HOUSTON, TX, May 31, 2012 – It’s shaping up to be another exciting summer in Houston MMA as we move into the month of June.
May 2012 Houston MMA Events Recap
This past month saw two exciting events hit the Bayou City with Legacy Fighting Championship 11 and Cage Combat 9 both taking place in the month of May.
At LFC 11, the highlights included Gold Team’s Jorge “Macaco Patino” earning the 155 lbs. belt while Chad Robichaux made his return to the area’s MMA scene a triumphant one with his first round victory over UFC veteran Joseph Sandoval. Former lightweight champ Ray Blodget also scored a dominant win in his first fight since taking his first loss versus now-UFC fighter Daniel Pineda last year while fellow Houston fighters Lester Batres, JT Mendez, and Marcus Dupar also scored victories.
Meanwhile at Cage Combat 9, the amateurs were busy as well with several prospects from around the state earning their first belt with Garcia Promotions. In short, the night belonged to fighters from outside of Houston with Cleveland, TX’s Ryan Hollis earning the flyweight belt and Beaumont’s Ryan Spann earning the title at welterweight but other fighters from the area also stepped up. Chief among them were Alex Chhang and Hector Cortina who put on one heck of a striking display to earn our CC9 fight of the night honors. Others that impressed at this event with decisive victories include Ramiro Cortina, Chris Rivera, and Brandon Gauthier.
Houston’s fighters impressed in events outside of Houston also in the month of May.
To start, former race car driver and recent UTHSCSA enrollee Kristy Kester traveled to Shreveport to take part in a women’s title bout for Ascend Combat against Louisianan Andrea Lee. By all accounts, the two ladies put on one heck of an exciting performance that saw no true losers but did see Kester win the decision and take the belt back to Texas.
Meanwhile in both Corpus Christi and Laredo, several area fighters were busy taking part in Ultimate Warrior Fighting’s “Tournament of Warriors” Grand Prix.
The opening round in Corpus saw John Malbrough score an impressive win over fellow Houstonian Larry Hopkins while Rey Trujillo also moved ahead by virtue of his exciting victory over Chris Pecero. Likewise, Macaco-trained Gold Team members Lucas Pimenta and Flavio Alvaro also moved on in the tournament.
The trend would continue just last weekend in the border town of Laredo with Mike Bronzoulis scoring a win over Danny Salinas in non-tournament action while Malbrough, Pimenta, Trujillo, and Alvaro all advanced to the finals, scheduled for June 30th back in Corpus Christie’s American Bank Center. It all comes down to Trujillo vs. Alvaro and Malbrough vs. Pimenta as far as the tournament goes but no matter which way it shakes out, all roads to the $25,000 cash prize in the lightweight and welterweight divisions now pass through Houston MMA.
A look ahead at June – IMKF and Elite Amateur Combat scheduled for events this month in Houston
Taking a look at the TXMMA Event Calendar for the coming month, it’s encouraging to see that the Houston area will enjoy yet another two cards in the near future with pro show Immortal Kombat 3 taking center stage on June 16th at The Edge Sports Complex while the amateurs get their turn on June 23rd when Elite Amateur Combat 3 takes place at the North West Indoor Soccer facility.
As far as matchups go, the current fight cards are below but there are already several exciting matchups to look forward to at both events if the current versions make it to show for both events.
Taking a look at Jake Latimer’s IMKF 3 first, the event will be headlined by a gargantuan main event that pits Dale “The Alpha Male” Mitchell against Tony Melton for the heavyweight title. Judging by their performances as of late, both men are deserving of the shot with Dale winning his last three in a row to get to this point while Melton has won 4 in a row and currently stands at 6-1 overall with an impressive 5 KO/TKO’s to his record.
Other interesting matchups slated for this event include Cris “Chop” Rucker looking to rebound from his LFC 11 loss to veteran Ray Blodget by taking on an even more experienced opponent in Rocky Long along with Jared Chafee taking on David Armas as he looks for his second win. In addition, Lee King returns to the Houston area to take on Geraldo Abadie and more as listed below.
265 lbs.: Dale Mitchell vs. Tony Melton (TITLE)
155 lbs.: Cris Rucker vs. Rocky Long
170 lbs.: Larry Hopkins vs. Tony Orozco
145 lbs.: David Armas vs. Jared Chaffee
205 lbs.: Yonny Osuna vs. Gary Harling
205 lbs.: Rick Ruthstrom vs. Derek Baines
205 lbs.: Edgar Verdin vs. Terrance Ferguson
165 lbs.: Lee King vs. Geraldo Abadie
185 lbs.: Steven Rodriguez vs. Dallas Paskell
265 lbs.: Charles Rodgers vs. Donnie Dillow
155 lbs.: Eric Schechinger vs. Chris Johnson
170 lbs.: Devin Christopherson vs. David McClung
Meanwhile in the amateur ranks, Rey Rueda and CDM Promotions return for their most ambitious offering yet in Elite Amateur Combat 3.
The event will feature no less than three title fights with former or current amateur champions Jacob Silva, Ryan Hollis, and Manny Lozoya all looking to add to their collection of accolades at the amateur level.
The bout putting Silva vs. Hollis in particular should be extremely exciting based on both young men’s tendency to bring the fight to their opponents in the flyweight division.
See below for the full fight card on this one as we look to see what other up-and-coming prospects may be heading towards a bright future with their performances in June.
125 lbs.: Jacob Silva Silverback MMA vs. Ryan Hollis Hard Head Hitters (TITLE)
170 lbs.: Kendrick Holloway 4OZ MMA vs. Michael Alvarez (TITLE)
135 lbs.: Manny Lozoya Silverback MMA vs. Cesar Del Angel KO Boxing (TITLE)
125 lbs.: Alex Martinez Silverback MMA vs. James McKay Fly Combat
185 lbs.: James Clark Unleashed MMA vs. Ion Sorici 646 MMA
145 lbs.: Edger Juarez Paradigm MMA vs. Samuel Saldana Third Coast FC
205 lbs.: Matthew Cantelo Silverback MMA vs. Andrew Farnhof Unleashed MMA
145 lbs.: Richard Coply NSMMA vs. Royala Smith Hous. Elite MMA
135 lbs.: Leroy Shafer SilverBack MMA vs. Jose Solis 646 MMA
155 lbs.: Arturo Delgado Windy Fight Factory vs. Sergio Sosa Iron Dragon MMA
170 lbs.: Jake Ivey Unleashed MMA vs. Trent Parker 646 MMA
170 lbs.: Jamal Sader Silverback MMA vs. Joshua Palacios Hous. Elite MMA
125 lbs.: – Domingue Pittman Windy Fight Factory vs. Jacob Pickering Valor MMA
185 lbs.: – Brandon Farris Silverback MMA vs. Andrew Martinez 646 MMA
That’s it for now. Make sure to check the entire TXMMA events calendar for events, seminars, tournaments and other happenings around the Houston area and the entire state of Texas.