HOUSTON, TX, November 5, 2011 – Another night of Mixed Martial Arts is in the books for the Houston MMA Scene after Garcia Promotions concluded their sixth amateur MMA event at the Humble Civic Center this past Friday night.
It was hotly contested affair for many of the competitors in North Houston. Cage Combat 6 saw no less than This time around saw no less than 4 split decision victories while 7 fighters decided to end things more decisively by finishing their opponents before the final. We’ll get to top performers momentarily but here are quick results below.
Cage Combat 6 – Quick Results
• John Rodriguez over Raul Rodriguez by Submission (RNC), RD1
• Daniel Everitt over Ignacio Martinez by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Ralph Garcia over Eric Thompson by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Daniel Delgado over Dat Nguyen by Submission (RNC), RD3
• Kenny Issac over Joel Haesacke by KO, RD1
• Rob Wood over Joel Rivera by Submission (Arm Triangle), RD1
• Jeremy Lieder over Justin Pifer by Submission (Armbar), RD2
• James DeHerrera over Carlos Jimenez by Submission (Triangle), RD2
• Lucas Orozco over Eric Caminos by Unanimous Decision (29-28,29-28,30-27)
• Paulina Granados over Ashley Meza by Split Decision (29-28,28-29,29-28)
• Chris Lopez over Alex Melendez by TKO (GNP), RD1
• Levi West over Geoffrey Neal by Split Decision
Top Finishers and Most Pro-Ready Performances
With 7 finishes on the night, mostly by submission, it’s hard to say one performance was conclusively THE most impressive of the night. We’ll just say “props” to John “Chile” Rodriguez, Daniel Delgado, Kenny Isaac, Rob Wood, Jeremy Leider, James DeHerrera, and Chris Lopez for having the moxy to finish their opponents before it hit the (always unpredictable) judges’ scorecards.
As for individual highlights, here are the fighters we saw as posting the most “pro-ready” performances on this amateur card.
► Chris Lopez – It was a dominant performance put on by the San Antonio native last night at CC6. It’s a rarity that a fighter lives up to his pre-fight billing, especially on the amateur level, but Lopez did absolutely all that and more. For lack of a better way to describe it, he just walked through Dallas Jawbreaker Alex Melendez in the co-main event, taking him down and ground-and-pounding him to oblivion to force the ref stoppage within a minute of the opening bell. It was a very dominant and focused performance by the Team Tooke fighter. Look for big things from this kid in the near future as he continues to improve fight-over-fight as he did this time around.
►Rob Wood – Well someone didn’t waste a trip down from Oklahoma, that’s for sure. Fresh from taking his graduate school entrance exam this past Monday, the Team Lovato wrestling specialist used his tough pedigree to take his opponent to school with two quick takedowns in round one. Controlling the action from there, Rob exhibited a quick showing of GNP before finding the opening to finish Joel Rivera by arm-triangle in round one. Speaking to Rob afterwards, he says he’ll be focusing on grad school applications in the near-term but we should see him back here soon enough. If he can catch up with Garcia Promotions 170 kingpin Guilherme Moreira that would definitely make for one hell of a fight.
►Paulina Granados and Ashley Meza – The ladies almost stole the show with their exciting three-round battle that ended in a split decision victory in favor of the Corpus Christi native. To this writer, it was surprising that most of the bout was contested on the feet instead of the ground. Paulina, a Muay Thai stylist fresh from a training trip to Thailand, and Ashley, versed in Shotokan from her days in NYC, both put on show of skill and grit in refusing to back down against one another. It was yet another showcase that proved that the women indeed do train as hard and love the sport just as much as the boys do. Hats off to both Pauli and Ashley and we look to see them both back in the cage soon.
Best of the Rest – Controversial Decision in Main Event
The main event between Levi West and Geoffrey Neal proved to have a controversial ending as many in attendance thought the judges robbed Geoff of a decision. In truth it was the Twin Wolves-trained Neal that came forward through much of the fight as the aggressor. He pressed forward for much of the three rounds while getting key takedowns and going after an arm on the ground at one point. For his part, West displayed poise and resilience in battling through Geoff’s attacks and gaining his own key reversals.
In the end, the decision was heavily booed and many of the fans in attendance (specifically those from the Twin Wolves camp) were incensed and perhaps rightfully so. For what it’s worth, and with a dash of MMA cliché thrown in, you just can’t leave the fight to the judges nowadays. Nonetheless, a win is a win and Levi West now moves to an impressive 4-0. Maybe we’ll see this one again based on the humble pro-fight interview by Levi where he offered his opponent a rematch. It’s a certainty we’ll see more out of these two.
Cage Combat 6 – Comprehensive Photo Gallery
We’ve got over 600 photos from this event. Click here or the photo below for the comprehensive gallery and click through to our TXMMA Facebook page for the best selection of shots from this event.
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