By: Thomas Padgett
(Las Vegas, Nevada). On Friday, May 11th, 2012 Southpoint Casino was host to the first event of Real MMA, a new MMA organization based in Las Vegas.
The amateur card was co-promoted by Sin City Fight Promotions (
www.sincityfight.com) and Real MMA, sponsored by Real Water (
www.DrinkRealWater.com) and consisted of eight fights from Flyweight to Middleweight.
The capacity crowd was treated to several action-packed bouts, and definitely received their money's worth.
In the opening bout, Ramon Cruz (Team Tapout) took on Julio Fuentes (Team Ruthless) in a Flyweight battle. After a brief feel-out, Cruz landed a powerful punch combination, but Fuentes came right back with a stiff uppercut and took the fight to the ground with a guillotine choke attempt, which Cruz defended well and reversed position as the round ended.
Round two saw both fighters going right at it. Fuentes seemed to have a slight edge, then scored a take-down and secured the mount position. However, Cruz was able to reverse and began an effective ground and pound from Fuentes' guard, with the crowd coming to life as the bell ended the round.
Round 3 saw more of the give and take action, and it appeared to be anyone's fight. With seconds left, Cruz locked in an arm-bar. Fuentes refused to tap and made it to the final bell, but in the eyes of the judges it was enough for Cruz to earn a hard-fought decision.
The second fight was in the Bantamweight division, and featured Carlos Garcia (Team Extreme Couture) vs. Jose Quesada (Team Dragon Blanco Academy). Quesada introduced himself with a vicious body kick, and Garcia answered with crisp punching combinations. The fight went to the floor, with Quesada gaining the mount and Garcia reversing, thus ending a very close round.
Round 2 saw Quesada taken down hard. He appeared to be somewhat stunned, but kept his composure and pulled guard. Garcia kept up a relentless attack and secured a guillotine choke in one of several scrambles, but Quesada hung on until the bell rang.
In round 3, Garcia kept up the pressure and landed a hard right hand that dropped Quesada. Jose was unable to counter, and the fight was stopped at 1:13 of round 3.
In the evening's third fight, we move to the Welterweight division, where Christian Fowler (Team ATF) squared off against Ivan Mondragun (Team Mica BJJ and Team Ruthless). Seconds into the first round, Fowler landed “a right hand from hell” that dropped Mondragun. Fowler secured the mount, and began a frightening ground and pound. Ivan was unable to adequately defend himself, and the contest was quickly halted at 0:32 of the first round.
Ivan stated after the fight that he had been working his ground game extensively, but had neglected his stand-up – and said that he knew what he needed to work on, and that he will definitely be back stronger than ever.
The fourth fight of the evening was in the Featherweight division, and the combatants were Pete Purdy (Wand Fight Team) vs. Abraham Montano (Team Mica BJJ and Hard Knocks Muy Thai). After a brief stand-up exchange, Montano took the fight to the ground and pulled half-guard. Montano attempted sweeps, but Purdy kept the dominant position and appeared to win the round.
In round 2, both fighters stood toe-to-toe and began banging away, as the crowd roared it's appreciation. At one point, Montano appeared a bit rocked, but stayed cool, scored a take-down and launched an attack from Pete's guard and seemed to have a slight edge.
Going into round three, the fight was close. Once again, the toe-to-toe action resumed. Abe took Purdy down and quickly went to mount, then took Purdy's back and with seconds left slapped on a rear-naked choke as the fight ended. Montano was awarded a split decision, which indicates just how close and competitive this fight was.
The card's fifth fight saw Andrew Lopez (Team Tapout) vs. Ryan Blaharski (Team Extreme Couture). The two fighters wasted no time getting after it, as Lopez made a very aggressive attempt to get the fight to the floor. Blaharski defended well, showing great balance and composure. When the fighters separated, Blaharski landed several power punches, which knocked Lopez down. Ryan quickly secured mount and kept firing punches, causing the fight to be stopped at 2:47 of round one.
During the intermission, the crowd was entertained by R&B sensation Lloyd, who sang three of his hit tunes. Also, Gray “The Bully” Maynard, a top-ranked UFC Lightweight contender, was on hand to meet the fans and sign autographs. The autograph line extended to the door, and indicated the excitement the fans felt at meeting a possible (many feel probable) future world champion. Always the gentleman, Gray showed his appreciation for his fans by signing autographs until he was on the verge of writers' cramp, as well as posing for pictures with his huge Las Vegas fan base. Special thanks to Gray for taking time out of his training for his upcoming fight in June against Clay Guida, which will be aired live on FX network Friday, June 22nd, 9:00 PM EST.
