TXMMA’s Matt Little was on hand to cover all the action and report back with this play-by-play of all the fights on the night along with give his official awards for best fight, knockout, and submission of the evening! Stay tuned for photos here on Element Fighting Championship 1: The Rise soon!
Fight #1 (145 lbs) – Faez Miraki (Star Jiu-Jitsu/Saekson Janjira) vs Van Vo (Rubicon Fight Sport)
Round 1
Vo starts early with the leg kicks and staves off a takedown attempt from Miraki. Both fighters are clinched against the fence with Miraki landing some knees. Miraki threatens with a standing arm in guillotine and transitions to a takedown and puts Vo on his back. Vo lands an upkick to the face that stuns Miraki. Miraki fights for a single leg and appears to be recovering. He finishes the takedown near the fence and is working from an open half guard before the rounds ends.
Round 2
Miraki is letting the hands go early and shoots in for a double leg takedown. He ends up in Vo’s guard and is landing some good shots here. Miraki passes and is now in side control. Vo manages to get underneath in the north-south position but Miraki puts him back into side control and threatens to take the back. Miraki achieves the back mount and forces Vo to tap to a rear naked choke. Very impressive performance from Faez Miraki tonight.
Fight #2 (205 lbs) – Daniel Miller vs Michael Saunders (Bushido MMA)
Round 1
Miller presses the action and Saunders up against the fence to open the fight. Miller looking to trip but Saunders manages to reverse position and Miller has his back to the fence. Saunders drops down and elevates Miller for a takedown and lands in his guard. Miller fighting hard for a guillotine from the closed guard; he forces Saunders to tap early in round 1.
Fight #3 (135 lbs) – Randy Villarreal (Genesis Jiu-Jitsu) vs Jeremy Myers (Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Austin)
Round 1
Myers throws a leg kick, Villarreal catches and lands big overhand and drops Myers. Villarreal working to pass and moves into the mount. Myers manages to regain half guard but Villarreal is aggressively working to pass again. Both fighters are standing near the fence and Myers is fighting for a single leg. Myers works towards the back while standing and manages a takedown. Both fighters are standing again but Myers slams him back to the mat. Villarreal stands again with Myers holding the back mount to close the round.
Round 2
Both fighters are trading heavy hands and landing to open the 2nd round. Myers manages to get to the back again while clinched near the fence. Villarreal is out and presses against the fence. The round ends with both fighters trading in the middle of the cage. The pace has slowed significantly since round 1.
Round 3
Myers lands some nice leg kicks to start round 3. Both guys seem content to stay on the feet. Myers with another leg kick. Myers presses Villarreal against the fence and lands a takedown from the clinch. Myers is working from half guard and landing shots to the body. Villarreal works to closed guard but needs to get busy or he’s in danger of losing this fight. Myers is out and passes into side control; he’s threatening to take the back. Myers gets full back control to close the round and looks to have won this fight.
Official Decision: All 3 judges see it 29-28 for Jeremy Myers.
Fight #4 (Heavyweight) – Dale Mitchell (Silverback MMA) vs James Hall (Extreme Grappling)
Round 1
These are some big fighters with Dale Mitchell coming in at 265lbs. Mitchell throws some heavy hands and shoots for a double leg takedown. Hall is working from his closed guard and Mitchell is landing some periodic shots over the top. Mitchell bullies Hall near the fence landing heavy shots while Hall is covering up and not offering much. Hall has a semi-open guard and the referee intervenes. Hall is visibly upset about the stoppage.
Fight #5 (145 lbs) – Borzoo Honargohar (Saekson/Tier 1) vs Javier Obregon
Round 1
Borzoo is definitely the hometown favorite here. Fighters trade kicks early and Obregon lands a takedown. Obregon passes into a semi-open half guard. Borzoo gets up but Obregon takes his back and lands a big takedown. Obregon working from the top rear mount landing shots. Obregon is putting on a grappling clinic and still is holding back control trying to open up Borzoo for a choke. Borzoo is back up and looking desperate to damage Obregon after the way this round has gone. He manages to land a couple good shots before Obregon lands another takedown to end round 1.
