Mike Campbell stole the win and Hitalo Machado upset John Benoit last Saturday at WCF 8.
The main event of the evening featured Mike Campbell (Sit Yod Tong), hungry for a win after losing his last two fights, and Mike Medrano (Team Rhino). Medrano came out strong at the start of round one. After trading leg kicks and a brief exchange, Campbell threw a leg kick that was caught by Medrano, who then scored a take down. After a brief scramble, both men were back on their feet exchanging punches, with Medrano pushing the pace and Campbell holding his ground. Medrano scored another takedown that lead to another ground scuffle with both men attempting submissions and reversing position before standing back up. Just after the third minute of round one, Campbell through a big flying knee that caught Medrano by suprise and rocked him. He fell back into the ropes and Campbell capitalized, pinning Medrano against the ropes and throwing strikes until the ref stopped the fight at 3:12 of round 1.
In the co-main event, Hitalo Machado (American Top Team) upset John Benoit of (Renzo Gracie New Hampshire). Twice in this fight, which lasted just over two minutes, the ref had to call a time-out when Machado hit Benoit with accidental kicks to the groin. When the fight resumed after the second five minute break, both men came out swinging, trading strikes and throwing combinations. Benoit attempted a take down that resulted in Hitalo in the top position when the men hit the mat. From there, Hitalo was able to take Benoit’s back, set his hooks, and secure a rear naked choke. The ref called a stop to the fight at 2:04 of round 1.
Joe McGann’s (USMMA) hand was raised after he defeated Jason Dublin (Dublin Fight Factory). Dublin looked strong when round one began. He wasted little time before locking McGann in a clinch and landing knees, uppercuts, and combinations. McGann responded with double leg take down that found him in Dublin’s guard, where he was able to land a handful of body shots before getting up. Both fighters clinched in the corner of the ring and each through a barrage of knees and uppercuts. McGann changed levels, shot in for a take down, secured Dublin’s legs, and drove him through the ropes and onto the table outside the ring. The ref brought both men back into the ring and started them on the ground, with McGann on top in Dublin’s guard-a questionable move by the ref, since McGann did not actually score the take down he had attempted. Starting from neutral corners may have been a more appropriate move. From Dublin’s guard, McGann was able to ground and pound until the end of the round. When round two began, Dublin came out of his corner dripping with water. Despite the protests of McGann’s corner, he was not asked to towell off. Most of the round took place on the ground. McGann was able to score a big slam and control the ground game, landing punches and knees from the top positition. McGann was declared the winner by split decision after round 2.
In the other two featured fights of the night, Josh LaBerge (Team Gillett) bested Dan Bonnell (Renzo Gracie New Hampshire) and Dennis Olsen (Gracie Barra New Hampshire) submitted Ryan Shielding (Burgess MMA).
LaBurge landed a right cross early in round one that opened the door for him to drive Bonnell into the corner and score a take down. From there, LaBerge overwhelm Bonnell, taking his back and throwing strikes until the ref called a stop to the fight at 1:20 of round 1.
Ryan Shielding started off strong when he met Dennis Olsen in the ring. Shielding was able to land combinations and control the fight while the men were on their feet, with Olsen landing little more than a few leg kicks. Shielding scored a take down that found him in Olsen’s guard. Osen trapped one of Shielding’s arms and secured an arm bar that ended the fight.
Also in attendance was The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 alumni and legendary street fighter Kimbo Slic, and MMA stars Marcus Davis, Jorge Gurgel, Joe Lauzon, Dan Lauzon, and John Howard, musicians Gary Cherone (of Extreme) and Gary Hoey, and the Boston Celtics’ Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis.
Results
Boran defeated Pitner: Decision
Kamenetski defeated Ly: TKO-2:22, Round 1
Alhaijayajy defeated Reed: Sub. RNC-3:47, Round 2
Almeida defeated Corrigan: Decision
Wesiman defeated E. Felix: Sub. RNC-3:38, Round 1
Ortolani defeated Lerchen: KO-2:16, Round 1
Key defeated L. Felix: TKO-0:51, Round 3
LaBerge defeated Bonnell: TKO-1:20, Round 1
McGann defeated Dublin: Split Decision
Olsen defeated Scheiding: Sub. Armbar-1:04, Round 1
Machado defeated Benoit: Sub. RNC-2:04, Round 1
Campbell defeated Medrano: TKO-3:12, Round 1
