A title changed hands, while another one was defended as Gold Coast based Fightworld Cup returned for their fourteenth installment of the popular event on Saturday night at the Nerang Police Citizens and Youth Club in Nerang, Gold Coast, Queensland.
The event was headlined by Semir ‘Sexy Sam’ Celikovic (pictured) who was able to defend his Fightworld Cup Middleweight Title with a first round submission of Taipari Rikihana.
The fight started with both exchanging heavy punches on their feet before Rikihana got the slam takedown while at the same escaping the guillotine choke attempt from Celikovic. On the ground, Celikovic got the sweep only for Rikihana to get his own sweep a few seconds later. Rikihana was able to control the contest in half-guard while landing some short strikes however late in the round, Celikovic worked his way back to his feet where he was able to get the takedown. The Shindo New Breed fighter immediately attacked the leg and got the tap with 4-seconds remaining in the round with a Achilles lock submission.
There was slight confusion at the end, as the referee missed the tap and did not immediately call the fight despite Rikihana letting go of the submission. Celikovic immediately challenged and to Rikihana’s credit he admitted that he had tapped and the referee called the fight.
With the win, Celikovic moves his record to 6-1, with his lone loss come to Jay Cobain. It was also Celikovic’s first title defence after winning the title against Kemara Valentine-Greer back in November 2012.
South Australian Suasday Chau missed weight and his featherweight battle against Kairin Moses was made a non-title as Chau also forfeited a percentage of his purse and started the fight with a point deduction. This was agreed to by the parties following Chau uncharacteristically weighed in over 3 kilograms above the limit.
Chau started the fight landing a glancing superman punch and a hard front-kick that connected early. Moses defended the takedown and returned fire with nice knees. Chau attempted another takedown which was again stuffed by Moses. That forced Chau to go to his back which allowed Moses to land some punches and elbows from the top. Chau escaped back to his feet but again could not get the decisive takedown as his punches on his feet became wild. Moses finished the round getting the top position and landing punches from there.
As the second round began, it was clear that the weight cut problems had taken their toll on Chau who was taking in deep breathes. He did come come close to finishing the fight as he locked up a tight armbar early in the second round however that would be his last grasp attempt for a win as Moses escaped and started unloading with big punches. Chau turned and as the punches continued, the referee decided to stop the contest giving Moses the win.
The Gladstone based Kairin Moses gets the win 1:05 into the second round and immediately puts himself into title contention after taking the fight on a weeks notice.
In a battle for the Fightworld Cup Bantamweight Title, Reece McLaren looked to defend his title against Jacob Mahony. McLaren looked to be was on his way to winning a close fight, but a fresher Mahony got the late submission to get the upset win.
Mahony utilised a solid jab to control the early exchange before McLaren got a big takedown. The BJJ Purple Belt immediately transitioned to mount where he looked to lock up a kimura. Mahony defended as McLaren took the back. Again Mahony escaped and this time the Impact MMA fighter got the reversal and passed to mount. Mahony landed big punches and elbows before McLaren worked back to his feet and got a takedown just as the round ended.
In the second, Mahony (pictured left) again started with a pair of hard jabs, as McLaren shot in for a takedown only to be met by a massive sprawl from Mahony who flung his hips back. McLaren though turned direction and got Mahony to the ground. McLaren was able to control the round as he again got the mount position. From there McLaren attacked with an armbar but Mahony remained gallant, escaping the tight submission just before the round ended.
It was McLaren who was taking in the big breathes as the third round began with Mahony connecting flush again with jabs while on their feet. During a takedown attempt from his opponent, Mahony looked for the guillotine choke which was defended by McLaren who ended up on top landing tired looking punches. A mistake allowed Mahony to take the back and after a bit of a struggle the Capalaba resident locked up the rear-naked choke submission. The end came at 4:34 for Mahony who captures the Fightworld Cup Bantamweight Tile. It also his second straight win after last defeating Tim Moore at Eternal MMA 1.
Mahony will look to return at Eternal MMA 2, where he is set to take part in the Bantamweight Grand Prix featuring Matthew George, Shannon McClellan, and Luke Morris however Fight News Australia understands that a change to that line-up is expected to be announced very shortly.
McLaren post-fight gave full credit to his opponent however questioned his own cardio saying, “I thought I was fit. Guess not”.
In a Welterweight Eliminator, Joshua Smith and Brentin Mumford returned in a rematch of their bout at Fightworld Cup 13 fight which was won by Mumford in a close majority decision victory.
