:29.
With his credentials and an impressive win, it seems logical that Wineland get a crack at Jon Hossman’s newly minted belt. Unless, of course, Wineland gets the call from the WEC to come back, something that seems likely to happen in 2009.
It was a great night, with high production values and even better fights. Promoter Braulio Corral also announced that C3 had a five fight deal with Comcast Sports Net that started with this event, which will air in January, 2009.
Full Results
Pro Fights 3x5 minute rounds
145 lb Title
Jared McMahan def Eugene Crisler by armbar 2:55 Rd 3
205 lb Title
Matt Sassolino def Jason Guida by Majority Decision
155 lb Title
Darren Elkins def Pat Curran by Unanimous Decision
170 lb Title
DeRay Johnson def Jay Buck by Unanimous Decision
135 lb Title
Jon Hossman def Elton Chavez by Armbar 0:22 Rd 1
Boban Simic def Arnold Adams by KO 2:50 Rd 1
Eddie Wineland def Wade Choate by Tapout Due to Strikes 2:29 Rd 1
Josh Shockley def Zach Konkle by KO 0:15 Rd 1
Aung La Nsang def Steve Dau by Armbar 1:47 Rd 2
Ryan Williams def Marcus Rosenick by Rear-naked-choke 1:58 Rd 2
Kenny Robertson def Levon Maynard by Unanimous Decision
Ryan Brown def Jacob Himes by KO 2:03 Rd 1
Amateur Fights
2x5 minute rounds
Dan Benoit def Adam Gourley by TKO (ref stoppage due to strikes) 1:47 Rd 1
congrats, braulio.
i'd love to get a guy or two on the next show.
Thanks Rand. Give me a call and we can definitely work something out. Would love to have them fight for us.
From Sherdog Forum
"November 22nd featured Chicagoland/NW Indiana's greatest local MMA event ever witnessed live in the area. Featuring names such as Jason Guida, Eddie Wineland, Pat Curran, and local favorite Jared "The Spider" McMahan, C3 Domination delivered a powerful punch.
The first fight of the night featured Gilber Grappling's Dan Benoit, brother of WEC vet Joe Benoit. He defeated his opponent Adam Gourley in the first round by TKO.
Second fight delivered as Team Corral's Ryan Brown, crowd favorite landed big shots on opponent Jake Himes, as the fight ended on the ground. From top position, Ryan Brown began to ground and pound until Jake Himes gave up his back. Brown softened him up with more punches so he could get the rear naked choke. Himes passed out as the ref pulled Brown off to declare it a technical submission victory.
Next in line was Kenny Robertson vs Levon Maynard. After a stand up war on Levon's part, and a wrestling clinic on Robertson's, Kenny Robertson took the decision.
Mark Rosenick entered the ring to fight Ryan Williams. The second round came, and was ended by Ryan Williams taking Rosenick's back and submitting him with a rear naked choke.
Aung La Nsang, KOTC vet faced up against Steve Dau in the 205 pound division. Dau dominated the first round with takedowns and punches. The second round came in, and much of the same happened, until slightly over a minute and a half in, Aung La Nsang pulled off an armbar from his guard very quickly and Dau had nothing to do but tap.
In the next fight, 19 year old Josh Shockley continued his undefeated MMA career. He shot on his opponent Zachariah Konkle, lifted him on his shoulders, and slammed him to the canvas ala Matt Hughes, winning by TKO due to slam in just 15 seconds of the fight.
The following fight was for the C3 Bantamweight title. Elton Chavez faced Jon Hossman, both very experienced fighters in the division. Jon Hossman quickly submitted Elton Chavez by armbar in just 22 seconds of the first round, winning the C3 title.
Next featured the former WEC Bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland. He faced a tough Wade Choate. After standing with Wineland and getting rocked several times, Choate wanted no part of Wineland's hard punching as he was dropped more than once in the first round. He layed on his back wanting Wineland to go to the ground, but Wineland had none of it. Again with a hard punch, Wade Choate hit the ground, as Wineland went on top and threw punches, causing Wade Choate to tap from strikes in the first round.
Boban Simic faced Arnold Adams in the heavyweight division. Both fighters stood up and threw with eachother, rocking both. Boban seemed to be on the losing end and had several cuts on his face, until he threw a hard punch literally knocking Arnold Adams out of the ring. The fight was called a knockout, as Arnold Adams said he was fine and just happened to fall out of the ring. The ref continued with his decision, and Boban was declared the victor.
