The Combat Fighting Championships took place this past Saturday in Orlando, FL... (c/o www.fcfighter.com):
Combat Fighting Championships 2
Held Sept 23, 2006
At the University of Central Florida Arena
By Keith Mills
Orlando, FL -- On the same night as UFC 63 and just weeks before UFC returns to the Sunshine State it was another organization, Combat Fighting Championships, that was making waves among Orlando fans. People may not have realized it but Orlando has become the second hottest spot for MMA in Florida with UFC vets like Crafton Wallace, Luigi Fioravanti, and Seth Petruzelli all hailing from the immediate area. Take those vet's training partners and up-and-comers, throw in local teams like Team Trauma and Gracie Barra, and add rumored interest from a Disney subsidiary and one has the makings of news the likes of which hasn't emerged from outside California all year.
The main news was TJ Cook took the inaugural Combat Fighting Championships belt by defeating Jesse Chilton while Sauer and Whitehead advance to face each other for the inaugural CFC Heavyweight belt in December.
Whitehead/Buchkovich showed Whitehead using surprising techniques before reverting to a more traditional ground-and-pound strategy to take Buchkovich almost entirely out of his game. Buckkovich was holding his own trading knees in the clinch with Whitehead and avoiding Whitehead's Kimura attempt in the first ground segment but seemed to run out of gas the second time these two Heavyweights went to the ground, succumbing to a barrage of punches with Whitehead mounted on his back.
Sauer/Sylvest was more disappointing. Sylvest took an early right that left him off balance but not truly knocked down. Sauer charged, forcing Sylvest down while Sylvest seemed to be tapping on the way down as if he didn't think he could recover with Sauer barreling down on him. At thirteen seconds into the fight Sauer earned the right to face Whitehead in December but the brevity and method didn't truly satisfy, especially considering the talent on the rest of the card.
In he Middleweight title fight Jesse Chilton didn't seem to have an answer for TJ Cook's kicks which may be the factor that resulted in Chilton succumbing to a knee injury.
CFC are also keeping pace with some of the more established "feeder shows" by holding significant women's fights while still standing out for having this one at 125 pounds instead of the established 135 class. This fight was also significant as it was one of two between American Top Team affiliates and Team Trauma. This angle alone could prove interesting in the months to come but more on that in the full report. Tamera Arnold was making her pro debut but did a hell of a job as she and Marcus Paumpa's Jessica Aguilar went to war. Both fighters at times had mount and were raining down punches, both fighters scored on the standup, and both fighters deserve a closer assessment. IN the end this night it was Aguilar's edge with submissions that earned her the guillotine choke with just twenty second left in the second round.
One of the pleasant surprises this night was Jonathan Brookins of Team Trauma. At Lightweight this kid can move fast and knows his striking and submissions. It would be interesting to see him step up and fight someone with more experience than him such as a champion of one of the other feeder shows or an up-and-comer from a better known team. For now fans had to settle with seeing Jonathan dominate a game but overwhelmed Ryan Nakamura, pulling off the win in a little over a minute. More interesting up-and-comers were on this card but Brookins had that "something else" that set him apart, a charisma that could take him a long way.
Full results:
- Andy McKelvin def. Rafael Santos by unanimous decision (3 rounds)
- Carlos Gonzalez def. Carlos Correa 1:29 R1 by TKO
- Matt Arroyo def. Naeem Munir 0:56 R1 by rear choke
- Matt Dorsten def. Zach Knight 3:43 42 by rear choke
- Mark Serkez def. Nate Lovelace 1:51 R2 by TKO
- TJ Cook def. Jesse Chilton 2:19 R1 by TKO (submit to knee injury)
- Mickey Gomez def. Shawn Gay 1:47 R1 by rear choke
- Mike Whitehead def. Mike Buchkovich 4:04 R1 by submission to strikes
- David Baggett def. Kenny Stevens 1:30 R1 by north/south arm triangle
- Jonathan Brookins def. Ryan Nakamura 1:09 R1 by rear choke
- Jessica Aguilar def. Tamera Arnold 4:40 R2 by guillotine choke
- Tom Sauer def. Leo Sylvest 0:13 R1 submission to strikes