King Of Sparta

Written by J.R. Gordon at www.MMABuzz.com

Saturday afternoon October 12, 2012 at the Grizzly Rose in Denver, Colorado the Sparta Combat League held their, “King Of Sparta” event featuring 11 fights including a four man 170 lb. single elimination tournament with the winner receiving $5000.00

Main event:  Chino Montoya sustained an injury in his fight and was unable to advance to the finals.  Garret Culpepper was the tournament alternate.  Therefore, the tournament final fight was Garrett Culpepper vs. Kris Hocum.  Hocum scored a takedown off of a trapped kick.  From side control Hocum postured for GNP.  Culpepper worked to escape but Hocum controlled position and set in a darce choke.  Hocum rolled to close off the choke and after walking it around he got the submission victory at 1:35 of round one.  The win got Hocum the King OF Sparta title, the tournament trophy and the $5000.00 prize.

Ron Muir vs. Justin Houghton in a 145 lb. professional Muay Thai fight.  Houghton landed an early head kick that Muir took well.  The fighters circled testing their range for a long time with Houghton landing a right hand that staggered Muir.  Round two was Houghton stalking and striking well from the outside with Muir circling and looking to counter.  Round three saw Houghton using his leg kicks to good effect and landing a very strong flurry mid-round.  Near the end of the round Houghton landed a flying knee and then another at the ten second clacker.  The fighters traded stiff jabs to end the fight.  The scorecards were read and the winner by unanimous decision was Justin Houghton.

Jorge Dominguez vs. Zach Hare in a 145 lb. title fight.  Hare trapped a kick to set up a takedown.  From the bottom Dominguez worked for a guillotine that Hare escaped.  Dominguez secured full guard and Hare worked GNP.  Hare passed guard to side control and threw knees to the body.  Dominguez worked to try to stand, but Hare controlled position and worked to full mount to flurry with strikes until the round ended.  Round two had Dominguez dropping Hare with punches then closing in for GNP before backing out and letting Hare stand.  Hare jammed Dominguez into the cage and scored a takedown into side control.  From the side Hare worked a strong series of knee strikes to the body to end the round.  Round three went to the mat early by way of a takedown by Hare.  Dominguez worked to escape but Hare showed positional control and worked between GNP and submission attempts.  From his back Dominguez tried for a triangle that Hare defended.  The referee stood the fighters and on the restart Hare scored a takedown to end the fight.  The scorecards were read and by unanimous decision the title winner was Zac Hare. 

John Maldonaldo vs., Toby Lopez in a 145 lb. fight.  Maldonado opened with kicks, then Lopez used a hook to set up a takedown.  On the ground Lopez worked to escape a guillotine choke, but Maldonado secured full guard and closed off the choke for the win at 1:36 of round one.

Matt Laurita vs. Kenneth Atkisson in a 280 lb. fight.  Laurita shot for an immediate double leg takedown that was defended.  Laurite reset the takedown into a single leg and got the fight to the mat.  Atkisson worked to his feet and the fighters traded strikes.  Laurita got another takedown and worked GNP from side control to set up a head and arm triangle choke with the tapout coming at 2:32 of round one.

Chris Hansen vs. Willy Najera in a 170 lb. fight.  The fighters probed with strikes from the outside before Najera landed a kick/punch combination to drop Hansen.  On the ground Najera used GNP to set up back control with an RNC attempt.  Hansen defended and in a scramble the fighters came back to standing where they traded strikes to end the round.  Round two began with Najera landing hard strikes to set up the clinch.  Against the cage Hansen tried for a takedown and Najera defended.  Hansen went for a head toss takedown but Najera controlled the fall and from side control he worked GNP.  The referee stood the fighters when the action slowed and Najera landed a head kick to stagger Hansen.  The round ended with the fighters clinched.  Round three had hard strikes thrown by both fighters to open the round.  Najera landed a clipping hook and Hansen staggered then shot for a takedown.  Najera defended and worked from back/side control with GNP to set up back control and an RNC attempt that was defended until the bell ended the fight.  The scorecards were read and the winner by unanimous decision was Willy Najera. 

Sean Mahaney vs. Ken Robinson in a 135 lb. fight.  The fighters came to the center of the cage and stood toe-to-toe with both throwing and landing power shots.  Off of the cage Mahaney scored a scoop slam takedown and he worked GNP from side control before coming back to standing.  Again the fighters both landed power punches before clinching against the cage and throwing knees.  They separated and threw head shots to end the round.  Round two began with Mahaney landing a good punch to set up a takedown into side control.  He transitioned to mount to work GNP before taking back control to set in the fight ending RNC with the tapout coming at :57 of round two. 

Chino Montoya vs. Aaron Romero in a professional MMA fight in the second fight of the 170 lb. tournament.  Both fighters probed with head punches early with Montoya landing well.  They clinched against the cage and threw hard knees to one another’s legs.  Montoya landed two solid punches to back Romero into the cage and Montoya got a takedown.  Romero worked to standing but Montoya used the Thai plum well to land knees.  Montoya slipped and Romero jumped on him to flurry with GNP.  Montoya scored a sweep and finished the round working solid GNP from mount.  Round two began with both fighters landing primarily leg kicks.  Off of the clinch Montoya landed a series of knees and elbows to the head of Romero before dropping for a takedown.  Romero defended the takedown and Montoya landed several more elbows before separating.  Montoya shot for a takedown and Romero sprawled well.  Montoya pulled guard while setting in a guillotine choke which Romero escaped.  The referee stood the fighters and Montoya landed solid punches that Romero answered with a flurry of his own to end the round.  Round three went to the clinch early with Montoya pressing Romero into the cage to work knees and elbows.  Montoya dropped for a single leg takedown that was defended and he came back to the Thai plum to land solid knees and elbows. The referee separated the fighters to warn Montoya about groin strikes and Montoya landed effective punches from the outside before closing in for a takedown that Romero defended.  The round ended with Montoya scoring a takedown into side control.  The scorecards were read and by unanimous decision the winner was Chino Montoya who advanced to the finals of the tournament.

Mark Korzenowski vs. Kris Hocum in a professional MMA fight in the first fight of the 170 lb. tournament.  Hocum trapped a kick and landed an overhand punch to drop Korzenowski early.  Hocum flurried with GNP, transitioned to mount and in a scramble set in a guillotine choke to get the win at :39 of round one to advance to the finals of the tournament. 

Zac Riley vs. Carlos Fajardo in a 135 lb. kickboxing fight.  Fajardo opened with a kicking attack that Riley answered with strong punches in the clinch.  Still clinched Fajardo threw strong knees and on the separation Riley landed a solid head kick.  Riley trapped a kick and landed a punch dropping Fajardo for an eight count.  On the restart both fighters threw hard techniques with Riley again dropping Fajardo off of a clash of shins for another eight count.  The ten second clacker sounded and the fighters exchanged with Riley ending his combination with a head kick that scored a clean KO at 1:59 of round one.

“Of The Night Moments:

Submission of the night goes to Kris Hocum for his main event title winning darce choke submission victory.

KO of the night goes to Zac Riley for his clean head kick KO in his kickboxing fight.

Fight of the night goes to Chino Montoya and Aaron Romero for their hard fought three round bout showcasing the well rounded skills and heart of both fighters.

Be sure to check the site calendar for upcoming events.

Best in Health and Training,

J.R. Gordon

www.MMABuzz.com