In his Mixed Martial Arts debut, accomplished kickboxer Paul Slowinski made quick work of his opponent Leamy Tato tonight on the MMA Downunder 4 card held at the Adelaide Arena in South Australia.
A veteran of the sport, 39 year-old Tato had come over from New Zealand to upset the home-town favourite and as the fight started, Slowinski looked to punish his opponent with early leg kicks however Tato stayed out of reach and forced Slowinski to miss with the opening attempts. Tato rushed forward looking to unload but Slowinski stayed composed and pushed him away.
Known for his strong leg-kicks, they started to find their mark for Slowinski as he mixed them up occasionally throwing one up high. An inadvertently low blow momentarily halted the contest but as it started, Slowinski went up a gear as he swarmed Tato landing big punches and kicks. A left high-kick from Slowinski found it’s mark, and the Polish born fighter followed that up with punches on the ground to force the referee stoppage. The win came at 2:27 into the fight for Slowinski.
“It was mixed emotions because when I kicked Leamy (Tato) in the head and he went down. It wasn’t in my nature to go after him. I kind of realised f**k I need to punch him down there,” Slowinski commented in his post-fight.
“I’m just happy to have a fight. I haven’t fought this year. I’ve just been hanging and hungry to fight”, Slowinski added.
Slowinski will be looking at backing up his impressive MMA debut performance when he flies over to his country of birth, where he is scheduled to come up against Marcin Rozalski next weekend on the KSW 24 card.
In an entertaining stand-up battle, New South Wales based fighter overcame a potential broken hand to win a unanimous decision over local fighter Terry “Balboa” Kim. The fight did end up on the ground early in the fight as Embradora tripped Kim to the canvas. There he landed punches before Kim worked his way back to his feet. In the stand-up, Embradora was landing the better shots and had Kim rocked on many occasions which included a knockdown late in the first round.
In the second, Embradora caught a kick that Kim through and was able to counter with a punch that put Kim on his back. The New South Wales based fighter was clearly the fight on the front foot as Kim looked to find some openings countering the shots. In the third round, Kim started to utilise his jab more efficiently and even momentarily stunned Embradora. Kim immediately attacked however Embradora came back with some heavy punches of his own. He put a stamp on his performance with a late takedown. In the end the judges, unanimous awarded him the decision 30-27, 30-27, and 30-27.
In his post-fight speech, Embradora reveled that he believes he may have broke his hand early in the fight.
Myles Simpson out grappled Jesse Medina on his way to a unanimous points decision over BJJ Purple Belt Jesse Medina. An accomplished kickboxer, Simpson showed great control from the top position as Medina struggled to find any opening in his opponents game to lock up a submission. Simpson landed punches from there, mixing it up from body to head and in the end the judged awarded him the decision 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.
In a mixed martial arts bout on the card, Port Macquarie based Arlene Blencowe stayed active with a first round stoppage over local fighter Mae-Lin Leow. Leow made her intentions clear, immediately looking for the takedown against Blencowe who holds two world boxing titles. Leow managed to get the fight down twice but on both occasions Blencowe worked her way back to her feet. On the second attempt, Blencowe sprawled out where she looked to lock up the anaconda choke. Leow escaped however Blencowe got the mount where she unloaded with massive shots. The punches and elbows continued as Blencowe took the back and flattened out her opponent where she landed some further punches to force the referee to stop the contest. The win came at 4:22 of the opening round.
In a heavyweight bout, Mick Hay overcame a strong start from Faruk Medjedovic enroute to a third round stoppage win. Medjedovic took control of the fight early as he got the fight to the ground. Hay though was able to work his way back to his feet immediately but took punishing shots against the cage. As the second round went on though, Hay started to take control from the top position where he was able to stand over and land some big shots. Medjedovic though landed a big straight to start the final round and immediately he looked to capitalise. Medjedovic took the back standing, however Hay landed some big elbows behind him which stunned Medjedovic. Hay continued with big punches and was able to get the finish at 2:06 of the third.
Earlier in the night, youngster Jack Scudd scored a second-round TKO stoppage over Richard Blake, while Michael Flaherty used his reach well before landing a big knockout punch over his opponent Michael Richards.
Results:
- Paul Slowinski def Leamy Tato via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 2:27
- Giancarlo Embradora def Terry Balboa Kim via Decision (Unanimous 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Myles Simpson Def Jesse Medina via Decision (Unanimous 30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
- Arlene Blencowe def Mae-Lin Leow via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 4:22
- Mick Hay def Faruk Medjedovic via TKO (Punches), Rd 3, 2:06
- Jake Scudd def Richard Blake via Submission (Knees & Punches), Rd 2, 2:35
- Michael Flaherty def Michael Richards via KO (Punch), Rd 1, 1:49
- Anthony Bynoe def Yan Yurchenko via TKO (Punches), Rd 1, 2:45
- Jerick Panes def Steve Willment via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 2, 1:17
- Jarod Barke vs Goran Olujic – No Contest (Eye-poke suffered by Olujic), Rd 1
- Callan Potter def David De Conte via Submission (Armbar), Rd 1, 1:54
- Jake Hearl def Jarrad Ali via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 2, 1:36
