Born to Fight XI Amateur MMA a hit this Sunday at the Saddlerack in Fremont
By Jon Swenson - Last updated: Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) legalized amateur MMA in 2009, then designated the newly formed California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization (CAMO) to regulate amateur MMA in California. This Sunday at the Saddlerack bar in Fremont former Strikeforce Middleweight champion and owner of Universal Strength Headquarters Cung Le and former ISKA Champion and owner of American Kickboxing Academy Javier Mendez promoted 9 amateur MMA fights and one jr. Muaythai kickboxing exhibition as part of the long running south bay Born to Fight series.
The line outside the door Sunday wrapped around the parking lot. Several hundred fans were turned away when the capacity limit of 700 was reached. What those fans missed at Born to Fight XI was one of the most polished and entertaining amateur fightsport events put on in the Bay Area. How many smaller promotions have 3 large screens broadcasting action inside the ring, multiple bars, and a VIP section large enough to house Cung Le, Josh Thomson, Gilbert Melendez, Cain Velasquez, Herschel Walker (seen here breakdancing in the ring), Justin Wilcox, Jon Fitch and Trevor Prangley among several others.
This is amateur MMA, so there were fighters tumbling through the ropes, and a power double leg by John “Cali” Davis drove Felix Guel into the ropes hard enough to collapse the ring and force a 15-minute delay. The hiccups and unusual venue aside, fans came to see the fights, and the action inside the ring was spectacular.
The highlight of the night came with American Kickboxing Academy San Jose’s John “Cali” Davis facing Norcal Fight Factory’s Felix Guel. After jockeying against the ropes for position, “Cali” picked up a large Guel and drove him across the ring into the far ropes. Each of the four corners of the ring buckled, and the referee quickly stepped in to pause the fight. After a 15 minute delay which both fighters took in stride (and CSAC’s new heavyweight referee Monte tested the ropes), “Cali” picked up where he left off and quickly scored another takedown. Felix Guel expertly got his legs in front of him to blunt a portion of the whithering ground and pound.
It looked like the second round would proceed in a similar fashion after “Cali” dropped Guel with a big right hand. Guel swept to top control, but “Cali” powered his way back to his feet. Bigger fighters often have a problem maintaining cardio, in the amateur ranks even moreso. “Cali” began to wear down in the middle of the second. Guel was working hard on top for a choke or an arm, but he was swept and John Davis nearly finished the fight with heavy, heavy ground and pound. A contingent from Davis’ church were in attendance and vocal ringside supporting their fighter.
The pace slowed slightly in the third, as Davis weared Guel down in the corner with knees to the midsection. Davis had to double clutch in order not to land knees to the head, against the rules in California amateur MMA but fundamental in muaythai training. He took Guel down and methodically worked to full mount. For the third straight round, he attempted to finish the fight with ground and pound as the horn went off. Draped in a Californian state flag, “Cali” earned a dominant unanimous decision.
Many of the fighters represented top Bay Area MMA gyms, including the San Jose and Sunnyvale AKA’s, Gilbert Melendez’s El Nino Training Center, the Combat Sports Academy, World Team USA, Pacific Ring Sports and several others. Also represented were two fighters from the Columbus Sheeley’s Iron Tigers gym. Sandeep Kommini of Sheeley’s faced AKA Sunnyvale’s Shahriyar Erfanian in the second amateur MMA fight of the night, and Sheeley’s Brian Smith faced the highly touted Gabriel Carrasco of AKA in San Jose in the main event. Carrasco picked Smith apart, then forced a stoppage due to strikes as the Columbus fighter could no longer defend himself.
Two other standouts on the amateur MMA card were AKA San Jose’s Eduardo Carillo and World Team USA’s Vince Bordi. Carillo met a game Anthony De Los Santos (CCK) in the third MMA fight of the night. Carillo came out to perfectly appropiate Mexicana music, and for Anthony’s part he came out all business to tried and true metal. Early in the first round in became evident that Carillo had power to spare. After a quick takedown, Carillo worked to lock in a choke and it appeared DLS tapped outside of the view of the referee.
