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Warriors Realm 8 [brought to you by CFC]
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Warriors Realm 8 - Review (by Michael Belogiannis)
Warriors Realm 8, held on the 23rd of March 2007, made a much anticipated entrance to the NSW Mixed Martial Arts scene, leaving an ever-lasting impression on fighters and fans alike. Warriors Realm CEO Shane Balmer and first-time promoters Luke Pezzutti, Jim Kendrovski and Les Elias managed to show case Australian MMA's finest fight card to a sell-out capacity crowd of over 1000 fans at the Hurstville Civic Centre. Prior to the event, many had questioned if the event would have lived up to the hype it generated. Pezzutti, Kendrovski and Elias easily silenced critics and skeptics by displaying the most professional show to date, leaving fans and fighters anticipating their next show. With 14 thrilling fights on the night, the promoters had undoubtedly delivered one of the best MMA shows Australia has ever seen.
The fights of the night were extremely well matched by Luke Pezzutti, ensuring that each combatant endured an absolute war inside the renown hexagon. Of the fights, the more impressive battles included Richie Vas vs Alex Shevstov, promoter Jim Kendrovski vs Heath McManus, John Levin vs Sean Sutherland, Dylan Andrews vs Youann Gouaida, Hector Lombard vs James TeHuna and the first ever Warriors Realm Heavyweight title fight between David Lock and Brad Morris.
The night's first outstanding fight saw the impressive 'Bra Boy' Richard Vas taking on the very skilled Alex Shevstov. Both fighters were very well rounded, throwing big strikes and exhibiting amazing grappling skills. Shevstov showed a lot of heart for the first five minutes, continually escaping the barrage of submissions that were dished out by Vas. The first round ended with Vas looking very dominant, having forced Shevstov to defend himself on the ground consistently. At the beginning of the second round, Shevstov was taken down and Vas worked to take his back, eventually submitting Shevstov with a tight rear-naked choke.
Next was the much anticipated fight between promoter Jim Kendrovski against the experienced and undefeated Heath McManus. The battle started off with small exchanges, with Kendrovski looking very tough and extremely fast. McManus charged at Kendrovski, attempting a double-leg takedown, but as Kendrovski hit the mat he escaped, then picked McManus up from the mat, slamming him back down and ended up in McManus' guard. Kendrovski dominated from the guard position until McManus pushed him away, allowing himself time to stand back up. In the final exchange of the round, Kendrovski lunged forward with a left cross, just as McManus landed a sharp knee which hit Kendrovski in the chin. McManus threw a final blow to the already stunned Kendrovski, knocking him to the mat in what was to be one of the bigger upsets of the night.
John Levin fought a literal war against Sean Sutherland, with every move being accompanied by massive roars from the crowd. Both combatants were involved in furious exchanges of punches and kicks, and both fighters taking each other down, unable to hold their opponent on the mat. Each of the warriors wore some heavy punches, eventually tiring each other out. The judges could not define a clear winner, so the fight concluded as a draw. Both fighters were deserving of equal praise after a very evenly matched battle.
Local hero Dylan Andrews fought against the experienced and courageous French kickboxer, Yoann Gouaida. Both fighters were keen to go toe-to-toe for the beginning of the first round until Andrews executed a thrilling double-leg takedown, lifting Gouaida off the mat and slamming him to the opposite corner of the cage. Even though it seemed Andrews had taken Gouaida out of his element, Gouaida still managed to apply a tight triangle choke, almost forcing Andrews to submit. Andrews proceeded to escape the choke, but as he did Gouaida turned the choke into an armbar, bending Andrews' arm into a very convincing submission. Andrews still managed to escape to the mount and dealt Gouaida some devastating punches and forearm strikes, cutting him inside his eye. After consulting with the ringside doctor, the referee decided to allow the fighters to continue. Round 2 found Andrews taking Gouaida down and working to the mount again, where he was able to throw more effective strikes. After a brief set of combos, the referee was forced to stop the fight due to excessive bleeding, awarding the win to Andrews.
The anticipated Lombard-Te Huna Superfight battle was well received by the fans, with Luke Pezzutti announcing the match-up days before the event. Although approximately 5 kilograms lighter, Lombard looked very confident on the night, starting off by throwing crippling leg kicks and convincing punches. Lombard rocked the cage when he threw a massive right hand, forcing TeHuna into a defensive position on the mat. Although TeHuna was visibly conscience and was already attempting to pull into a guard position, the referee prematurely stopped the match. After a brief miscommunication between the referee and Lombard, the fight restarted, and Lombard came out of his corner fired up, throwing strong punches. TeHuna tried to grapple with Lombard, but was met with three well timed Judo throws, each one shattering the mat. Te Huna's shoulder became dislocated on the last throw, forcing Te Huna to submit. To much surprise and excitement of the massive crowd, Lombard took the microphone at the end of the fight and challenged Tony Bonello. This would undoubtedly be a much anticipated fight for MMA fans around Australia.
The final fight of the night was for the first Warriors Realm Heavyweight Title, being contested by the experienced David Lock and always impressive Brad Morris. Morris dominated early in the fight, catching Lock with an overhand right that could have knocked out a horse. Morris then proceeded to attack for a single leg takedown, dropping Lock to the mat and continued to attain a mount position. From there, Morris submitted Lock with a head-arm choke, winning the first ever Heavyweight title. Morris now has been asked to represent Australia in a fight event to be held in Canada.
The other fights of the night were just as exciting, with Sean Spooner defeating Dave Negal (1st round TKO), Shane Nix defeating LJ (1st round TKO), Mark Christie drawing with Rob Hill, Tony Ballout and Mick Sacatidies resulting in a no contest, Marcio Lemos defeating Matt Lincoln (1st round Guillotine choke), Josh Payne defeating Andrew Smith (1st round rear-naked choke), Brad Thompson defeating Alex Prates (1st round KO) and Fabio Galeb defeating Dave Frendin (1st round Kneebar).
At the end of the night, the sell-out crowd left the venue in awe after viewing one of the most electrifying fight nights to date. Be sure to look out for more shows by Pezzutti, Kendrovski and Elias, with the next event scheduled for July. Stay tuned!