Mumford started the fight with a front-kick which and followed it up with some solid knees. Smith looked to clinch and got the takedown before moving straight to mount. Punches followed and Mumford was forced to turn his back which allowed Smith to work for the rear-naked choke. The fighters escaped back to their feet where Mumford was able to get a takedown with a big slam. Smith immediately got the sweep and after defending a triangle attempt from Mumford, he finished the round controlling the action inside Mumford’s guard.
In the second round, Mumford landed an early leg-kick before connecting with a straight right. Smith got another takedown but from the bottom Mumford locked up a triangle-choke to get the tap at 1:07 of the second round to get his second win over Smith.
It is understood that Mumford to go on to face Barrett Kennett for the Fightworld Cup Welterweight Title.
Sam Bastin put on an impressive performance over Jason Preece to get the first round stoppage and Knockout of the Night honours.
Bastin showed the superior outside boxing, as he unloaded with big body shots before attacking the head with combinations as Preece showed a good chin to survive the early onslaught and return fire with a few shots of his own. The punches from Bastin continued though, as he knocked down Preece with a big punch midway through the round. The Port Macquarie based fighter unloaded with punches on the ground to finish his opponent 2:54 into the fight.
In a Womens MMA bout, Kyra Purcell overcame a big knockdown in the first round to come back and submit pro-boxer Arlene Blencowe. Purcell who has a notable loss to Fiona Muxlow, pressed the action early but it Blencowe who landed the more significant strikes on their feet before a nice one-two sent Purcell falling and rolling backwards. The Shindo New Breed fighter recovered and locked up a pair of armbars with the second one coming just as the round ended. It would be third time luck for Purcell who in the second round, transitioned to mount where she locked up the armbar to get the tap at 1.27. The fight was awarded Fight of the Night honours.
In a rematch of their Fightworld Cup 13 fight, female fighters Kaela Banney (pictured right) from Gladstone Martial Arts come up again against Melanie Malone from TCMA. In the first fight Malone locked up a guillotine choke only 90-seconds into the fight to get the tap. This time though, the youngster from Gladstone used constant pressure and nice boxing and knees inside the clinch to control the fight. In the end Banney’s cage control got her the win as she took out the unanimous decision victory. All three judges scored it 30-27. At only 15 year-old, Banney showed great composure and put on a great show for the crowd. Expect a lot more things to come from this tiny dynamite.
On the under-card portion of the card, Shindo New Breed fighters made it a successful night for the Shindettes as Elizabeth Warner and Kenani Mangakahia both made quick work of their opponents. Warner a former Fightworld Cup cage-girl stepped in to the Fightworld Cup for the second time and got the 30-seconds rear-naked choke submission. She just beat her team-mate Mangakahia who needed 32-seconds to defeat Tessa Green.
It was quite a rear-naked choke fiesta as a total of seven out of the nine fights on the under-card ending with that submission with Davin Marsh, Brendan Jones, Johnny Walker, Brett Jacobsen and Dale MacKenzie all getting the submission win. Jayden Eynaud bucked the trend geting a TKO with strikes while Luke Thorngaard had a much tougher time, going the distance against Kenan Palliser.
Fightworld Cup will return with their next event Fightworld Cup 15 scheduled to be held again at the Nerang PCYC on August 3.
Fightworld Cup Middleweight Title:
- Semir ‘Sam’ Celikovic def Taipari Rikihana via Submission (Achilles Lock), Rd 1, 4:56
Fightworld Cup Bantamweight Title:
- Jacob Mahony def Reece McLaren via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 3, 4:34
Main Card:
- Kairin Moses def Suasday Chau via TKO (Strikes), Rd 2, 1:05
- Brentin Mumford def Josh Smith via Submission (Triangle Choke), Rd 2, 1:07
- Sam Bastin def Jason Preece via KO (Punches), Rd 1, 2:54
- Kyra Purcell def Arlene Blencowe via Submission (Armbar), Rd 2, 1:27
- Kaela Banney def Melanie Malone via Decision (Unanimous) 30-27 x 3
Undercard:
- Elizabeth Warner def Raelene Quagliata via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 0:30
- Kenani Mangakahia def Tessa Green via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 0:32
- Davin Marsh def David Meak via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 2, 1:09
- Luke Thorngaard def Kenan Palliser via Decision (Unanimous), 29-28 x 3
- Brendan Jones def Mitch Booth via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 3, 1:28
- Johnny Walker def James Klingner via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 2:38
- Jayden Eynaud def Marty Tucker via TKO (Strikes), Rd 2, 1:04
- Brett Jacobsen def Nathan Duce via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 1:07
- Dale MacKenzie def Aiden Van Wijk via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 2:07
Awards:
- Fight of the night: Kyra Purcell vs Arlene Blencowe
- KO of the night: Sam Bastin
- Submission of the night: Jacob Mahony
