LAREDO, TX, May 27, 2012 – Ultimate Warrior Fighting’s season one finals for the Tournament of Warriors is set after the semi-final round concluded at the Laredo Energy Arena in South Texas this past Saturday night.
After a tournament that started with 16 fighters from several different states and countries looking to vie for the $25,000 grand prize in each weight division, we are now left with 2 finalists at lightweight and welterweight and they’re all fighting out of Houston, TX!
In the lightweight finals, Rey Trujillo and Flavio Alvaro now move on to face off the for the UWF 155 lbs. belt and the $25,000 cash prize after exciting wins over Gilbert Jimenez and Chris Quitiquit respectively last night in Laredo.
The Ray Trujillo versus Gilbert Jimenez fight actually doubled up in TXMMA Fight Night Awards, earning both knockout of the night along with fight of the night for their efforts. It was a hotly-contested contest early on completely in line with both their reputations as aggressive, in-your-face fighters. Trujillo seemed to be a step quicker getting off with his attacks throughout the bout and that was only exasperated by a dislocated elbow suffered by “Pitbull” Jimenez in the second round. Always the warrior, Gilbert refused to quit despite the injury and went into the third and final round. It was late in that round where Rey landed a picture-perfect vicious punch down on his opponent that put him out.vRay now moves on to the finals after having beaten Chris Pecero and Jimenez to get there.
Likewise, Gold Team’s Flavio Alvaro will move on to face Trujillo in Corpus Christi after his bout with Californian Chris Quitiquit. A roommate of UFC fighter Nick Diaz, Chris would prove the accuracy of his moniker “Don’t Quit” Quitiquit late in the first round. Up to that point, the two were going toe-to-toe with Chris using his boxing to counter Alvaro’s Muay Thai. Then a grazing knee by Alvaro cut a several inch gash on Quitiquit’s face, from forehead to above his hairline and all the way down to his skull. With blood gushing out, “Don’t Quit” refused to quit and instead came forward to continue his own assault but it was all for naught as referee Kerry Hatley was forced to call the doctor in who put a halt to the bout.
Meanwhile in the welterweight division, Lucas Pimenta moves on to the finals after dismantling tournament wrestler Mitchell Whitesel in the second round of their bout. Joining Pimenta in the finals in John Malbrough – who actually lost to Justin Guthrie this evening but makes it to the conclusive round by default due to Guthrie not being able to make the weight yesterday,
A representative of Gold Team like his teammate Alvaro, Lucas Pimenta came into the semi-finals as one of the more highly touted tournament fighters after having beaten Shamar Bailey in the opening round. He would take on alternate Mitchell Whitesel after original semi-finalist Chuck Parmalee (originally won controversial decision against Whitesel in opening round) was forced to withdraw for undisclosed reasons. In the end, it didn’t matter who Pimenta faced as he was able to neutralize his opponent’s attacks en route to the second round submission victory and a berth in the finals against John Malbrough.
Speaking of which, despite gaining his spot in the finals after his opponent failed to make weight, John and Justin Guthrie fought anyways in what turned out to be a rather lackluster affair. Malbrough was aggressive on his feet but had no answer for Guthrie’s takedowns. Meanwhile, though effective with his wrestling, Justin was largely ineffective on the ground – both with his striking and with his submission attempts. Definitely a three-round snoozer (the term “lay-and-pray” comes to mind) but despite the result, John Malbrough moves on to the finals and a date with Lucas Pimenta – who is anything but a lay-and-pray fighter.
Elsewhere on the undercard, seasoned Strikeforce and Legacy FC veteran Mike “The Greek” Bronzoulis earned his 14th career victory against South Texan Danny Salinas in a 175 lbs. catchweight bout. The two were actually going at it pretty well with both having their moments on the feet but in the end, the resilient assault of leg kicks to the leg of Salinas resulted in a Bronzoulis victory. With this win, Mike now snaps a two-fight losing streak going into his next bout on June 13th against Jay Hieron at Legacy 12.
Also earning a win was hometown favorite Sonny Luque against Victor Martinez. The Laredo native earned the submission victory by guillotine late in what was mostly a boxing match and got plenty of cheers from the crowd for his efforts. He also earned our TXMMA Submission of the Night award for his timely submission that kept this fight from going to the judges – always a good thing there.
Last but not least, Matthew Hunt was able to beat Raymond Moreno by TKO in the opening bout of the night to kick things off.
With this event now over, attention now turns back to Corpus Christi as Ultimate Warrior Fighting returns to the Sparkling City by the Sea for the UWF Tournament of Warriors Finale on June 30th.
UWF 3 – Quick Results
Rey Trujillo over Gilbert Jimenez by KO (punches on ground), RD3
Flavio Alvaro over Chris Quitiquit by TKO (Doctor’s stoppage; cut), RD2
Lucas Pimenta over Mitchell Whitesel by submission (RNC), RD2
Justin Guthrie over John Malbrough by unanimous decision
Mike Bronzoulis over Danny Salinas by TKO (leg kicks), RD2
Sonny Luque over Victor Martinez by submission (guillotine choke), RD3
Matthew Hunt over Raymond Moreno by TKO (punches on ground), RD2
TXMMA Fight of the Night Awards
Fight of the Night – Rey Trujillo vs. Gilbert Jimenez
KO of the Night – Rey Trujillo, 3rd round KO (punch) over Gilbert Jimenez
Submission of the Night – Sonny Luque, 3rd round guillotine choke over Victor Martinez
UWF Tournament of Warriors Semi-Final Photo Gallery
You can catch some of these photos on the TXMMA Facebook Page to tag and share. Make sure to visit the complete event gallery on SmugMug if you’d like to order prints, posters, or other custom merchandise from this event.