Fight Lab Promotions put on another great card last night at the Grady Cole Center in Charlotte. There was a lot of action on this card as the fans in attendance got to see 5 submissions, 3 knockouts and only 1 fight go to the scorecards. Anyone that would like to see any of these fights can go to Purefight.org to catch the action. The video of these matches should be online at some point today and there are several matches that any fan of mixed martial arts would want to see. If any of you haven't checked out one of their shows yet do yourself a favor and be on the lookout for their next event. Remember MMA fans: It's the grassroots promotions like Fight Lab Pros and others that build the infrastructure of MMA and allows the fighters to begin their career and build their fight resume. They also allow fans the opportunity to catch fighters in action before they appear in internationally known organizations. And now, the results from last night's show:
Amateur Fight Results:
-155 lbs.- Marc Corum (Gastonia, NC) vs. Andrew Davis (Harrisburg, NC)
Round 1- The evening kicked off with a fast paced battle of lightweights. Round 1 began with an early takedown by Corum, who proceeded to press his opponent up against the cage. Another takedown would follow later by Corum, who showed some decent ground and pound. He would eventually take full mount and force a referee stoppage by punches.
Marc Corum (1-1) defeated Andrew Davis (0-1) by TKO at 2:34 of the 1st round.
-170 lbs.- Ryan "The Rage" Brunke (Charleston, SC). "Dangerous" Daniel Terry (Forest City, NC)
Round 1- Much of the first round was spent on the mat with Brunke in Terry's guard. The round saw Brunke attempt both a triangle and a heelhook. I scored the round 10-9 for Brunke.
Round 2- Brunke took an early lead in the 2nd by getting the better of some limited exchanges on the feet before Terry landed a takedown but Brunke would soon escape to standing position again. Terry attempted a nice guillotine choke while standing but Brunke was able to escape and ended up in Terry's guard. Brunke landed some shots from guard and then took Terry's back. Terry fought off the submissions attempts valiantly but eventually succumbed to a rear naked choke. It's worth noting that at 6'2 Brunke is a tall and rangy kid for a welterweight.
Ryan Brunke (2-0) defeated Daniel Terry (1-2) by Submission at 1:50 of the 2nd round.
-HWT- Jeremy "The Pain Train" Holm (Gastonia, NC) vs. Matt Marshall (Charlotte, NC)
Round 1- It was time for the big boys to take center stage. Both fighters came in at 6'5 250 pounds. Jeremy Holm landed a takedown to begin the 1st round and quickly took mount. Holm displayed some ground n' pound skills but might have shown even more positioning skills by maintaining mount the rest of the way. The entire round was basically Holm teeing off from mount with Marshall trying to block and buck Holm off of him. The round finally ended and I scored it 10-9 for Holm. Between rounds Marshall quit on his stool.
Jeremy Holm (1-0) defeated Matt Marshall (0-2) by TKO at 3:00 of the 1st round.
-185 lbs.- Adam "Ad-Bad" Dehart (Asheville, NC) vs. Rocky Shelton (Shelby, NC)
Round 1- Early in round one Dehart knocked Shelton to the ground with a punch and landed in Shelton's guard, where Shelton landed some quality strikes from the bottom. Dehart finally passed guard and obtained full mount where he pummeled his opponent with punches until the referee called a halt to the contest.
Adam Dehart (6-2) defeated Rocky Shelton (1-1) by TKO at 1:53 of the 1st round.
-170 lbs.- Blaine Thomas (Laurinburg, NC) vs. Travis Ferrell (Chester, SC)
Round 1- This one was for the Fight Lab Pros amateur 170 pound title and was a rematch from a great battle back in early April. Some of the hardest shots that Ferrell would take would be the ones delivered by his cornerman prior to him entering the cage. A strange ritual but one that obviously got Travis ready for battle because he opened up round 1 with some nice kicks to the legs and body of Thomas. Ferrell then secured a takedown, only to see Thomas reverse position and land in his opponent's guard. After a quick scramble they were back on their feet where they exchanged some haymakers. This one was intense! Thomas scored a nice slam after Ferrell connected with a knee. Ferrell finally landed a NASTY looking armbar for the victory.
Travis Ferrell (6-1) defeated Blaine Thomas (6-3) by Submission at 2:13 of the 1st round.
