Davis Out-Wrestles Chism To Win MMA Debut At No Boundary: “The Awakening”!

The following is a guest post by Tim O’Connor (timoconnor@ne-mma.com) of New England Mixed Martial Arts. Photos by Chris Lally (christlally@ne-mma.com).

(Plymouth, MA) – The JunglePlex in Plymouth, Massachusetts was the setting for Frederic Belleton’s foray into the promotional side of mixed martial arts (MMA) last Saturday night.  The current EliteXC fighter spared no expense on his fledgling promotion, No Boundary, with slick production values (including the best opening to a local MMA show in recent memory, a 4 minute music video featuring still photographs of the night’s competitors on a theatre-size screen), superstar MMA fighter appearances (the list is way to numerous to cover in full, but Patrick Cote and Nate “The Rock” Quarry were the highlights), and most importantly many of the top local fighters.  No Boundary dubbed the event “The Awakening”, which turned out to be a misnomer as the hundreds of fans in attendance sadly “slept” through some seriously strong performances.

Your browser may not support display of this image.Matchmaker Matt Peterson should be given credit for finalizing one of the best Main Events of 2008 in New England: 2008 NCAA 197lb. Wrestling National Champion Phil Davis making his professional MMA debut against hard-nosed Georgian Brett Chism in the Light Heavyweight division.  Peterson sought out Davis after Team Link and The Ultimate Fighter veteran Karen Gregorian pulled out of the main event with an undisclosed illness, reportedly a nasty staph infection.  Davis (1-0) did not disappoint as the Lionheart Fighter out of State College, Pennsylvania relied on his incredible wrestling ability to repeatedly take Chism(7-4) to the ground and deliver strikes from guard, side control, and mount.  Chism was game the whole way as the Valdosta Martial Arts Center product showcased his cage savvy by constantly moving from Davis’ strikes and slithering out of mount on more than one occasion.

“I wrestled for eight years, but it’s a lot different wrestling a National champ,” Chism announced post fight, “I hate getting taken down, I blocked a few of them and got up, but his takedowns are just so strong, there wasn’t much I could do.”

Davis looked incredibly strong and quick in the cage, albeit a bit green with his jiu-jitsu, as he was consistently out of position with numerous key-lock and kimura attempts.  In the end Davis relied on what he knows best, world-class wrestling, and used it to keep Chism grounded and eating punches all night long.  The judges saw the bout 20-18 in favor of Davis for the Unanimous Decision victory, his first as a professional MMA fighter.

“I felt good, I definitely could’ve done better in a couple key areas,” Davis recounted, “I knew he was that guy who not going to tap, I heard his elbow crack (during a kimura attempt), so I couldn’t let up.”

At No Boundary: “The Awakening” only one fighter who showed up actually let up and that was Hoodlum MMA’s David Woodby (2-7).  Scheduled to fight fellow Heavyweight Cody Lightfoot (1-0) Woodby trained, made weight, entered the JunglePlex looking good, but called “no mas” prior to the fighters meeting and simply left the building.  A few on-lookers said Woodby had commented that his “heart just wasn’t in it”; an unfortunate circumstance for a card which featured a great night of fights.

“Fight-Of-The-Night” most certainly belonged to Justin Homsey (Renzo Gracie – New Hampshire) and Aguilano Brandao (Brazilian Martial Arts Center) as the two excited the crowd early with an unexpected trade of strikes then put on the jiu-jitsu war everyone expected from the start!

Homsey (3-1) started fast with the strikes and but soon found himself embroiled in a ground war.  As Homsey nailed a quick takedown and powered Brandao (7-4) for a slam just after the takedown he briefly backed away looking to land strikes from above his downed opponent.  The ever dangerous Brandao was able to trip Homsey up and sink in what looked to be a fight-ending armbar.  As Homsey twisted and flipped his way around the cage Brandao just bent the elbow more.

“Ya, it was pretty tight, my arm is pretty sore,” Homsey said, “You just don’t want to quit, I wasn’t losing tonight.  I got away from the game plan my team set-up and I ended up in an armbar, they were great to me though and we pulled through.”

Homsey pulled through by showcasing the type of toughness few possess in this sport and finally wriggled out of the armbar and a tight triangle which Brandao immediately transitioned to.  Keeping his composure Homsey pushed through the triangle, keeping the pressure away from his neck, and was able to break free of Brandao grip, although he clearly lost the first round.

In Round 2 Homsey, knowing he was down, came out the aggressor and shot for a takedown.  After working to side control, however, Brandao was able to control Homsey’s posture and force Referee Gary Foreman to stand the two combatants up.  Now upright Brandao tried to pounce by throwing a head kick and a wild right hand, but his lack of technique left him off balance, Homsey shot, Brandao sprawled but couldn’t keep the under-hooks in and Homsey hopped onto Brandao back.  In lightening quick fashion Homsey locked in the Rear Naked Choke and Brandao was forced to tap out at the 2:23 mark of Round 2.

