Reece McLaren successfully defended his Eternal bantamweight title last night with a first round submission over Edwin Arana. In the end, it was the only title fight to take place on the card, which prior to the weigh-ins had three title bouts set, including the return of UFC & Cage Warriors fighter Ben Alloway vs Tristan Murphy for the welterweight strap.
Eternal MMA 10 took place at the Hellenic Centre in Bundall, Queensland, and was live streamed via Go Fight Live.
Fresh off a training stint at the highly acclaimed Alpha Male gym in Sacrament, USA, McLaren quickly made his intentions clear by timing a nice takedown. Arana held on to the neck, however McLaren never looked to be in serious danger from the top position. Once McLaren popped his head out, the PUMMA and Empire MMA trained fighter transitioned to side-control where he locked up the kimura. Arana tried to fight his way out of it, however the pain became to much as Arana tapped 3:45 into the fight.
The win was McLaren’s second victory from as many fights in 2015. He defends his Eternal MMA bantamweight title which he captured back in May 2014 when he defeated Shantaram Maharaj. He’s now scheduled to drop down to flyweight where he will meet the highly regarded Charlie Alaniz on July 18 at Hex Fight Series 3.
Lightweight champ David Butt scored a first round TKO win over Brett Jacobsen, however the encounter was not a title fight after Butt missed weight the previous night by a reported 300 grams.
Butt took control of the centre of the cage from the opening bell where he landed leg kicks. An accidental low-blow from Jacobsen momentarily halted the fight only for Jacobsen to accidentally return the favour. On the restart, Jacobsen threw a front-kick, however Butt came back with a solid knee that sent his 41 year-old opponent backwards. Butt quickly capitalised, jumping on top and landing big punches to get the referee stoppage.
The win came 1:51 into the fight as Butt bounces back from two straight losses outside the promotion at the end of 2014.
Tristan Murphy kept his Eternal welterweight title despite losing to former UFC fighter Ben Alloway. Alloway weighed in two kilograms over the agreed weight. The 34 year-old was docked 50% of his purse which ended up in Murphy’s pocket.
Coming off a recent knock-out win, Murphy shot in for a takedown early. Alloway defended against the cage before he found the space to get off the cage. Murphy came forward with a flurry of punches however a wild swing had him lose his balance and fall to the ground. Standing up over his opponent, Alloway landed a dozen or so leg kicks before the referee restarted the action standing, only for Alloway to finish the round with huge punches and elbows from the top position.
An early shot from Murphy was again defended by Alloway. Murphy came forward with punches, however Alloway showed good footwork to stay out of reach before landing a head-kick that was partially blocked. Clinched against the cage, Alloway landed an inadvertent illegal knee that cost him a point on the judge’s score cards. The judges were not called into question though as Murphy again slipped while loading up a big right hook. Alloway moved in landing strikes from the top to get the win.
A former ‘Ultimate Fighter: Smashes’ competitor, the bout was Alloway’s first fight in Australia since 2012. The win takes Alloway’s record to 15-6 while Murphy drops to 4-2 with the defeat. With Murphy keeping his title, there is no indiciation if the pair will rematch for the title.
A veteran of 28 fights, Jason Preece was bloodied up and was heading towards a decision loss against Emjay Rose before he secured a big knock-out in the last round to steal the win. Throughout the fight, Rose used his reach well to land a jab from the outside while mixing it up with leg-kicks and upper-cuts. Preece failed with takedown attempts, however did land on his feet as well, in particular the straight right. In the third Rose became overzealous and was momentarily rocked. Preece immediately capitalised landing a big overhand to drop his opponent and secure the referee stoppage with further strikes on the ground. The win came 2:10 into the fight.
In a B-Class fight on the card, Damien Fraser edged out the win against Aiden Meaney, however Meaney started the bout with a two point deduction after failing to make weight for the amateur bout. Despite this, Meaney did come close to stealing the fight, controlling the action from the top. Fraser did have his moments and did land a spectacular jumping knee midway through the fight. In the end however, the two-point deduction cost Meaney as Fraser edged the split points decision win.
In a card that was cursed with fighters not making the agreed weight, Diego Pereira was another fighter who marginally came in heavy. The Southside MMA fighter though rocked his opponent Nix Agulto within seconds of the fight beginning before following up with a head-kick to send Agulto dropping to the canvas. The win came only 9-seconds into the fight.
The next offering from Eternal will take place on Saturday, July 11 at the same venue.
Fight Card (A-Class):
- Reece McLaren (c) def Edwin Arana via Submission (Kimura), Rd 1, 3:47 – Eternal bantamweight title
- David Butt def Brett Jacobsen via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 1:51
- Ben Alloway def Tristan Murphy via TKO (Punches & Elbows), Rd 2, 1:20
- Jason Preece def Emjay Rose via TKO (Punches), Rd 3, 2:10
Fight Card (B Class):
- Damien Fraser def Aiden Meaney via Decision (Split)
- Diego Pereira def Nix Agulto via KO (Head Kick), Rd 1, 0:09
- Isi Fitikefu def Michele Evans via Decision (Unanimous)
- Shaun Johnson def Richard Powell via TKO (Punches), Rd 2, 2:12
- Corbin Robertson def Troy Pilcher via Submission (Standing Guillotine), Rd 1, 2:00
- Michelle Labrosse def Amy Prewitt via TKO (Punches), Rd 3, 2:39
- Shiva Rama Smyth def Ryan Winnet via Decision (Unanimous)
Fight Card (C Class):
- Dominic Brew def Aaron Varnier via Submission (Armbar), Rd 1, 2:39
