By TXMMA Staff
Trio of pro prospects earn amateur title belts in last Houston MMA card of the year
HUMBLE, TX – The last Houston MMA event of 2014 took place Dec. 21st in Humble courtesy of Garcia Promotions. An amateur show, Cage Combat 18 nonetheless showcased a few fighters perhaps ready to go pro along with some relative newcomers who could one day find themselves on the big stage as well.
In the main event of the evening Paradigm’s Leroy Vasquez won the CC lightweight title with a unanimous decision victory over upstart prospect Luke Crawford. Both fighters had their moments in this fight but Vasquez’s overhand right along with his experience and willingness to keep coming forward earned him the belt.
Next up, Cameron Graves fought for likely the last time as an amateur and once again showcased a well-rounded skill set opposite Nicholas Gay. After winning by third round submission, the Team Tooke based champion said his next move would be to go pro, likely in Fury FC to start early on in 2015.
Last up in title action, Manny Lozoya was able to use his considerable experience advantage to win a unanimous decision over Royala Smith in their title bout. Despite having 3x less fights than his opponent, Smith proved to be durable in this one. Manny also came to fight and might have to ponder a pro move soon considering how many amateur fights he’s had to prepare.
Elsewhere at Cage Combat 18, Gustavo Gomez won by spectacular knockout over Kyle Villarreal to earn the next shot at the lightweight title held by the aforementioned Leroy Vasquez.
Sugarland MMA’s Dequette Reed also won by brutal knockout to take out Reshal Malik.
And last but not least at the top of the highlight reel was Elite MMA’s Damion Oranday debuting in the cage with a spectacular submission, taking Darius Gray’s arm home in just his first round as an MMA fighter.
Check out complete results and photo highlights below!
Cage Combat 18 – Quick Results from December 21, 2014
- Leroy Vasquez def. Luke Crawford by Unanimous Decision * 155 TITLE
- Cameron Graves def. Nicholas Gay by submission (triangle choke), RD3 * 145 TITLE
- Manny Lozoya def. Royala Smith by Unanimous Decision * 135 TITLE
- Gustavo Gomez def. Kyle Villarreal by KO, RD3
- Tony Nguyen def. D’Neareon Seymore by submission (RNC), RD2
- Dequette Reed def. Reshal Malik by KO, RD1
- Damion Oranday def. Darius Gray by submission (armbar), RD1
- Ronnie Byerly def. Brandon Holt by TKO, RD1
- Ryan Connely def. Jared Clark by submission (armbar), RD1
- Kane Lewis def. Josh Huitt by TKO (eye poke), RD2
- Clarence Brown def. Jonathan Bacon by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Craig Grove def. Taylor Farrell by TKO, RD2
- Josh Wilson def. Jesse Pitner by TKO, RD1
- Danny Bennett def. Anthony Fitzgerald by KO, RD1
- Dominick Perez def. Victor Lomax by TKO, RD2
Cage Combat 18 – Photo Highlights from December 21, 2014
