Rage in the Cage 145 Recap
Rage in the cage impressed us all once again with a great night of fights, and that’s why they are such a successful organization here in Arizona – exciting fights and a professional show. On the 144 card only 1 of 14 fights went to decision and only 2 fights left the first round. RITC 145 had 17 fights and only 6 went to decision and many finished in the first round. The fighters and matchups are great and they are always trying to please the audience.
Roland, the fights promoter and number 1 guy, knows what it takes to keep MMA alive here in Arizona and does a great job at all of his events to keep the audience into the show. This night of fights was exciting and lasted almost till midnight, but was well worth watching every fight pan out. Below is our fight by fight rundown, and for further info check our photo section or www.rageinthecage.com for fight videos.
Amateur:
Justin Franco (Gracie Phoenix) won via 1st round submission against Joe Upshaw (The Asylum) – Justin came out with a flurry of strikes till he worked inside to the clinch. Justin tried first pulling a kimura but when it was defended he transitioned to a deep guillotine when Joe was trying to get up. 1:23 into the first round a submission started off the night with a bang.
Marcelo Castaneda (Arizona Combat Sports) won via 1st round submission against Dock Phelps (Bambusa) – Marcelo followed the first fight by coming out and setting a fast paced aggressive fight. Both standing and on the mat Marcelo was in grappling dominance and control. 45 seconds into round 1 he took Dock’s back and secured a nice rear naked choke that was also a very hard neck crank.
Cale Errigo (The Asylum) won via 3rd round submission against Brycet Case (Pit MMA) – Brycet on my score card pulled off two impressive rounds and had the fight won if he could survive the 3rd. Cale left his corner going into the third round knowing he needed a finish or he would be going home with a loss. 56 seconds into the 3rd round he had secured the back and a deep rear naked choke to end the fight.
James Fabbri (Lions Den) won via 1st round submission against Matthew Mito (Schultz MMA) – James rushed across the cage and latched onto Matthew for a nice throw to the mat. James passed to side control and started working a kimura but Matthew refused to tap, The Ref eventually had to step in and call the fight once Matthew was red in pain and his arm was contorted all the way around.
Bashir Saber (Phoenix Combat Academy) won via 1st round submission against Jaymes Schulte (Team Night Marchers) – Jaymes came out winning the fight all the way until a bad scramble left his arm out for grabs. Bashir worked hard until about 20 seconds left in round 1 he secured the arm bar and won.
Brandon Spencer (LA Boxing) won via 1st round submission against Jason Maynes (Dawg Pound) – The striking was pretty much equal in this fight and it was back and forth on the feet. Jason over committed on some takedowns and was caught in Brandon’s guillotine with just 1 minute left in round one.
Eddie Battross (Team Pit) won via 1st round submission against Bobby Pompa (Central Boxing) – Bobby came out as the more confident striker and dropped his hands to taunt Eddie. This seemed to set Eddie into rage mode and he picked up Bobby very high for an immediate slam to the mat. As Bobby was trying to work his way up the cage to stand Eddie pulled a power guillotine that put Bobby to sleep against the cage.
Taton Ruhyl (Dawg Pound) fought to a draw against Scott Guenther (RITC Training Center) – I gave the first round 10-9 to Scott for him cranking submission attempts on Taton and controlling the ground. In the second Taton was on fire and threw Scott around and pounded on him and the mat during his ground and pound for a very large portion on the round. Taton was swept but reversed right away, and I had him at a 10-8 blowout this round, but he looked totally gassed after the effort. Scott came out in the third and fought a close fight but was still taken down, he did more damage and work so I gave him the third 10-9. I agree with the judge’s decision on this one.
Richard Fry (RITC Training Center) won via 2nd round submission against Sean Farrar (Freestyle) – This was a close fight but the skill rested more in Richards planning and ground work. In the second the striker in Sean took Richard down, eventually ending him up on the wrong side of a rear naked choke.