The fight continued in the second round, as Anthony De Los Santos tried to back Carillo off with a high kick and a superman punch, but neither landed. A spinning back kick did land, but DLS is quickly on his back defending another choke attempt. In the third round, Carillo shows precision as well as power. With DLS again coming forward, Eduardo lands a flush counter right, then two more long jabs as he backed out. Carillo finished the third in impressive fashion, scoring another takedown ending the fight with several punishing shoulder strikes to the head. He earned a unanimous decision win and accepted a medal from Strikeforce veteran Justin Wilcox.
In his bout against Gladiator Academy’s Jonathan Chaplain, Vince Bordi landed the second biggest highlight of the night. He upended Chaplain and slammed him into the canvas, earning a standing ovation and a loud roar from the crowd. In the second round Bordi bobbed and weaved, and feinted before touching Chaplain repeatedly from outside. Three consecutive blows forced Chaplain into a desperation takedown attempt, but Bordi quickly scrambled into top position and nearly finished the fight in full control.
The third round was equally dominant for Bordi. After a greco roman clinch in the corner, Bordi scored a quick trip takedown and then transitioned into half guard. Chaplain was struggling for breath as the World Team USA fighter rained down blows on top of him. The referee nearly stopped the fight, but Vince Bordi earned a unanimous decision win and was awarded a medal by top UFC contender Jon Fitch.
The event started off with a jr. Muaythai kickboxing exhibition between 6-year old Justin Rodriguez and 8-year old Adam Arenas, refereed by former Strikeforce Lightweight champion Josh Thomson. Both jr. Muaythai fighters Rodriquez and Arenas were active around the ring. Each landed several kicks, punches and takedowns to loud cheers from the fans. Announcer Travis Johnson (also ISKA Kickboxing Champion and K-1 veteran) described both kickboxers as future champions, and encouraged fans to give them another standing ovation after the fight.
Also successful on the amateur MMA card: Steve Tomayo (Combat Sports Academy) won via unanimous decision over Isaiah Gonzalez (Norcal Fight Factory), Sandeep Kommini (Sheeley’s Iron Tigers) with a come from behind win via 2nd round triangle choke of Shahriyar Efranian (Team AKA Sunnyvale), Joe Silva (Combat Sports Academy) decision over Felix Lopez (Pacific Ring Sports), a split decision win for Joe Neal (True Fight Club) over Benji Amezquita (Antdawg’s USH), and Jessie Henderson (Gladiator Academy) decision over Jordan Felix (El Nino’s Training Center).
One of the ongoing topics of recent MMA coverage has been establishing a hierarchy within professional MMA divisons. Establishing a pecking order from champions to top contenders, to depth veterans and young prospects looking to break into the ranks. Amateur mixed martial arts in California allows many competitors to develop skills against quality competition before turing pro. Up until this point, many fighters had to train and compete in other disciplines before transitioning into professional MMA.
Now individuals can lay the foundations of a professional career in the amateur ranks, and in the near future they will be able to compete in the inaugural California State Amateur MMA Championships. Starting in September, 8 different regions in the North (Sacramento, Central Valley, Bay Area, Central Coast) and South (Los Angeles, San Bernadino, Orange County, San Diego) will seed 8-man regional single elimination tournaments in 8 weight classes (135lb, 145lb, 155lb, 170lb, 185lb, 205lb, 230lb and Heavyweight). Winners will go on to the regional Quarterfinals, then the State Semifinals and State Finals. In the first two rounds, fights will be 2 rounds at 2 minutes each, with a third deciding round in case of a tie. In the Semis and Finals, each fight will consist of three 2 minute rounds. The Finals will be held December 4th. There is no information yet on the date or venue for the “Bay Area” regional.
More information can be found on the inaugural Amateur California MMA State Championships at the official CAMO website. Open signups for the tournament begin August 7th at camo-mma.org. For more information on Born to Fight visit CungLe.com or AKAkickbox.com. A Sharkspage photo gallery from Born to Fight XI is available here.
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