Team Perosh Mixed Martial Arts fighter Andrew Mills kept the Superfight welterweight strap firmly on his waist with victory over David Francis on Friday night.
The bout headlined Superfight 12 which took place at Club Punchbowl in Sydney, Australia
Mills was made to work for it with David Francis having his moments that included dropping Mills with an overhand right inside the opening 30-seconds. A training partner of UFC middleweight champion Rob Whittaker, Francis started to wind up the punches, in particular with the overhand right. He struggled with Mills’ continued aggressive pace and was forced to defend both a rear-naked choke and tight guillotine as Mills took control by the end of the third round.
The overhand right always looked like a dangerous weapon for Francis and neither fighter wanted to give an inch as they battled for the centre of the cage. Francis found another gas tank in the fourth round, connecting with a step-up head-kick that gave him the vigour to try and get himself back into the fight. It seemed to work, at least momentarily, as he defended the takedown, took his opponents back, only to slip off and end up on his back.
With it potentially all still up for grabs in the last round, Mills shot in for an early takedown and successfully snatched the single-leg to take the fight to the ground, where he stayed in control. As tired as Francis may have been, there was no quit in him, as he continued to look for a way to get back to his feet but when he did, Mills stayed with him and was able to take the fight back to the ground where he remained in control.
The judges decision came back unanimous, scoring it 48-47, 49-46, 49-45 to Mills who moved to 10-3 as a pro. It’s a third straight win for Mills who claimed the title back in March against veteran Corey Nelson. Francis drops to 8-4.
Sam Kei continues to impress in his MMA return, securing a TKO victory over Gregory Hearne to capture the Superfight heavyweight title. Kei scored an early takedown and unloaded with elbows to open up a big cut on his opponents face very early. With blood pouring out, Kei stayed heavy on top and continued to unload. With a break in the action, the referee halted the contest for the doctor to check the cut. With the decent size cut being directly over the eye, the bout was called much to Hearne’s dismay.
‘K9’ Kei, a former Nitro light-heavyweight champion, is now 2-0 since returning back to the cage in May after a near 5 year hiatus.
Results (Pro):
- Andrew Mills (c) def. David Francis via Decision (Unanimous) – Superfight welterweight title
- Sam Kei def. Gregory Hearne via TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage), Rd 1, 4:20 – Superfight heavyweight title
Results (Amateur):
- Jordan Gamble def. Gustavo Carracci via Decision (Majority)
- Tavita Vaoga def. Livingston Familari via Decision (Unanimous)
- Reon Mahima def. Peri Santos via TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage), Rd 2
- Michael Stanoff def. Joshua Hughes via TKO (Strikes), Rd 1, 1:59
- Thuy Pham def. Amena Hadaya via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 1:59
- Daniel Spaseski def. Nathan Shomar via Decision (Split)
*Image via Warren S Photography/Superfight MMA