Next fight was C3 Welterweight champion and EliteXC vet Deray Davis of Team Corral taking on Gilbert Grappling's Jay Buck. The first round, Jay Buck tried hard to take Deray down, but Deray managed to stay on his feet and rock Jay Buck with hard punches, knees, and kicks. In the round, Deray ended up mounting Buck and threw punches until the round ended. Second round came in as Deray rocked Buck with a head kick and more hard punches. A fatigued Jay Buck continued to shoot in, but had a very difficult time taking Deray down. Deray again stayed in top position in his fight and dominated the stand up war. Third round came as Buck finally managed to get on top of Deray and threw punches from guard, moved onto half guard, and then full mount. He tried to sink in a choke but was unable to, so he continued to punch. Deray held on for the round to end, as the fight was scored 29-28 by all 3 judges, as Deray Davis kept his title.
Darren Elkins of Duneland Vale Tudo faced off in a 155 pound title defense against Pat Curran, cousin of Jeff and featured on the show Tapout. The fight started out with Curran getting the best of Elkins on the feet, as the wrestler Darren Elkins was unable to take Curran down to the ground. Second and third round, he was, and he landed big shots on Curran from his guard. Curran was not able to submit Elkins or sweep him, as Elkins stayed busy on top position as a grinder and threw hard punches for the 2nd and 3rd round, winning the decision (29-28) over Pat Curran and keeping his belt.
The Co-Main Event started as the very experienced Jason Guida faced off against 4-0 Matt Sassolino for the C3 Light-Heavyweight title. Jason Guida rocked Sassolino on the feet out wrestled him as well, taking the first round. Matt Sassolino turned it up a notch in round 2 with heavy punches, strong wrestling, and showed his conditioning. He landed big shots on Guida to take the second round. Third round came as it looked similar to the second, however Matt Sassolino hit even harder, as Guida appeared to be more fatigued. The fight ended in a split decision, favoring Matt Sassolino, the new C3 LHW Champion.
The main event started with hometown favorite Jared "The Spider" McMahan (9-0-1) vs 10-8 MMA, 36-0 kickboxer Eugene Crisler in the 135 pound division. Jared was formerly the 145 pound C3 Champion however left it to drop down a weight class. Eugene Crisler came out to the ring first looking ready to make his name in Jared's backyard. After his entrance, the lights dimmed even more, as Jared McMahan entered. During his walk out, the arena was well lit from cameras flashing. Jared McMahan entered the ring as the audience chanted his name, being by far the most popular fighter on the card. The fight started out as both exchanged punches. After some exchanges, the kickboxer did not want much of Jared on the feet after being hit several times with hard shots to the head and body. He tried to take Jared down but was unsuccesful. Second round came looking much like the first fight, as Crisler being a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu went to his back to see if Jared would follow. Jared being a purple belt as well, had no problem doing so. Jared landed shots from top and avoided all submissions. Jared passed his guard and threw more hard shots, looking for submissions on his own, but was more working the ground and pound than anything. With 10 seconds left of the 2nd round, Crisler rolled Jared over and threw a few shots before the ref stepped in for the end of round 2. Round 3 came out with both fighters on the feet, exchanging once again. Both landing punches, Jared threw a hard shot that dropped Crisler back, as Jared went in while Crisler looked to catch McMahan in a submission. Jared once again defended, took better position, then was rolled over into his guard. Quickly after, Jared loaded an armbar, then switched to a triangle. While Crisler was defending the triangle choke, Jared took his other arm showing his submission skills and put on an Inverted Armbar, causing Eugene Crisler to tap out at 2:55 in the 3rd round, and bumping his record up to 10-0-1."
Duneland Vale Tudo went 3-0 on the night, and all three fighters looked very impressive.
Josh Shockley improved to 7-0-1 last night with a very fast victory over Zach Konkle. Konkle was a last minute replacement as Shockley's original opponent Jim McCarville did not make weight and pulled out the day of the fight. Shockley scored well standing and finished the fight in under 20 seconds with a huge slam.
