| 15 January 2012
You have to give credit to Element Fighting Championship (EFC) for making their inaugural fight promotion Saturday night one of the more enjoyable fight cards to hit the DFW Metroplex. With a full house packed in at the Plano Convention Center, EFC 1: The Rise was by all accounts a success. With great fights at a great venue the numerous fight fans in attendance were treated to a night of action they will not soon forget.
The night’s main event saw former WEC title challenger Marcus “The Wrecking Ball” Hicks survive some rough moments to rally back and submit Longview’s Josh Lee. While Hicks looked to come out aggressively at the opening bell, Lee seemed ready for the blitz and was able to defend against Hicks takedown attempts. When the fight did go the ground in the opening round Lee was ready and deftly caught Hicks, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, in an airtight rear naked choke that looked like it was going to put the “Wrecking Ball” to sleep. However, Hicks was able to survive the round and in the second round was able to rebound and after taking the fight to the ground sunk in a guillotine choke/crank that forced Lee to tap.
Lee made it a great fight but on this evening it was Hicks who would have his hand raised. The official time of the submission was at the 0:42 mark in round two. With the victory Hicks improves his record to 13-4; Lee falls to 8-8 in defeat.
In the evening’s co-featured bout, Abilene’s Brandon Farran scored a blistering 15 second opening round knockout of Jarret Jones. Farran came out like a man possessed and landed a hard straight right that put Jones out and the fight over. While Farran’s victory was impressive, there will be controversy surrounding the bout as many in attendance thought that the fight was ended prematurely and that Jones could probably have continued on in the fight. None the less, Farran gets the win and exacts revenge on Jones who bested him earlier in their careers with an arm bar.
The official time of the knockout was 0:15 seconds in round one. With the win Farran improves his record to 6-4; Jones falls to 5-6 in defeat.
In a battle of undefeated fighters Drew Pendleton proved too much for Alden Herbert. While the fight was largely devoid on sustained action Pendleton was the aggressor throughout the contest and simply proved to be too much of a hurdle of the young Herbert.
The judges’ scorecards read 30-27, 30-27, and 30-27 all in favor of Pendleton. With the win Pendleton remains undefeated with a a record of 5-0; Herbert tastes defeat for the first time falling to 4-1 with the loss.
Austin’s Warren Stewart scored in impressive victory over muay thai specialist Frank Barragan scoring an unanimous decision win. Things started out rocky for Stewart as Barragan took the fight to the ground early and opening up a nasty cut above the eye of Stewart with a relentless barrage of elbows from the mount. With the ringside physician concerned and checking on the severity of Stewart’s cut after the first round, something seemed to ignite a fire in Stewart entering the second round. Stewart turned up the heat in the second and third round and simply bullied Barragan throughout the course of the fight.
All three judges scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Stewart. With the win Stewart improves his record to 11-16; Barragan falls to 7-8 in defeat.
Despite an incredible resolve Lufkin’s Rodney McFarland was simply outclassed by Jason House. House used his incredible muay thai skills to batter and bruise McFarland throughout the opening round. However, try as he might, House could not get McFarland to take a step back. House would soon rectify this dilemma in the second round as a concussive right hand put McFarland on the mat. Seizing the opportunity, House jumped on McFarland and after some ground and pound, House took McFarland’s back where he slipped in the rear naked choke to end the fight.
The official time of the submission was 0:28 in the round two. With the win House improves his record to 8-5; McFarland falls to 2-5 with the loss.
In what turned out to be the fight of the night, Borzoo Honargohar and Javier Obregon waged an absolute three round war that had the gathered crowd at the Plano Convention Center on their feet cheering throughout. Early on the fight seemed to be going Obregon’s way as he was able to smother Honargohar with a relentless ground game that put the striker in peril throughout the round. However, Honargohar would begin to put his game plan into motion as he was able to deftly avoid Obregon’s takedown attempts in the second and third rounds. With Obregon’s bread and butter being stilled the fight moved to their feet where Honargohar’s excellent muay thai was utilized in full effect. But, the fight was close and in the end it was Honargohar who would walk away with the split decision victory with scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29.
With the win Honargohar improves his record to 1-0; Obregon falls to 2-2 with the loss.
Houston’s Dale Mitchell looked impressive in stopping fan favorite James Hall with a first round stoppage. Hall looked to want to stand and trade but Mitchell shot in with a quick double leg and followed that up with some hard punches from within Hall’s guard that prompted the referee to stop the fight.
The official time of the stoppage was 1:48 in the first round. With the win Mitchell improves his record to 3-4; Hall falls to 4-6 in defeat.
In a closely contested fight, Austin’s Jeremy Myers scored a unanimous decision victory over Randy Villarreal. The fight was as close as any you would ever see as Villarreal came out at a blistering pace in the opening round scoring repeatedly with some very crisp boxing. However, Villarreal’s momentum would soon be halted as Myers went to a wrestling game plan and smothered Villarreal over the course of the second and third rounds. Myer’s tenacity paid off as the judges aw him the victor with scores of 29-28 on all three cards.
With the win Myers improves his record to 3-4; Villarreal falls to 8-7 in defeat.
Fort Worth’s Daniel Miller didn’t waste any time in securing a victory over Michael Saunders with a first round guillotine. Saunders tried to get the fight to the ground but when he shot in Miller caught him in the choke and ended the fight.
The official time of the submission was 1:24 in the opening round. With the victory Miller improves his record to 3-0; Saunders falls to 1-2 with the loss.
In the night’s opening bout Austin’s Van Vo gave a spirited effort but ultimately was outclassed by Faez Miraki. In the opening round Vo controlled the bout by keeping Miraki’s takedown attempts by controlling his head and sprawling. However, Miraki, an international wrestler, eventually was able to establish his game plan in the second round and after securing the takedown, slipped in the rear naked choke to end the night.
The official time of the submission was 2:10 in the second round. With the win Miraki improves his record to 2-0; Vo falls to 1-6 in defeat.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
