Alex Volkanovski and Shauna Carew both successfully defended their Roshambo titles on Saturday night, while Jessy “Jess” won the vacant women’s bantamweight title. After his opponent was forced out on late notice, Kennedy was also awarded the Roshambo welterweight title by default.
The event took place at the Chandler Theatre in Queensland, Australia and was broadcast live via an online stream.
Jai Bradney came into the main event contest after a year-long lay-off having recently spent some time training in Germany. A former Roshambo welterweight champion, Alex Volkanovski was looking to defend his lightweight crown for the first time.
Bradney immediately took centre of the cage as they exchanged early knees in the clinch. Volkanovski wrestled the fight to the ground where he quickly raised the tempo landing some solid strikes from the top, one which opened up a cut on Bradney’s forehead. Bradney looked to escape to all fours, but chose to regain guard after Volkanovski attempted to get his hooks in. Bradney again moved and this time Volkanovski locked in the hooks to take the back. After a brief struggle, Bradney was forced to tap with seconds remaining in the fight. The official time was given as 4:58.
A big win for Volkanovski who came into the contest on the back of a three fight winning streak and took is record to 7-1. He dedicated the fight to a close friend that had recently passed away. After the long lay-off, Bradney in his post-fight speech did promise that he would return back into the cage.
Gamebred fighter Shauna Carew defended her Roshambo women’s pinweight title with a first-round submission over New South Wales fighter Ginny Connors.
Carew quickly opened up a cut on Connors’ face, landing a flurry of punches in the opening seconds before getting the fight to the ground. There Carew opened up with big shots from the top. Carew was able to take the back and secure the rear-naked choke submission to get the quick finish.
The end came only 2:08 into the fight for Carew who moves to 4-1 as a professional.
Taking the fight on less than 48-hours notice, Tasmanian female fighter Rhiannon Thompson put on a brave performance but ultimately lost a unanimous decision to Jessy “Jess” Rose-Clark in a bout for the Roshambo women’s bantamweight title.
Jessy “Jess” wasted no time in getting the fight to the ground. Thompson struggled to get out from underneath Jessy’s strong positioning and did well to survive a tight rear-naked choke submission and an armbar. Late in the round, Jess transitioned to mount where she was able to control the action, landing the occasional short strike from top.
Thompson landed two powerful front kicks to start off the second-round, before Jess secured another early takedown. Jess controlled the action in side-control. Thompson attempted to get to her feet but Jess landed a couple of big knees to the mid-section that forced Thompson to her back. Jess was able to transition to guard and almost immediately to mount. The Integrated MMA fighter landed some punches from there as Thompson failed in her attempt to use the cage to escape.
Much like the first two-rounds, Jess again was able to take the fight to the ground at the opening seconds of the round. Thompson was able to kick-out and the two ended up back on their feet. Thompson came forward and landed a one-two before Jess returned fire with knees to the mid-section in the clinch. Jess looked for a single-leg before giving it up as Thompson landed short strikes. A subsequent single-leg takedown from Jess was successful as she landed into guard late in the round.
Jess went in for the takedown in the fourth round, but Thompson who seemed to come into the fight the longer it went, successfully defended the takedowns. Jess locked up her hands looking for a double-leg takedown but could not get the fight to the ground as the referee restarted the action in the middle of the cage due to inactivity. Thompson came forward with flurry of punches which opened herself up for a takedown which was secured by Jess. Jess ran out of time with an late armbar attempt.
Despite taking the fight on such short notice Thompson started the fifth and final round strong, landing a flurry of punches. Jess countered with leg-kicks before securing the takedown. Jess transitioned to side-control as she kept a strong top position not giving Thompson much room to move. Jess moved to mount and landed a nice elbow from the top as Thompson attempted to return fire from the bottom. With 60-seconds remaining in the bout, Thompson worked her way back to her feet only to be taken down by Jess again.
The judges decision came back unanimous with Jessy “Jess” Rose-Clark taking home the win to take her record to 5-1. She adds the Roshambo title to her Unarmed Combat and XFC bantamweight titles. Thompson put on a brave performance, having spent most her Friday making sure all her medicals were in place after taking the fight the previous night.
