Shannon Ross claimed the Eternal flyweight title on Saturday night with an entertaining TKO victory over Paul Loga. The bout headlined Eternal 42, which took place at the Southport Sharks AFL Club on Queensland’ Gold Coast.
It was a frantic first round, both fighters wanting to make a statement early as they traded big strikes. The telling shot in the first round came from Ross who dropped Loga with a jumping knee. Add to that a pair of takedowns and Ross was in the box seat after the opening stanza.
The pace didn’t slow in round two as a noticeable cut over Loga’s left eye, split further open. As much as Loga tried and he did land his share of heavy punches, but Ross stayed a step ahead as the PUMMA trained athlete showed his experience, keeping Loga guessing by mixing up his strikes with takedowns.
It didn’t take long in the third round for Ross to land a flush right hook on Loga who immediately grabbed his face. Ross followed straight up with a jumping knee and pummelled away with strikes on the ground to get the TKO stoppage.
It’s a fourth straight win for Ross who came into the fight with wins against internationals Steve Nightingale and Charlie Alaniz. Opponents for him locally are running out and he didn’t waste his time on the microphone, calling out UFC president Dana White to give him his shot and his already got an opponent in mind.
“Dana White, give me my shot,” he yelled.
“That’s four in a row. Undefeated at flyweight. 5-0. Two internationals, two headline cards and two Australian titles.
“Kai Kara-France, I want you,” he added.
In the co-main event, Aaron Blackie, who is known for his impressive grappling skills, showed that opponents shouldn’t sleep on his striking as he knocked down Diego Pereira three times in 25-seconds. The Dan Higgins trained athlete came out determined and dropped Pereira only 10-seconds into the fight. The right found it’s mark again when Blackie pounced and was able to drop his opponent again and a third knockdown secured him the victory. Blackie puts the featherweight division on notice as he moves to 6-2 as a pro.
Australian based Kazakhstani Nurbulat Kuandyk submitted Phuket Top Team trained English fighter Ben Royle. Royle lost a point in the opening minutes with misplaced elbows landing on the back of his opponents head despite being warned by the referee. From there the two put on an entertaining grappling battle and Royle was again warned, this time for an upward kick on a downed opponent. Royle started the second with heavy leg kicks but Team Perosh trained Kuandyk didn’t give an inch and secured the under-hooks to get a takedown. Kuandyk commanded the ground game from here, moving to a mounted guillotine and when Royle turned, Kuandyk managed to lock up the rear-naked choke to secure the tap. It’s a third straight win for Kuandyk who moved to 5-1 as a pro while Royle drops to 3-1.
Taking the fight on 13-hours notice and moving up in weight divisions, Southside MMA trained Justin Van Heerden put on a spirited performance but came out just short with a split points decision loss to Aydin Mrouki. Van Heerden secured the back of his opponent in the first round but was unable to lock in the choke and Mrouki continued on the front foot in rounds two and three where he landed the better of the punches which included a knockdown in round two. Apart from having his back taken, Mrouki rarely looked in trouble as he got the deserved decision to take his professional record to 4-2.
Ignite MMA trained David Martinez secured a late submission to get the upset win over The Ultimate Fighter veteran Mike Wilkinson. Wilkinson, who appeared on the TUF Smashes season for the United Kingdom, landed strike after strike in the opening two rounds but Martinez rarely took a backward step and showed good conditioning despite taking the fight on just over a week’s notice. An ill advised takedown attempt from Wilkinson late in the last round handed Martinez a golden ticket and he was able to capitalise, securing the superior position where he used a kimura attempt lock up the rear-naked choke. Wilkinson showed grit and refused to tap before being losing consciousness. Martinez moves to 4-0 as a pro.
Jimmy O’Brien scored big victory in the welterweight division with a crushing right dropping Darcy Vendy to end the contest within the first round.
Results (Pro):
- Shannon Ross def. Paul Loga via TKO (Punches), Rd 3, 0:32 – Eternal flyweight title
- Aaron Blackie def. Diego Pereira via KO (Punches), Rd 1, 0:25
- Nurbolat Kuandyk def. Ben Royle via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 2, 2:49
- Aydin Mrouki def. Justin Van Heerden via Decision (Split)
- David Martinez def. Mike Wilkinson via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Rd 3, 4:17
- Jimmy O’Brien def. Darcy Vendy via KO (Punch), Rd 1, 1:41
Results (Amateur):
- Tom Nolan def. Mitch Bayliss via TKO (Spinning Back-Kick), Rd 3, 0:20
- Chris Thorne def. Colby Thickness via Decision (Unanimous)
- Hoani Selwyn def. Jayden Binnie via Decision (Unanimous)
- George Dailly def. Tylar Culley via TKO (Punches), Rd 2, 1:18
- James Sargison def. Casey Murnane via KO (Punches), Rd 1, 1:26
- Tawny Martin def. Justin Hammond via TKO (Knee & Punches), Rd 3, 1:11
- Jack Williams def. Guy Erskine via Decision (Unanimous)
- Tristan Loveday def. Arik Hassett via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 1:13
- Cathal Whelan def. Mikey Dunlop via Decision (Unanimous)
- Toby Carroll def. Max Hayward via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 1:14
- Oden Muscat def. Omid Amir via Submission (Guillotine Choke), Rd 1, 0:42