Round 2
Borzoo looks to keep the fight standing and is quick to shut down Obregon’s take down attempts. Borzoo grazes with a big head kick but Obregon looks okay and forces a takedown near the fence. Borzoo manages to get back to his feet with Obregon pressing against the fence. Obregon puts Borzoo back down and lands in Borzoo’s closed guard. Obregon drops back for the round.
Round 3
So far Obregon has looked like the better fighter tonight so Borzoo needs to make something happen here in round 3. Obregon lands a spinning back fist but Borzoo kicks his leg out from underneath him. Borzoo looking to punish with kicks on a grounded Obregon. He lands a kick that appears to be a foul (shot to the head) and the referee intervenes. After a short stoppage the fighters restart on the feet. Borzoo lands another big kick placing Obregon on the mat. Obregon pops up quickly and takes down Borzoo with a double leg. Borzoo looks to be the more comfortable fighter on the ground. Borzoo places Obregon in his closed guard. Both fighter get back to their feet and are trading heavy shots to end this fight. Great pace for all 3 rounds. Obregon looks to have won a unanimous decision here.
Official Decision: Borzoo wins via Split Decision
Fight #6 (185lbs) – Jason House (Saekson/Star Jiu-Jitsu) vs Rodney Macfarland (Black Ops MMA)
Round 1
Macfarland doesn’t respect the knuckle tap and uses the opportunity to land an overhand. House responds with a nasty leg kick. House lands a kick that spins Macfarland around. More leg kicks from House go unchecked. Macfarland with a sloppy takedown attempt is shoved aside from House. House tosses Macfarland to the mat and is back up. House is using great footwork to avoid any of Macfarlands shots and continues to punish the front leg. House defends a single leg near the fence. House again with a leg kick to close the round. Macfarland pressed the action in round 1 but House was definitely the more technical striker in this round picking his shots.
Round 2
House lands a straight right that puts Macfarland on his butt and he is hurt. House pounces on top and Macfarland rolls giving up his back. House sinks a rear naked choke from the top rear mount forcing a stoppage early in round 2.
Fight #7 (135lbs) – Frank Barragan (Saekson Janjira) vs Warren Stewart (Rubicon Fight Sport)
Round 1
Stewart drops down for a takedown and doesn’t get it. He’s drops back into butterfly guard, now closed guard. Barragan landing some shots from Stewart’s closed guard near the fence. Barragan landing some elbows from the guard and Stewart needs to move because he is not doing well from this position. Still pressed near the fence Stewart doesn’t have a lot of room to work. He’s up now but Barragan gets to his back. The round ends with a late takedown from Stewart after the horn sounds.
Round 2
Stewart catches a body kick and manages to take his back, slamming him into the mat. Stewart is landing some nice knees from the turtle position. Barragan is back up and takes down Stewart. He moves towards the back but Stewart slips into guard. Stewart passes and is threatening to take the back. He rolls back and Barragan is in Stewart’s closed guard. Barragan lands some big elbows but Stewart takes him down and is working from Barragan’s closed guard now. Barragan threatens with an armbar but Stewart postures out of it. The round ends with Stewart landing some shots inside Barragan’s half guard near the fence.
Round 3
Stewart presses Barragan against the fence and is threatening early in this round. He lands in Barragan’s closed guard but Barragan manages to control his posture well. Barragan appears to be looking for an armbar here but Stewart defends well. Barragan using the fence well to move his back away from it but Stewart passes into half guard. Both fighters are standing and Stewart lands a big knee near the fence at the close of round 3. Stewart looks to have won this fight and is dancing in the middle of the cage while old school LL Cool J is booming over the PA.
Official Decision: All 3 judges score the fight (29-28) the bout for Warren Stewart
Fight #8 (155lbs) – Drew Pendleton (Austin Muay Thai & Jiu-Jitsu) vs Alden Herbert (Mohler Jiu-Jitsu)
Round 1
Herbert drops Pendleton immediately to open the round. Pendleton seems to recover quickly and both guys are working pretty methodical stand-up. Neither fighter is looking to over commit here. The pace is picking up but neither fighter is able to land anything of significance. Herbert attempts a takedown but is shoved aside by Pendleton. Pendleton lands a nice left hand that stuns Herbert a little but doesn’t attempt to capitalize on it.