In a lightweight battle, Dean Purdon stopped a four-fight losing streak but didn’t do it in a fashion he would have enjoyed, with the Gamebred fighter securing a win because his opponent Brentin Mumford was disqualified due to an illegal strike.
Purdon closed the distance early however Mumford was able to use his bigger frame to get the fight to the ground where moved straight into side-control. The Five Rings dDjo fighter moved to mount but Purdon used that position to get a reversal. Mumford looked to attack with an armbar from the bottom but Purdon fighting with his trademark budgy smugglers was able to escape. Mumford regained the top position and attacked with short punches. As the fighters separated, Mumford landed a flush soccer-kick to Purdon who was still grounded. Referee Peter Hickmott immediately acknowledged that this would end in a disqualification if Purdon could not continue and after a pause the fight was called off. Mumford acknowledge his split-second wrong mistake and Purdon wasn’t keen to celebrate the win either so hopefully we get to see a rematch in the near future.
In a welterweight bout, Ryan Heketa started off slow against Peter Clough but when he increased the tempo, it wasn’t long for Heketa to get the stoppage. Clough immediately closed the distance with Heketa landing some solid knees with his back against the cage. The Five Rings Dojo fighters went up a gear midway through the round, coming forward with heavy punches and capitalising on the ground to secure the rear-naked choke submission win. The end came at 3:27 for Heketa who moves to 4-1 as a professional. The win was his third in a row.
Scott Dickson started off aggressive against Riley Mallett but Mallett was able to weather the early storm and wrestle the fight to the ground. After a brief leg-battle from both featherweights, Mallett moved to mount and unloaded with hard punches. The punches continued as Dickson struggled to wriggle free forcing the referee to jump in to halt the contest at 2:02 of the opening round. With the win, Mallett remains undefeated and moves to 3-0 as a professional.
Mt Isa based fighter Graeme Cummins rocked his opponent Ash Vallance early. Vallance attempted to recover by tying up the contest, however Cummins continued coming forward with punches which dropped Vallance. Cummins followed to the ground landing big shots which forced the referee to halt the contest only 64-seconds into the fight.
In the first A-Class fight of the night, Aden Hawke submitted Gamebred fighter Tim Zosh late into the contest. With the fight being even coming into the last round, both had it for the taking, however Hawke took it out of the hands of the judges. Hawke secured the rear-naked choke submission to get the tap at 3:58 of the third round. The win was his fourth straight as he rises up the featherweight ranks.
In the B-Class bouts, Megan Anderson overcame a point deduction to take majority points decision over Kerry Barrett, while Judo practitioner Aaron Blackie made a successful debut with an head-arm choke submission over Jodan Rolender. Blake Russo submitted Michael McDaniel with a rear-naked choke submission while in the lone C-Class rules bout on the card Damien Barrett won a unanimous decision over David Farrel.
Also notably during an intermission, Western Australian fighter Steven Kennedy was given the Roshambo welterweight title despite having not fought in the promotion. Kennedy’s last two opponents either pulled out or been forced out on late notice, leaving Kennedy without a fight. Kennedy got on the microphone and called out all welterweight fighters in Australia to come and get the title.
Results (A-Class):
- Alex Volkanovski (c) def Jai Bradney via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 4:58 – Roshambo lightweight title (First round underway)
- Shauna Carew (c) def Ginny Connors via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 2:08 – Roshambo women’s pinweight title
- Jessy “Jess” Rose-Clark def Rhiannon Thompson via Decision (Unanimous) – Roshambo women’s bantamweight title
- Dean Purdon def Brentin Mumford via Disqualification (Soccer-Kick), Rd 1
- Ryan Heketa def Simon Clough via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1 3:27
- Riley Mallett def Scott Dickson via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 2:02
- Graeme Cummins def Ash Vallance via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 1:04
- Aden Hawke def Tim Zosh via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 3, 3:58
Results (B-Class):
- Aaron Blackie def Jordan Rolender via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke), Rd 1, 0:58
- Megan Anderson def Kerry Barrett via Decision (Majority)
- Blake Russo def Michael McDaniel via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 2
Results (C-Class):
- Damien Barrett def David Farrel via Decision (Unanimous)
Promotional Awards:
- Fight of the Night: Aden Hawke vs Tim Zosh
- Finish of the Night: Aaron Blackie
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