Dane Guthrie (Freestyle) won via unanimous decision against David Keene (Pit MMA) Dane was the more technical striker but David had the size advantage for sure. David’s strikes would come in flurries and would end with him pressing Dane against the cage. What secured the decision for Dane was the more accurate striking, the amount of damage caused by strikes, and the only landed takedown of the fight.
Mike Chavez (Dawg Pound) won via decision against Manny Guajardo (Knights Muay Thai) – I give Manny credit for his heart and takedowns against a wrestler when he is a striker, but that eventually lead him to his loss. Manny was overpowered on the ground and no matter what position he obtained Mike powered out of it and came out on top. Mike probably landed 8 reversals or sweeps in the fight but in the later rounds was rocked heavily by striking. I gave him a split decision 29-28 win, but the judges felt he did enough for a 30-27.
Larry Robertson (RITC Training Center) won via Decision)against Sean Reilly (Dawg Pound) – For being 50 years young Larry is quite the Greco roman wrestler. He dominated this fight via takedowns at will and great control. His ground and pound was fantastic and Sean stuck in the fight with great heart and even landed some powerful shots while standing. I gave all 3 rounds 10-9 to Larry Robertson and so did the judges.
Pro:
Eric Regan (Hard Knocks Gym) won via split decision against Nadeem Al-Hasan (The Asylum) – Nadeem pushed the pace and controlled round one and defiantly won it in all aspects. When round 2 came around Nadeem’s strikes and shots slowed and Eric pushed the pace with his hard striking that was also very fast and pushed Nadeem to back up a lot during the round. The third round was very close both fighters were going all out to steal the third and win the fight, Eric did enough to please the judges and Nadeem looked very depressed with the decision, but overall it was a very good and close fight.
Eddie Arizmendi (Apex MMA) won via 1st round knockout against Roe Harris (DeBrasil Academy) – Eddie moved from 185 (where he is RITC champ) to 213 pounds to fight Roe. When the fight started Eddie stalked Roe around the cage like a young Anderson Silva and hit him dead on with almost everything he threw. Eddie Rocked Roe standing and he was stumbling backwards he looked knocked out, that didn’t stop Eddie’s killer instinct from finishing the job Roe was sleeping on the mat 1:35 into round 1 due to strikes.
Mark Martinez (The Works) won via split decision against JoJo Thompson (RITC Training Center) – Mark showed us in every round that he wanted to be the champion more. His striking was faster and he did not let JoJo intimidate him. The striking went back and forth and it looked like a big knockout was coming the whole fight but the punches never hit either fighters button. Tough scrap but Mark took the split Nod.
Matt Lucas (Bad Blood, Pit MMA, Turner Center) won via 1st round TKO against Shawn Frye (The Asylum) – Matt came out with some fast strikes which stunned Shawn who probably thought this fight would be mostly wrestling from Matt. Once Matt took the fight to the mat he transitioned to a crucifix position and worked his strikes to a TKO 1:10 into round 1.
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Category: MMA, Rage in the cage, Results
About the Author (Author Profile)
A college student residing in Arizona, coming off of active duty and continuing to work for the government. I hold a black belt in Hapkido, and have high school wrestling experience paired with multiple grappling tournaments. I spent six months training Authentic Muay Thai and now I am currently enrolling in Gracie B.J.J/MMA this week. I plan on starting my amateur fighting Career sometime late this year to early next year and also plan on entering B.J.J. tournaments through the year.Subscribe
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I was somewhat disappointed that Martinez won the decision over Thompson. I’m of the old school in that I believe you have to beat the champ to take the title and it was a very even fight, but that is why you don’t leave it in the hands of the judges. Justin Franco and Larry Robertson both had great performances. The draw between Ruhyl and Guenther was the worst fight of the night. Both guys were gassed out by the end of the first round and the draw was due to a point deduction on an intentional headbutt by Ruhyl. It was a very good fight card and an entertaining night.