After a brief intermission it was time for the Professional Fights:
- 170 lbs.- "The Natural Born Killer" Brian Keller (Cleveland, NC) vs. Derrick Kennington (Sumter, SC)
Round 1- Keller got the action underway with a nice leg kick. Soon both fighters found themselves in a clinch against the fence. Kennington landed a nice uppercut and attempted a guillotine choke. Keller showed a lot of skill in escaping the choke but Kennington then slapped on an armbar for the win. A nice showing by Kennington, who was born in Charlotte but fights out of Sumter, SC and has just recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan.
Derrick Kennington (3-1 Pro) defeated Brian Keller (2-1 Pro; 6-2 Amateur) by Submission at 1:45 of the 1st round.
-135 lbs.- Jesse Riggleman (Harrisburg, VA) vs. Preston "Butch" Marks (Asheville, NC)
There was a lot of skill displayed and a lot of back-and-forth in this one:
Round 1- Riggleman scored an early takedown. Marks was extremely active from guard throughout this first round, pushing the pace and attempting multiple heel hooks. An inadvertent foul by marks (kick to the head of a downed opponent) momentarily stopped action briefly but no point was deducted. During another takedown attempt by Riggleman, Marks sunk a nice guillotine attempt. This round had some great transitions and saw Marks go for armbars, chokes and heelhooks. Although Riggleman attempted some ground and pound, Marks kept a tight guard that stifled much of that offense and because of his activity I gave him the round. 10-9 Marks.
Round 2- Riggleman asserted himself in this round. We saw some decent dirty boxing by both guys but I felt that Riggleman got the better of the round with his knees from the clinch and his effective ground and pound. One thing that I noticed was that Riggleman does a nice job of setting up his takedowns by leading with an overhand right and then clinching to secure the takedown. He ended the round with some nasty uppercuts. 10-9 Riggleman.
Round 3- Riggleman started the final round off with a nice slam where he worked some more ground and pound from the guard of Marks. Marks got back to his feet where more dirty boxing and knees from the clinch ensued. After landing another takedown, Riggleman worked some effective body shots and knees to the thigh of Marks. 10-9 Riggleman.
Although I felt that Riggleman deserved the nod 29-28, Butch Marks deserves some serious props for taking on such an experienced opponent in his first pro fight. He did a great job and appears to have the potential to be a successful pro fighter. Nice showing by Riggleman, who appears to be a very talented bantamweight fighter.
Jesse Riggleman (5-0 Pro; 5-0 Amateur) defeated Preston Marks (0-1 Pro; 1-0 Amateur) by Decision 29-28;30-27;29-28.
-155 lbs.- Keith "The Rockstar" Richardson (Rock Hill, SC) vs. "El Dingo Loco" Joseph Carroll (Claremont, NC)
Round 1- Carroll came out in a southpaw stance and after a feeling out process Richardson landed a nice takedown. Carroll made his way back to his feet. A nice superman punch was delivered against the cage by Richardson. Carroll landed a nice takedown from the clinch. As Richardson scrambled back to his feet Carroll sunk in a deep guillotine. Carroll arched his back and dropped Richardson to the mat in what looked almost like a DDT. Richardson rolled over and attempted to escape the choke. This happened a couple of times as the two fighters engaged in a crowd-pleasing exchange of Carroll trying to sink the choke and Richardson attempting to escape. Richardson showed why he's one of the best lightweights in the region when he not only escaped the guillotine attempt but also attempted an armbar of his own. After a scramble, Richardson slammed Carroll and landed in side mount. Carroll was able to pull guard and finally secured an armbar for the win. This fight had the fans cheering throughout and was a great display of skill and tenacity by both guys.
Joseph Carroll (2-0 Pro; 8-2 Am) defeated Keith Richardson (1-1 Pro; 4-0 Am) by Submission at 3:56 of the 1st round.
-155 lbs.- "The Silent Assasin" Matt Covan (Asheville, NC) vs. Brandon Brown (Concord, NC)
Round 1- Brandon Brown began the round with a shot. Covan quickly sprawled and attempted a rear naked choke. Brown battled for quite awhile and showed some heart by trying to work his way out of the bad position but finally succumbed to the choke, giving Covan the victory.
Matt Covan (5-2 Pro; 6-0 Am) defeated Brandon Brown (0-3 Pro) at 2:13 of the 1st round.
Loading comments...