Cage Titans 58: The Fallout

Travis Lizotte "Full Contact Writer"

For those lucky enough to have spent St. Paddy's day weekend inside the hallowed walls of Plymouth Memorial Hall this weekend, rejoice in knowing you very well may have witnessed, not only Cage Titans' history, but New England MMA history. That's right folks Cage Titans 58 was one for the ages last Saturday as Michael Polvere unveiled two fight cards that will not soon be forgotten by New England MMA fans. Of the 23 MMA contests that went down in Plymouth Saturday, only 3 would be decided by the judges as Cage Titans 58 played host to some classic performances as well as some show stopping finishes. Those not in attendance Saturday should be "green with envy" as the action was frequent and the energy was palatable inside Plymouth Memorial Hall. So if you're just now hearing about Cage Titans 58, wake up and follow along, as we take a closer look inside Cage Titans 58's headlines.

Lindsey Kelley (1-2, Evolution Athletix) and Phil LoCigno (2-3,Sityodtong) prove what we have been staying about them all along; these two Amateurs are far more talented than their records indicate. Kelley and LoCigno are absolute dogs, possessing uber entertaining fight styles that do not always lead to wins but typically produce exciting performances. Evolution's Kelley was able to maintain her composure Saturday as her fight with Anastasia Dafnou was a barn burner from the opening bell. Kelley leaned heavily on her skills which ultimately led to her mounting Dafnou in the first round and finishing the fight with diabolic ground and pound that garnered the stoppage from Kevin MacDonald. Kelley picked up her first of what we anticipate to be many wins as the Evolution Athletix prospect continues her exciting rise in the region.

Amateur Featherweight Phil "Bambino" LoCigno said in his post fight media availability, that he went out to prove all the things NewEnglandMMA.org have been writing about him were true. Well LoCigno wasted little time proving what we have been anticipating all along as he needed just 1:59 of one-way savagery to dispatch Nick Roman with hammerfists from back control. LoCigno's "with your shield, or on it" mentality has lead him into some "Fight of the Night" type performances since he broke into the New England MMA Amateur Featherweight waters. "Bambino" has becomes "must see TV" under the Cage Titans banner as he continues to climb the 145 pound ladder here in New England.

Amateur Featherweights Santy Munoz (2-0, Tri-Force) and Julian Connerton (1-1, Evolution Athletix) leave it all in the cage in a three round war. In a matchup of two highly anticipated Featherweight prospects, Santy Munoz was just one step ahead of "Jiggy" Connerton from bell to bell. Mixing sharp striking with well timed takedown attempts, Santy excecuted a precision gameplan against Connerton, in what was an entertaining fight to witness. Munoz nearly swept the scorecards (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) as he outpointed Connerton en route to his second Amateur decision triumph. A victory that secured Santy Munoz a spot inside the top ten of our New England MMA Amateur Featherweight rankings.

Lakes Region VT's Ozzy "Toro" Martin (2-0) dismantles Daniel Keepers (3-5, G&G) early; puts New England ammy Welterweights on notice. There is one thing for sure, Ozzy Martin has some dynamite in that right hand of his, and one clean shot to the chin of Keepers was the beginning of the end at Cage Titans 58. The end came at just 1:09 of the first round as New Hampshire's Martin logged his second career KO stoppage in as many Amateur fights. Subsequently hurling himself deep into the mix in the New England MMA Amateur Welterweight rankings. At just 20 years old; Martin is a prospect to keep your eye on as he continues on his path of destruction.

Judo and heavy hands lead Lauzon MMA's Andrew Jacobs (2-2) to second career Knockout stoppage. Jacobs needed just a tick under the allotted three minutes of the first round to dispatch debuting Troy Cutter (0-1, Kingston JKD) in their 195 pound Catchweight contest last Saturday. Jacobs' Judo roots were evident at Cage Titans 58, as he swept the legs out from under Cutter, before dropping lunchbox sized hammerfists, to garner the referee stoppage, at 2:59 of the first round. Andrew improves to 2-2 and shows that his skillset is a serious problem for most New England ammy Middleweights and Light-Heavyweights alike.

