Urban Fight night 8 produced 18 fights at the Whitlam Leisure Centre in Liverpool, Sydney on Saturday night.
In the main event James Najim stole the show by pulling off a rare twister submission against Mark Familari. A very difficult submission to accomplish, the twister involves forcing the head towards the shoulder while controlling the body causing the opponents spine and neck to twist. The move was made famous by 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu founder Eddie Bravo and has only once ever been completed in the UFC by Korean featherweight Chan Sung Jung.
It was impressive that Najim was able to get the move to work in the very first round and in only his third professional fight. The win improved his pro career to 3-0 in which he can take much confidence after also displaying some crisp striking in the opening stages of the contest. Najim however wasn’t the only Australian Top Team fighter able to score himself an impressive submission victory.
The gym must be working diligently on their submission game as Najim’s team mate Will ‘The Tongan Thor’ Namoa also pulled off an impressive heel hook in the co-main event of the night against Team Nemesis product James Londrigan. After a few early exchanges a quick flurry from Namoa saw a scramble ensue in which both fighters ended up entangled in each other’s legs on the canvas. With Namoa and Londrigan both looking for legs and ankles it was ultimately Namoa who was the quickest to pull the trigger and earn the submission victory.
It wasn’t all submissions however as Joshua Culibao and Ryan Robertson both defeated their respective opponents by TKO in the first round in the other professional fights on the card. Robertson was particularly impressive managing to avoid a number of submission attempts from Alby Figueroa before landing a big left hand and following up with some nasty elbows to finish the fight.
The remainder of the card saw a large number of amateur fights which proved the growing caliber of fighter here in Australia. Alex Gorgees was able to defeat Blake Donnelly by decision to win the UFN Amateur Lightweight Title. The fight was evenly contested with the striking exchanges slightly favoring Gorgees while Donnelly was able to land a couple of takedowns. The Australian Top Team fighter Gorgees had the support of the crowd behind him as chants of Alex echoed throughout the arena spurring him on to a well-deserved decision victory. The 5×3 minute rounds will be invaluable experience for both competitors moving forward as they continue in their careers.
Urban Fight Night will return on December 3rd for show number 9 and promises to deliver more entertaining up and coming Australian talent as well as more professional fighters who are quickly moving through the ranks.
Results (Pro):
- James Najim def. Mark Familari via Submission (Twister), Rd 1
- William Namoa def. James Londrigan via Submission (Heel Hook). Rd 1
- Joshua Culibao def. Simon Arentz TKO, Rd 1
- Ryan Robertson def. Alby Figueroa via TKO, Rd 1
Results (Amateur):
- Alex Gorgees def. Blake Donnelly via Decision (Unanimous) – UFN Amateur Lightweight Title
- Jaron Smith def. Joel Kendrick via TKO, Rd 2
- Cameron Rowston def. Sani Laititi via TKO, Rd 2
- Donald Nairn def. Alistar Keenan via TKO, Rd 2
- Hayder Khudair def. Wayne Cummins via TKO, Rd 2
- Mone Teaupa def Beau Baker via TKO, Rd 2
- Pete Dawson def. Helio Pinto via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd, 3
- Jack McLackland def. Hayden Harbutt via Decision
- Patrick Stellino def Heath Knight via Submission, Rd 2
- Adam Bailey def. Peter Boskovski via TKO (Ground and Pound), Rd 3, 0:43
- Matt Vest def. Tyrone Georgiadis via Decision (Unanimous)
- Chris Tuckley def. Kaleb Rideout via Decision (Unanimous)
- Sezgin Er def. Khan Wilson via Decision (Unanimous)
- Antonio Bagnato vs. Jacob Cooper (Majority Draw)
Urban Fight Night 7 Results: Shane Parker outpoints Ryan Robertson
