Last Saturday night, The Queen City, Manchester NH came alive as Combat Zone 80 took place. The Hilton Doubletree right downtown was host to these 17 mixed martial arts contest. The night started with a grappling match, followed by 7 kickboxing bouts and 9 MMA fights, giving fans a lot to look forward to including the pro debut of Josh Medeiros in the Co- Main Event. The night was full over wild mma action and plenty of moments to mention. Let's dive into a few of them!
It was a night of wild moments that had the fans on their feet plenty of times but I'd say the loudest times of the night came when Josh Medeiros (0-0) stepped up to the pros after going going 3-1 as an amateur to take on David Durao (0-1) in the Co Main event. Medeiros started strong right off the bat as he landed some heavy head shots in the first and looked like he was about to finish it quickly but Durao showed resilience by getting back to his feet after being dropped, and even threatening a submission at the end of the round with a ankle lock but Medeiros is dialed in and transitions so he can land some heavy elbows and punches to end the round. The seconds starts off the same as Medeiros shows no signs of slowing down and comes in firing a. mixture of shots until he cleanly lands a big uppercut. Durao is feeling the pressure as Medeiros fired a head kick and a takedown. A minute of grappling later and Durao is back to his feet. The ending came when Durao shoots for a takedown and Medeiros lands a perfect knee to the head that sent shockwaves through the whole venue. Durao drops and Medeiros immediately jumps on to finish the fight. Ref jumps in and the crowd go wild. Pros be warned, Medeiros has arrived on the scene.
Another wild moment that had the crowd fired up was when Jon Ciampa (1-1) showed absolute dominance in his fight against George Demers (0-0). Ciampa had a game plan and executed it perfectly. Right as the bell rang he shoots in for a beautiful double leg against the cage, drops Demers to the ground and unloads some heavy, heavy elbows. All he needed was 58 seconds to get the W in his Combat Zone debut.
A massive crowd pleaser was the all out war between 2 badass kickboxers. Bryan Macias and Nick Johnson stepped into that cage to make their amateur kickboxing debuts and WOW, these 2 put on one hell of a show. This fight had it all. Both men not backing down, beautiful counters by Johnson to drop Macias, and the grit and toughness of 2 warriors that are made for this sport! Congrats to both men on an amazing battle and we can't wait to see them back in there. (Photo Credit: Combat Zone MMA Facebook)
A crowd silencing moment was when the local favorite Fernada Araujo (2-2) lost the Main Event to Pennsylvania’s own Brigid Chase (3-1). From the very start you could see Chase's striking was a bit of an issue for Araujo. Chase was able to get through her defense and land shots from all kinds of angles. Araujo fires back with some heavy straight shots that back chase up a little, Araujo is feeling confident and starts motioning Chase to come back to where they were and fight. A few moment later Araujo gets the takedown and ends up on the back of Chase. This is the moment the crowd thinks it will end but Chase shows she has been grappling to and is able not only avoid the submission but end the round landing hammer fist for the final 10 seconds of the round. Round 2 is mostly all Chase as she shockingly shoots for a takedown and in the mix of grappling against the cage is able to land a massive Knee to the head. Chase bust out the secret weapon now, The famous Kamaru Usman Foot Stomp against the cage. That riles Araujo up and she gets a huge takedown. Chase is able to transition her way to the back and ends the event by sinking in a rear naked choke at about 3 minutes into round 2. Great showcase of striking and grappling by Brigid, congrats to her and her team.
A few other things to mention from the night. The highly anticipated pro debuts of both Melissa Santos and Danielle Okula ended in only 29 seconds as the fight started off with wild exchanges resulting in Santos landing a massive right hand that drops Okula. Big win for Melissa Santos and the Gorilla Crew.
A fight that had the crowd talking after was Frashley Paula defeating Joe Peters by Unanimous Decision. This fight had moments for both men but it seemed to be going in Peters favor. This one reminds me of fighters saying "Don't leave it up to the Judges". Who do you think won this ?
Combat Zone had some big shoes to fill after hosting Dana White for a massively publicized event at the Encore Casino in Massachusetts. They definitely stepped up to the task and put on one amazing event. Congrats to Calvin Katter and Matchmaker Jerome Brashears for a successful show! Action returns soon as Combat Zone 81 brings the action back to the Double Tree in Manchester NH on August 26'th 2023. Get your tickets early!
All results from Combat Zone 80
- Reported by Travis "Full Contact Writer" Lizotte -
Jeff Joy Defeats Christos Papadelos by Submission (RNC, Grappling)
Julian Menjivar defeats Cooper McCallion by Unanimous Decision (Kickboxing)
Daylon Cossington defeats Kalvyn Houn by Split Decision (Kickboxing)
Nick Johnson defeats Bryan Macias by Unanimous Decision (Kickboxing FOTN)
Ramon Silva defeats Brian Looney by first round TKO (Kickboxing)
Brendan Martin defeats Jordan Miles by Unanimous Decision (Kickboxing)
Luis Castro defeats Sean Tobin by Unanimous Decision (Kickboxing)
Liam McNeil Defeats Marc Munroe by Unanimous Decision (Kickboxing)
Kyle Boller defeats Ryan Wackrow at 1:39 of the second round by TKO (Ground and Pound)
Frashley Paula defeats Joe Peters by Unanimous Decision
Melissa Santos defeats Danielle Okula by Knockout at :29 seconds of the first round
Trey Legraw defeats Anthony Palazolla by TKO Punches 2:57 of round 2
Lucas Moreira at 2:05 of round 3 by TKO (Ground and Pound)
Jason Gomez defeats Miguel Rodriguez by Unanimous Decision (Round 3)
Jon Ciampa defeats George Demers at :58 seconds of round 1 by KO (Ground & Pound Elbows)
Josh Medeiros defeats David Durao at 4:45 by TKO (Knee to the head )
Brigid Chase defeats Fernanda Araujo at 2:52 of round 2 by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