Evolution Athletix's Teddy Politis (4-1); slick in his capturing of the Cage Titans Amateur Bantamweight crown. Politis foe; Key Baltazar (2-2, Nostos MMA) came out the gate looking to dictate the pace in their Bantamweight Championship contest at Cage Titans 58, turning a calf kick into a quick takedown attempt on Politis. However Baltazar forgot to protect his neck from the Guillotine, which Politis subsequently used to put Key to sleep, just :49 seconds into the action. Baltazar would return to consciousness just in time to see the Cage Titans belt being wrapped around the waist of Evo's Teddy Politis. #AndNew

New York's (by way of his native Cuba) Orelvis "The Cuban Gorilla" Hernandez (1-0, Synthesis BJJ) introduced himself to New England MMA in violent fashion against Daniel Mola (1-1, UFC Gym) in the afternoon's Professional Light-Heavyweight Main Event. Orelvis checked a lot of boxes with his third round TKO of Mola Saturday night, including, but not limited to; a successful pro-debut, a successful New England MMA debut and handing Mola the first loss of his MMA career, in a contest where the outcome never really seemed to be in question. Hernandez's constant pressure and top control nullified the BJJ Black Belt of Mola, who tapped to strikes at 2:11 of the third round. Hernandez looks to be an absolute stud, and given his intentions to move to Middleweight on the continuation of his professional career, well, that's just downright frightening!

Sityodtong Welterweight Aaron "Earthquake" Trecell (3-3) rips off his third consecutive victory at Cage Titans 58 with an emphatic second round TKO stoppage of Shane Dillehay (1-1). This fight was pretty close, until it wasn't, following a coin-flip of a first round Trecell and Dillehey got into a grappling exchange in the second round which ended with Trecell on top landing fight finishing hammerfists. Look out New England Welterweights, Trecell has now set down Chris Almestica, Stephen Stengel and Shane Dillehay in succession and all by knockout, on his way to a top ten ranking here in New England.

"Like the pine trees linin' the windin' road," Lauzon MMA prospect Andrew "The Gladiator" Valdina (3-0) has a name, and it's a name that Plymouth Memorial Hall goers have come accustomed to chanting on Cage Titans fight nights. Valdina carried that name with him, just like his daddy did, into his 140 pound Catchweight bout with New Yorker Mike "Titan" Taylor (1-5) last Saturday. Valdina dropped Taylor with a "Luciani Special" to the jaw inside the first minute of action, before finishing Taylor on the ground by Rear Naked Choke at 1:50 of the first round. Valdina continues "livin' the dream" as he improved his professional mark to 3-0 against Taylor, propelling his name into the New England MMA top ten professional Bantamweights. We look forward to what's next as the Dracut, Massachusetts native keeps "Rollin' down the highway" that is New England's Bantamweight division.

Jacob "Jaguar" Bohn (12-10, Bohn MMA) shows why he cannot be overlooked in the New England Lightweight division with "upset" victory over top prospect "VIP" Ali Zebian (9-3, Underground MMA). These two top regional Lightweights went back and forth, both on the feet and in grappling exchanges over their first ten minutes shared inside the Cage Titans cage last Saturday. In our estimation, splitting the first two rounds pretty clearly (Round 1 for Jacob Bohn, Round 2 for Ali Zebian). Ali came out in the third round looking to pressure Bohn and take him to the canvas, the only thing Ali underestimated...was the torque on Bohn's guillotine. And at 1:15 of the third round, Ali succumbed to that Guillotine, ending VIP's personal five fight winning streak. Jacob Bohn becomes the winner of 4 of his last 6 bouts inside the region, with victories over the likes of Andres Jeudi, Dan Dubuque, Jake Bankanowski and now Ali Zebian. A feat that should put Bohn back into title contention here in New England as he has the grit and determination to challenge the upper echelon of New England Lightweights!