When the action resumed, it was in the Middleweight division and featured Brett Miller (Independent) vs. Sedrick Sweet (Team One Kick). In this fight, the phrase “don't blink” was more than a cliché, with Sweet landing a monster right hand within seconds of the opening minute. Miller backed into the ropes and covered up, but offered no offense and seemed to have no answer, forcing the referee to stop Sweets' punching onslaught at 0:12 seconds of the first round.
The seventh fight of the night was in the Bantamweight division with Terrion Ware (Team TakeDown) going up against Regis Spicer (Team McCoig's MMA). Round one saw both evenly matched fighters in a technical contest with each countering the other man's attacks. Spicer attempted a take-down, which was stuffed by a guillotine choke by Ware, who seemed to have a slight edge as the round ended.
Round two saw Ware picking up the pace, scoring a powerful take-down. Regis defended well, got the fight back to the feet but was knocked down and mounted by Ware.
Going into the third round, it appeared that Spicer needed a big round, and he certainly gave it everything he had, much to the appreciation of the crowd. Spicer stood his ground and took Ware down. The action on the ground was fast and furious, with Spicer going all out to pass Ware's guard. However, Terrion held position and was awarded a unanimous decision in what was later determined to be the fight of the night.
Before the main event, the excitement could be felt in the crowd. No question that this was what the fans had been waiting for – with good reason. This was for the Featherweight title of Real MMA, and in one corner was Rudy “Ruthless” Morales (Wand Fight Team and Ruthless Fight Team). Rudy is a life-long martial artist who began training Kenpo Karate in Guatemala City, Guatemala at age 8, and holds the unique distinction of being the first native of that country to fight MMA in Las Vegas. Rudy stated that this would be his last amateur fight before turning pro, and with his contingent of fans in the crowd, he planned to put on a great show. He stated in a pre-fight interview that he had trained very hard, because he knew he was up against a difficult opponent. And he was.
His opponent was Boostayre “Bullit” Nefarios, (Team Beastman).
Boostayre is the son of UFC and King Of The Cage veteran Marvin “The Beastman” Eastman. Anyone who has had the pleasure of watching Marvin fight knows that he has one speed: straight forward, with petal to the metal. He has fought and defeated several world-class fighters, and in his long career has ducked no one.
In a pre-fight interview, Boostayre stated that his father's training and coaching would give him the edge. But he also knew that Rudy would be anything but an easy fight.
With the stage set, the music blaring, the smoke pouring and the crowd buzzing, the fighters made their entrances, and the main event was on.
In round one, both fighters ignored the usual feel-out process, and attacked each other tooth and claw from the opening bell. Halfway through the round, Morales appeared to be getting the worst of the exchanges, and when the fight went to the ground he was on the receiving end of a nasty ground and pound attack by Nefarios. However, he never lost his composure, got to his feet and waived Boostayre in, as the crowd was in a frenzy, screaming “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy.” The exchanges continued at a furious pace until the round ended.
In the second round, the action was somewhat slower, and still back and forth. Rudy appeared to be slightly ahead due to his aggression, but going into the last round it was anyone's fight.
Round three saw Morales throwing powerful leg kicks, but Nefarios scored a take-down and went to work on the ground. When the fighters were back on their feet, Rudy landed a hard knee to the mid-section. Nefarios went down, claiming a low blow. Rudy adamantly denied that a low blow occurred, and was upset by the call. As Nefarios was recovering, Morales walked past the referee and in an uncharacteristic moment of frustration appeared to land a head butt on the official. The fight was immediately halted, and Nefarios was awarded the victory by disqualification.
In an interview after the fight, Rudy discussed the controversy by saying that he apologizes to his fans for getting caught up in the moment and allowing his emotions to take over. However, he gave his best and was happy with his performance. He also stated that “what's done is done” and is looking forward to moving ahead with his career.
Nothing like this has happened in the past in any of Rudy's fights, and he assures his fans and supporters that an incident like this will never happen again.
Before the main event, the sponsor of the event Brent Jones, CEO of Real Water and Nevada Senate District 9 candidate, briefly addressed the crowd. Brent congratulated the fighters for their efforts, discussed his campaign message of bringing his business experience to the Nevada Senate, his vision of limited government and his plans for bringing a pro-business environment to Nevada. His message was well received by the crowd.
For more information, please check out
http://www.brentjones2012.com.
Also speaking was Steve Sanson, who represented Veterans In Politics. After careful scrutiny, the group has enthusiastically endorsed Brent, and Sanson discussed why. To learn more about the work this organization is doing on behalf of our veterans, go to
www.veteransinpolitics.us.com/.
Special thanks goes out to guest DJ Babychino, The World's Youngest DJ. Babychino demonstrated both a knowledge of music and technical mastery that went well beyond his young age.
In the future, Real MMA has plans for more shows, both in Las Vegas and surrounding states as well. The combination of great matchmaking, professional entertainment and enthusiastic crowds should combine to make Real MMA an elite organization in the fastest growing sport in the world.
