Lombard destroys Santore
CFC Middleweight Champion Hector “Shango” Lombard made short work of Team Quest’s Art Santore in the main event of the evening. The supremely confident champion never looked in danger as he used his superior speed and strength to inflict a brutal beating on his outmatched opponent. From the opening bell “Shango” simply looked on another level. At the midway point of the first frame the former Olympic Judoka unleashed a barrage of big right hands that opened up a nasty cut on Santore’s forehead and effectively spelled the beginning of the end for the game challenger. Although the fight was allowed to continue briefly, a series of vicious elbows delivered by Hector while inside Santore’s guard left the referee no choice but to mercifully call a stop to the bout in the final seconds of round one. With his sixth successful title defence, the big question now is; who outside of the UFC and Strikeforce can possibly beat this guy?
Trekko wins Lightweight Title
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu wiz Bernardo “Trekko” Magalhaes ended the brief title reign of Lightweight Champion Adrian Pang, in the co-main event of the evening. In a highly technical battle, “Trekko” dominated the first three rounds with superior scrambles and a water tight ground game. Although Pang displayed good takedown defence he really couldn’t get anything going until the fourth when he managed to cut his opponent with a razor sharp elbow. From there the fight seemed to swing momentarily in the champions favour as he clearly smelled blood and started pouring it on with his trademark slams and ground-and-pound. Unfortunately for Pang, it was a case of too-little-too late as the wounded Brazilian hung on to etch out the unanimous decision victory and be crowned the new CFC Lightweight Champion.
Falciroli crowned Bantamweight Champion
Gustavo Falciroli showed why experience trumps hype with a dominating performance against previously undefeated Richie Vas in the battle for the CFC Bantamweight Title. Despite coming into the bout as the slight underdog, Gustavo utilised crisp knees and superior Jiu Jitsu to clearly dominate all five rounds on the judge’s scorecards. The Perth-based Brazilian displayed constant positional control and multiple submission attempts throughout, including a nasty arm-bar in the second that threatened to end the night for the home crowd favourite. Showing good submission defence and heart, Vas battled on till the final horn but clearly hadn’t done enough to avoid tasting defeat for the first time.
The Undercard
Team Quest’s, Ryan Healy proved too much for Jai Bradney in their lightweight bout. The tough American beat his opponent to the punch from the outset, opening up a nasty cut above Bradney’s eye that forced the referee stoppage at the end of round two.
Tony Rossini totally overwhelmed Jon Leven in the evening’s welterweight bout. Rossini took his opponent down early before securing a text book rear-naked choke and forcing the tap, minutes into the first round.
Talented youngster Robert Whittaker kept his spotless record intact by knocking out Nick Ariel in one of the most exciting fights of the night. Whittaker battered his foe with over twenty unanswered ground blows in the first round before scoring the KO with a huge right hand midway through the second.
Nick Goodwin put on a dominating performance against newcomer Marcus Flannagan in a battle of the Light Heavyweights. Goodwin’s heavy hands forced his opponent to back pedal for much of the fight, the referee saving Flannagan from more punishment late in the first round.
Robert Lisitia totally out-classed Dan Hyatt in one of the quickest bouts of the night. The Lion’s Den standout gained back control seconds into the opening frame before sinking in a rear-naked choke and forcing the tap.
Adam Celestino defeated the tough Cameron Murcutt in the evening’s Middleweight battle. In a fairly even match, Celestino’s ground game proved the difference as he scored the submission victory via triangle choke early in the second.
Marcio Lemos utilised his superior Jiu Jitsu to defeat Daniel Richardson in the first bout of the evening. Despite taking some heavy punishment, Lemos managed to lock on a triangle choke and force the tap midway through the second.