Your browser may not support display of this image.A lighter Rigo Dominicci (3-5), fighting at 170lbs., found himself the underdog once more to a strong wrestler in form of Matt Johnson (2-5) of South Shore Sportfight.  Dominicci was fresh off a decision victory over “Boston Brawler” Justin Hammerstrom and was looking to put together the first 2-fight wining streak of his career. From the outset Dominicci looked fast and powerful as he delivered a kick to the leg of the bulky Johnson and followed with an overhand right forcing Johnson to clinch and push Dominicci to the cage.  Against the cage Dominicci turned Johnson and forced him to the ground.  Once grounded Dominicci was relentless with his ground and pound which forced Johnson to turn away from the assault, which the fighters were told would bring an immediate end to a contest, true to his word Referee David Ginsberg ended the fight at 1:40 of the 1st Round.

In another marquee match-up Sityodtong’s Eddie “The Sultan” Saldana (4-2) tangled with South Shore Sportfight’s Jesse Peterson (4-2).  The hulking Peterson dominated much of the action throughout by taking Saldana down and keeping him pinned to the canvas.  Once on the ground Peterson used his superior wrestling ability to pound away at the body of “The Sultan” while fending off triangle and armbar attempts.  Without ever being seriously in danger of a submission Peterson used his quick hips and strength to rain down blows and score points.  When the fight went to the judges after 2 rounds the scoring was easy and Peterson was rewarded with a 20-18 Unanimous Decision victory.

Your browser may not support display of this image.“Submission-Of-The-Night” needs to be presented to Chase MMA Middleweight Jeff Remick (1-0) for his textbook Guillotine Choke out of Arden’s fighter Aaron Skates (0-2).  The lanky Skates took the fight on short notice and put forth a game, but short effort as he made a mistake in the clinch and left his head down and unguarded.  Remick quickly jumped for the guillotine and wrapped it up tight.  Skates fought for a moment, fell to the ground, and ultimately tapped out just: 26-seconds into the fight.

In a battle of Welterweight wrestlers Bombsquad’s Don Carlo-Clauss (2-1) ground and pounded his way to a Unanimous Decision victory over the talented Sityodtong-trained Chris Cape (2-2).  The win marked Clauss’s second victory in New England in 3 weeks, having dispatched of Team Valor’s Eddie Brito at Combat Zone 26 in Salem, New Hampshire.

One of the few times the capacity crowd inside the JunglePlex came alive was for Cape Cod Fighting Alliance’s Chip Pollard (1-0), as he worked hard for a TKO victory over late replacement Andrew Slocum (0-1) of Bombsquad.  The Welterweights started quickly as Pollard looked to blast Slocum out of the building delivering heavy punches as soon as the horn bell rang.  Slocum, possibly to tough for his own good, simply ate the strikes and clinched with Pollard.  The close quarters might have frustrated Pollard as he dropped his head and Slocum jumped for what looked to be another Guillotine Choke finish.  Pollard, however, remained calm, retained position, and pushed the knees of Slocum down and popped his head out.  Once free of the choke Pollard delivered some blows, but stood back up.  After the Referee Gary Foremen brought Slocum back to his feet Pollard unleashed an onslaught of punches which Slocum could not defend.  As Slocum fell to the ground Pollard continued the beating Foreman stepped to stop the contest at 1:37 of the 1st Round.

The big boys were in full effect at No Boundary: “The Awakening” as Bombsquads Ryan Contaldi (2-1) wrestled and key-locked his way to an easy Unanimous Decision victory over Anger Management’s Pat O’Leary (0-1) in a Light Heavyweight ground and pound showcase.

Hercules Benjamin (3-1) forced Bice MMA owner and fellow Heavyweight Braden Bice (6-7) to tap out after an inadvertent strike landed to the neck of Bice.  Referee Foreman did not witness the misplaced strike, but Bice didn’t give him a chance as he immediately tapped out due to the pain and lack of oxygen.  The two classy Pennsylvanians showed no ill will after the fight and Bice actually offered to fight again after the aforementioned Woodby walk-out.

Finally South Shore Sportfight’s Heavyweight Eric Foley (4-0) out wrestled Bombsquad’s Randy Smith (4-5) in a lackluster Unanimous Decision victory.  Much of the crowd, and certainly Smith’s entire corner, begged for the fight to be stood up, but Referee Foreman saw Foley doing just enough work to keep the two where they were and Foley worked his way to his fourth straight victory.

Sadly the last Heavyweight contest of the night between Anger Management’s Jason “The Large Angry Man” Dolloff (3-6) and Cape Cod Fighting Alliance’s Michael “The Hammer” Mulligan (1-0) was scratched for medical reasons when Doctors would not allow Mulligan to fight due to an elevated blood pressure.

No Boundary: “The Awakening” was a fantastic first effort and fans should be looking forward to a repeat performance early in 2009, if not late 2008.  Fred Belleton’s crew entertained fans with good to great MMA action and put a stamp on their brand with some of the best Live Production any MMA organization has put forth; Full Force Productions finally have competition in this realm.  Phil Davis is a definite up-and-comer and Justin Homsey should now be on everyone’s radar in the 145lb. Division.  No matter what the future may hold “The Awakening” was a stellar first effort for Fred Belleton, Matt Peterson and everyone at No Boundary (www.noboundary.tv).