Round 2
Pendleton with double underhooks manages to take down Herbert and lands in the guard. Pendleton presses him near the fence but Herbert manages to move away back towards the center of the cage. Pendleton tries to land some overhands from the guard but Herbert does a good job to control his posture. Herbert looks to move into a high guard but Pendleton is out and both fighters stand and clinch near the fence. Pendleton forces Herbert to the ground again and is attacking from the turtle. Herbert is up and both guys are standing again in the center of the cage. Pendleton misses a trip and gets dumped. He does manage to scramble into Herbert’s guard and push him up against the fence. Herbert uses the fence to stand up and is trying to stave off another takedown from Pendleton. Pendleton lands a nice leg kick and Herbert returns the favor with an overhand. Pendleton presses Herbert against the fence and moves to the back. The pace certainly picked up this round.
Round 3
Pendleton shoots for a single leg to open the round but can’t stabilize on the ground. Herbert is back up and pawing his jab. Pendleton lands a body kick but loses his balance and falls backwards. Herbert tries to capitalize but ends up on his back and Pendleton is now in his closed guard. Herbert is controlling his posture again and the referee is quick to stand them up. Both fighters swing wildly and Pendleton forces Herbert to the ground. He’s manages to takes Herbert’s back and threatens an armbar from the back. Herbert defends well with little space near the fence. Pendleton promptly dumps Herbert on his back with a double leg. Pendleton takes his back but doesn’t have good control. Herbert rolls into his guard and has somehow taken Pendleton’s back in a scramble. The horn ends the action and Pendleton looks to have won this fight. He really pushed the action in rounds 2 & 3.
Official Decision: All 3 judges score a unanimous decision for Drew Pendleton.
Fight #9 (170lbs) – Co-Main Event “Brought to you by Pisco Porton
Jarret Jones (West Texas MMA) (5-5) vs Brandon Farran (Future Fitness Team) (3-3)
Round 1
Farran comes out and lands a massive cross that drops Jones near the fence. He follows up with some furious shots and the referee intervenes quickly. This fight was maybe 15 seconds.
Official time of the KO is 13 seconds of round 1.
Fight #10 (170lbs)
Main Event “Bought to you by Randall’s Reed Prestige Ford
Marcus “The Wrecking Ball” Hicks (Hicks MMA) (9-3) vs Josh Lee (Team Jorge Gurgel) (3-1)
Round 1
Hicks throws an overhand and Lee ducks under trying for a take down near the fence. Hicks has double unders and forces a takedown. Hicks working from Lee’s half guard threatens with a guillotine. Both fighters are standing with Hicks pressing against the fence. Hicks works the body hard trying to soften Lee up for a takedown. Lee reverses and clinches with a jumping knee that doesn’t seem to faze Hicks. Hicks tosses Lee to the ground and is working from side control. Hicks has Lee’s near side arm trapped but Lee manages to create a scramble and get back up. Hicks threatens with his patented guillotine but Lee escapes. Hicks working Lee over hard with shots from inside the clinch. Lee manages to take down Hicks with a double leg near the fence. Hicks works from his half guard; Lee moves into mount landing some elbows. Hicks shows his back and Lee lands a nice elbow. Lee now has full back control as we near the end of the 1st round. Lee starts landing some old school Gracie heel kicks to the body of Hicks. Lee threatens with a rear naked choke to close the round but Hicks hangs on as the horn sounds.
Round 2
Lee with an inside leg kick. Hick tosses him to the mat and is landing shots from the open guard. Hicks slaps on a semi-mounted guillotine and forces Lee to tap early in round 2. Impressive performance nonetheless from Josh Lee against a high caliber fighter.
TXMMA Awards of the Night
Fight of the Night: Javier Obregon & Borzoo Honargohar
KO of the Night: Brandon Farran
Submission of the Night: Marcus Hicks
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