Full Force made its way to the Holiday Inn in Boxborough, Ma Saturday night with “Untamed 23”. The night had two championship fights on the card and would’ve had a third but unfortunately heavyweight champ Josh Diekman had to pull out due to injury.
The night started out with 5 amateur bouts:
John Barnaby (Renzo NH) made quick work of (Spectum) fighter Matt Green in their middleweight bout. The bout was stopped at 0:39 of the 1st round due to Tapout from strikes.
Robbie Slade (Aggression) took on Sam Elliot (Boneyard) in what was a spirited contest. This fight was left to the judges, who were in favor of Slade, awarding him the unanimous decision victory.
Ryan Sanders of (Team Irish) wasted little time submitting Adam Harsip (Strikezone). The fight started with a big head kick landed by Sanders who quickly transitioned to a triangle choke forcing Harsip to tap at 0:18 of the 1st round.
The only other amateur bout to go the distance saw Jason Valenta (Savage) defeat Kevin Ostrich (Bishops). Valenta won by unanimous decision.
Noah Hall (Team Irish) who was sporting AmericanStandUp shorts (see their ad on our homepage, free plug) won on a somewhat controversial stoppage over Alex Luna (Boneyard). Hall had rocked Luna and followed him to the mat ready to land some more shots as the ref jumped in at 0:21 of the 2nd round. Luna quickly jumped to his feet, pleading his case but the referee was in very good position and clearly saw something in Luna’s eyes that caused him to jump in. My opinion is, I would rather see a fight stopped prematurely than see one go a little too long and have a fighter get injured.
Now on to the Pro’s:
Marquis Marquez (Bombsquad/Ultimate MMA) won his first pro fight by defeating (Green Mountain Boys) James Beane. Beane, who I had winning the 1st rd, came out in the 2nd and got another takedown but got caught in a triangle choke, forcing him to tap at 1:11 of the 2nd rd. Marquez moves to 1-0, while Beane falls to 1-2.
Jason “The Mason” O’Neil (BTT/Boston) made his debut against (Boneyard) Jed Tinlin. Tinlin, who dropped down to light heavyweight for this match was looking for his first win (0-3). Tinlin would get that win by outworking a very strong O’Neil, with much of this match taking place on the ground, Tinlin was awarded the unanimous decision.
The next match was a Lightweight Title qualifier pitting Pete Jeffrey (Triforce/Santos) against Chris Chappell (Mass BJJ) with the winner advancing on to face the winner of the Marc Stevens/ Will Kerr bout.
Jeffrey came out landing some nice low leg kicks, Chappell shoots in and gets the takedown but they get right to their feet. Jeffrey lifts Chappell up and slams him down but Chappell gets right up. They clinch up and Jeffrey secures a standing guillotine, Chappell tries a unique way of escaping the choke by climbing the fence with his feet but to no avail. Chappell is forced to tap at 2:47 of the 1st rd, with the win Jeffrey lands himself a future title shot.
Ryan Hackney (BMAC) and Chad Beane (GMB) put on a very entertaining fight, with both fighters showing very good grappling skills as neither was able to hold position for very long. It seemed as though every time one had top position the other would sweep and reverse. In the end it was Beane who controlled the majority of the fight, earning him the unanimous decision. Beane improves his record to 2-1 while Hackney falls to 2-2.
Nick Calandrino (Bombsquad/Ironhorse) 5-1 was looking to hand John Manly 4-0 (Team Link) his first loss. It was not to be, although Calandrino won the first round, Manly showed tremendous heart battling back in the 2nd rd. Calandrino had been inflicting the most damage throughout the fight but Manly was able to take his back and at 2:22 of the 2nd rd sunk in a rear-naked-choke getting the win and improving his record to 5-0.
Lightweight Title Fight:
Champion Will Kerr 6-1 (Strikeforce) vs. Marc Stevens 8-3 (Tai Kai)
This fight did not disappoint, although many expected this fight to hit the ground at some point, these two were happy to stand and slug it out. At times Stevens seemed annoyed as Kerr would throw some punches and back out. I gave the 1st rd to Stevens, as he landed the harder shots and pressed the action. They come out in the 2nd and start to exchange strikes, Stevens is getting the better of Kerr at this point, Kerr then lands a big shot bloodying the nose of Stevens, and the round ends with a big head kick from Kerr. I gave the 2nd rd to Kerr. The 3rd round was more of the same. Kerr is now winning the stand-up battle but gets caught with a big shot cutting him open under the right eye. A very tough fight to call, the round ends and it goes to the judges. Kerr wins by unanimous decision causing a mixed reaction from the crowd. Stevens was very impressive and will more than likely get another shot at the belt.
Middleweight Title Fight:
Champion Nate Kittredge 7-1 (GMB) vs. Gabriel “The Gladiator” Santos 6-5 (Team Link)
It’s apparent from the outset that Santos wants to take this fight to the ground. The only problem is getting an accomplished wrestler like Kittredge down, and that was a problem for Santos. Kittredge has a great sprawl and was not going to be baited in by Santos who was inviting him to engage in a ground fight. The crowd becomes irritated at Santos for repeatedly pulling guard. The round ends and it goes to Kittredge, the same can be said for rounds 2 and 3. There was some stand-up during this fight and Kittredge won that as well. In the end, Santos was never able to fight his fight and Kittredge retained his title as the Full Force middleweight champion, winning by unanimous decision in a fight that probably didn’t live-up to its expectations.
When all was said and done it was a great night of fights and even some of the local UFC stars were there to corner their fighter’s. Gabriel Gonzaga, Joe Lauzon and Marcus Davis were all on hand. Be sure to get your tickets for Full Forces upcoming show in Plymouth, Ma at the Plymouth Memorial Hall. “Untamed 24” will take place Saturday October 25 featuring Tatu, Justin Hammerstrom, Jerry Speigal and many many more. See you there.
To see more pictures of the event, click the link below.
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