Eddie Wineland defeated Wade Choate via tko mid way through the first. In a very crisp and high paced bout Eddie scored the better shots standing. Choate was dropped twice by straight rights while throwing leg kicks. The second of which resulted in Eddie finishing the fight via strikes from rear mount. Probably the sharpest I've seen Eddie look.
Darren Elkins improved to 8-0-0 with a hard fought decision win over previously undefeated Pat Curran. Curran won the first stanza, stuffing most of Darren's takedown attempts and getting the better of the punching exchanges along with scoring several powerful body knees. Conditioning seemed to play a big factor in the second and third as Darren scored takedowns in each round and rained down a relentless ground and pound attack. This was a grueling and very competive fight, props to Curran who looks to be a very solid young lightweight. As for Darren, this guy at 8-0-0 is due for some big fights. Hopefully we'll be seeing this guy in some larger venues in 2009.
Keith Wisniewski
C3PROMOTER, I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT YOUR IDEA OF SUCCESS IS NOT ONLY THE PROFIT YOU MADE. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF PUTTING ALL OF THOSE MEN THAT FOUGHT ON YOUR SHOW IN THAT BAD EXCUSE FOR A RING.YOU SHOULD HAVE HAD ENOUGH COMMON SENSE AFTER THE FIRST FIGHT,TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES AND CORRECT THE PROBLEM.YOU ARE LUCKY NOONE BUSTED THEIR HEAD OPEN FALLING OUT OF THAT PIECE OF GARBAGE.
some fighters prefer a ring. i gotta tell you i was in that same ring during a rain storm this summer, and thought it was a solid ring. just cuz you prefer cage, doesn't mean it's gotta be in the cage. braulio- keep doing your thang. i'll be in touch.
are you serious, the FIGHTERS WERE FALLING OUT OF THE RING!!!!the ref had to hold the ropes in, i didnt know that a refs job was to hold the ring together, i thought he was suppose be concentrating on the fight!! you sound like you werent there!!!i understand.AGAIN, A MESSAGE TO THE PROMOTER, SAVE YOURSELF THE GRIEF OF A FIGHTER DYING FROM A SPLIT SKULL, GET A SAFE RING.
TTT for a great promotion and the fighters for Team Corral
From Joe Pawlus MMAWEEKLY
When Jeff Curran took the ring to accept his induction into the C3 Hall of Fame last Saturday, he made a short speech in which he eloquently summed up what long time participants of MMA have always known. The Hammond Civic Center is a historic if not magical place where MMA has found a home and flourished. However, Saturday’s C3 event took the idea of professionalism and excellence to a whole new level.
The Civic Center has never been host to such an excellent fight card, from top to bottom.
Furthermore, the production level and atmosphere have only been matched by productions like the UFC, Pride, and Affliction. With big screen televisions and the Comcast production crew in tow, the C3 event looked more like a show that belonged in Las Vegas. To add the icing to the cake, the place was packed to the rafters with ravenous cheering fans.
Ultimately, the match making and skill of the fighters are what made it most memorable. Braulio Corral and Corral Martial Arts is to be commended on single-handedly constructing an event that will not soon be forgotten. Hopefully more events like this one will be taking place in the near future!
TTT
ttt
fighters squeezing through the ropes and falling out of the ring are two totally different things. if there wasnt a problem, why was the ref giving sooo much attention to holding the ropes in????i am just saying, lets not be unsafe to the guys that are getting in the ring entertaining us the fans.
First of all thanks to all the fighters, manangers, and trainers who allowed for the great fighters that we had to compete for C3. Second, thanks to all the fans for making our event a huge sucess. Third, Dognabbit any feedback is always welcome. However, we did have four ropes and tested them before anyone walked into the building. The fighters for the most part had minimal problems. We are addressing the rope situation by going to a 5-rope system for our next big event on Feb 7th at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. Also, the ropes will be cables covered with plastic to add for more sturdy ropes. It's going to be similar to the Pride ropes. As is our goal and vision, the next C3 on February 7th will be bigger and better.
i've seen braulio delay a show for a while when he wasn't satisfied with the ring and would gladly book any of my guys on his show.
braulio- will call you on monday.
TTT. 5 tight cables will put the issue to rest.
Most of the fights were unaffected by it anyway.
whurd. next topic on the show is that it did well, and that's awesome. it was great card on paper, and it drew well. glad it worked out, and hope to be a part of the next one. i've always had good luck at horseshoe. lol