Then in a night full of "one uppers," especially over the final few fights; Lightweight phenoms Mo Al Kinani (5-2, Evolution Athletix) and "Slippery" Peter Barrett (15-6, Lauzon MMA) decided to go out and have, what we are gunna call; "The Greatest Professional Fight in Cage Titans History." These two "Highly Calculated," highly dangerous strikers went toe to toe, trading combinations back and forth for the better part of 13 minutes while the Cage Titans fans stood in awe of the damage both these men would inflict on one another. Strikes at distance, knees in the clinch, calf kicks and a little bit of "fighter phlebotomy" went down when the cage door locked on these two. And through it all, Peter Barrett withstood the oncoming onslaught, remained calm, and counter-dismantled the lengthy, Iraqi prospect. Dragging Al Kinani into the deepest mud hole he had ever been introduced to. It remained a firefight until the bitter end, when knees from Barrett became too much for the Al Kinani defense and referee Alan Lau was forced to intervene and save Al Kinani from further damage.

The stoppage came at 2:53 into the third and final round of this Lightweight contest, as jubilation rang through the Plymouth Memorial Hall crowd, for not only the fan-favorite Peter Barrett, but for the game Challenger Mo Al Kinani. Al Kinani's output, style and determination helped build the recipe for one of the best fights I have ever witnessed within the New England region. PERIOD. For Peter Barrett, he climbs to 15-6, winner of four straight, all by knockout and could very well have put himself back in the eyes of the UFC with this performance. For the 27 year old Al Kinani, he proved that he belonged with the best, and this fight will serve as a feather in his cap for years to come as he continues his push towards the big leagues in the coming months. What an absolutely spectacular performance from these two Lightweights, as they showcased their skills at the highest of levels and proved why they are super-stars of the New England Lightweight division. New England MMA now has it's "Leader in the Clubhouse" when it comes to 2023 Pro Fight of the Year.

Simply, not. to Fucking. be. outdone! We still had one more fight on our docket Saturday night, and much to the delight of the Cage Titans fanbase in house, it was for all the marbles at 135 pounds in the Cage Titans Bantamweight Championship between Reigning, Defending, Cage Titans Bantamweight Champion; Joe "The Party" Penafiel ( 11-5, Fusion Xcel) and "The closest thing to otherworldly" in the New England MMA Bantamweight division; John Douma (7-4, Tri-Force MMA). These two simply refused to take a back seat to the co-main event of Barrett and Al Kinani as they decided to test one another's chins for 25 minutes, with little regard for their own well being, in the Cage Titans 58 Main Event. Douma came out strong in the opening two rounds, winning both of the first two rounds on our scorecards. But Penafiel is build for rough waters and high seas as he battled back over the final three rounds to make this one of the best contested Professional Championship Fights we have witnessed in New England, in recent memory.

The Champion Penafiel remained poised and charismatic throughout, picking his spots and piling up the damage on the youngster Douma. But Douma didn't even as much as take one step backward, walking through every bit of smoke Penafiel could hurl his way and wielding a chin that could only consist of some sort of "space-age polymer." As the fight continued to play out, the veteran Champion Penafiel established a point-fighting mentality that would ultimately allow him to retain his Cage Titans Bantamweight strap. 25 minutes of non stop action would eventually end up in the hands of the cageside judges who came back with scores of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-45 for your winner by Unanimous Decision, And Still Cage Titans Bantamweight Champion; Joe "The Party" Penafiel! What an epic way to cap off an utterly insane day of fisticuffs at Cage Titans 58, as these two Bantamweights put their names in the hat for 'Fight of the Year," just moments after the conclusion of the epic WAR between Barrett and Al Kinani. Like we said; history was made last Saturday at Cage Titans 58, as two of the best fights in the promotions storied history went down, BACK TO BACK!

*Images courtesy of Igdalia Medina and Cage Titans social media outlets