Veteran lightweight Rob Hill returns to the cage on Saturday night as he meets Brentin Mumford in the main event of Eternal MMA 39 with Sam Hibberd facing submission specialist Michael Tobin in the semi-main event.
Hill (14-10-1) is a former CFC & Wollongong Wars title holder who back in 2008 scored a victory against Australian MMA pioneer Ian Schaffa. That was followed up with a TKO against Bernardo ‘Trekko’ Magalhaes who got his revenge six months later, defeating Hill in the rematch.
Hill, 33, was a regular on Asian promotion Legend Fighting Championships with a notable win against Yusuke Kasuya before losing four on the trot and taking an indefinite break from the sport. The 33-year-old returned in 2015 and has gone 3-1 since with wins against Luke Catubig, Steven Maxwell and Ben Wall. His loss came in his last outing against the undefeated Issac Hardman.
Despite coming into the contest on back of two losses, Brentin Mumford will be stern test for Hill. Training out of The Academy, Mumford (9-6), is a former title challenger and a win against Hill will be a step in the right direction in staking a claim for another shot at the title.
Mumford won back-to-back fights against Ben Wall and Greg Atzori 2017 but was submitted in the third round by Callan Potter in his title challenge. He re-matched Kieran Joblin in May but again came up short on the judges score cards.
A former Judo champion, Michael Tobin brings a 15-2 professional record which includes 14 by the way of submission. The 26-year-old is a former Eternal featherweight title holder; a title that he either vacated or was stripped off and never officially lost in the cage. Tobin had at one time had 12 consecutive victories and that streak ended as he stepped up his competition. He competed internationally on Russian organisation Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) where he lost consecutive bouts before winning a pair of fights as the promotion visited Australian shores. He last competed back in July where he submitted Garret Gross in the opening round.
With a win earlier this year over Judo practitioner Aaron Blackie, Victorian Sam Hibberd (6-3) will be looking at repeating it when stands across the cage from Tobin. Training out of Absolute MMA, Hibberd lost a potential title shot eliminator back in September against Diego Pereira but that could all but be forgotten should he get the upset over Michael Tobin on Saturday night.
Weigh-In
Two veteran lightweights clash and for one it will be a retiring bout as Greg Atzori makes the walk to the cage for the last time. He meets TUF Smashes competitor and former UFC fighter Ben Wall.
Atzori is former lightweight title holder in the promotion and despite having a 15-11 record, the Hervey Bay trained fighter has often proved he can match it with the upper echelon in Australia with career victories against the likes of Sonny Brown, Abel Brites, Lance Ettia, Aidan Aguilera and Ethan Duniam though he is coming off a decision loss to Duniam in his last outing.
After a 7-0-1 start to his professional career and after an appearance on The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs UK, Wall was awarded a UFC contract but was thrown in with the wolves with his first bout on short notice and a weight division above where he was regularly competing. He was stopped by Alex Garcia which followed by a knock-out loss to Justin Salas. After getting released from the UFC, Wall has struggled in his return to the local scene winning just once in six appearances.
The only other professional bout on the card features Integrated MMA lightweight Dan Hill taking on Joel Downey-Cave.
The event takes place at the Southport Sharks Club on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Fight Card (Pro):
- Brentin Mumford vs. Rob Hill
- Michael Tobin vs. Sam Hibberd
- Greg Atzori vs. Ben Wall
- Dan Hill vs. Joel Downey-Cave
Fight Card (Amateur):
- Christ Thorne vs. Cody Watego
- Liam Skelton vs. Mark Leota
- Jayden Binnie vs. Tyrell Woolcott
- Rafael Vilches vs. Ben Higgins
- Mack Gorrie vs. Ryan Bishop
- Jack Williams vs. Luke Davies
- Christian Lapham vs. Adi Canimovic
- Blake Wilson vs. Levon McGrath
- Zack Kelly Brundson vs. William Rosen
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