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CFC #4 - Fight Night Photos from Luna Park, Sydney

CFC #4 [Friday 23rd May, 2008] - Fight Review

MMA veteran Brian Ebersole is looking at the promise of his first Australian title fight after making short work of South African tough guy Wade Henderson in front of a sell out crowd at Cage Fighting Championship's Fourth International Super Fight.

Ebersole stepped into the Luna Park cage in front of a star studded audience to reveal an arrow shaved on his chest pointing towards his chin. The cocky fighter may not have wowed the crowd with his show pony tactics but certainly did with his wrestling expertise, taking the fight to the ground where he ended up in guard.

The colourful fighter eventually triumphed over Henderson by tapping him out midway through the first round. In recognition of his fighting prowess the CFC directors invited Ebersole to challenge Australia's favourite fighter Hector Lombard for the middleweight title at the next event.

There was a who's who of local and international talent on CFC's night of fights, among them Hector Lombard, Shane Nix and Xavier "X-Man" Lucas.

And although Lombard had the star billing it was the encounter between Bernardo Trekko and Denis Kelly that electrified the crowd.

The only fight on the card to go the full three rounds, both fighters gave it their all with an onslaught of strikes, kicks and some serious grapples. And while Denis went the distance it was Bernardo who came out on top with a unanimous decision from the judges.

The first fight on the card kicked off the event with little known Priscus Fogagnolo coming up against experienced MMA fighter Clint Joyce.

The Judo champion from Tasmania didn't disappoint in his cage debut winning by submission just 2 minutes and 46 seconds into the first round.

Next in the cage was Sydney fighter Josh Payne and Victorian Kevin Croke, with Croke towering over his opponent and eventually declared victorious after the referee stopped the fight three minutes and ten seconds into the First round.

Matt Wilkin showed Kian "Karnage" Pham a thing or two about cage fighting in the third bout of the evening. Both competitors took control early in the fight with each executing strikes with precision and vigour. The referee mercifully ended the proceedings and declared Wilkins the overall winner after he unleashed a dozen snapping cobra-like strikes in the second round.

Part time fireman Andy Kappas proved he wasn't a one hit wonder in his second MMA fight when he defeated opponent Urosh Pavicevic in just three minutes and 38 seconds.

The sixth fight of the night was to have seen the pairing of Carlo Latorre against Kyle "The Aussie" Noke. But with Latorre a late scratching, Gouiada stepped in for his chance to make a name for himself in the international arena.

Both fighters began the battle hesitantly, testing each other's reach by throwing clean punches and long-range kicks. The pair had a brief clinch until Noke pushed the fight to the ground. He didn't waste much time - once they hit the mat, Noke worked to Gouaida's back and applied a tight rear naked choke, taking the win with an early submission just 1 minute and 43 seconds into the first round.

CFC's first Welterweight title fight saw the pairing of Sydneysider Shane Nix and the South African born Xavier "X Man" Lucas from Perth.

Nix stepped into the cage the underdog with his opponent's MMA fight record showing not a single loss. Both fighters were initially hesitant to engage - their eyes locked on each other with a series of near misses. Lucas stepped up the action with some frighteningly quick strikes to which Nix retaliated with some distinguished grappling.

After a surprising Superman punch by Nix which found its mark, the two clinched up, eager to go to the ground and gain top position. Both fighters were excellent with their defence, with neither able to gain much advantage from the clinch.

Strikes were thrown, and takedowns attempted, with Lucas even gaining a good top control on Nix where he was able to throw some devastating punches before the bell signalled the end of round one.

The second round started with some brilliant strikes, both fighters hitting their targets with force. After a brief grapple, a tired Nix had his back on the mat, giving Lucas the opportunity to lay a few clean shots. After some inactivity, the referee stood both fighters up. It was here that Nix gained some new found strength and charged at Lucas, taking him to the mat and crawled to side control.

Nix then let loose with punches and crushing elbows, smashing his forearm into Lucas' face. With Lucas unable to defend, the referee stopped the bout, declaring Nix the winner while the crowd roared with excitement!

The final fight of the night saw Australia's favourite fighter, Hector Lombard, fighting against Brazilian Top Team's Fabiano Capoani.

Lombard, who has only recently signed a contract with the leading US fight show EliteXC, was in amazing shape and looked to push the fight from the beginning. He delivered some shattering blows that quickly damaged Capoani.

The fight found its way to the ground courtesy of Lombard's excellent wrestling and judo skills, where he looked to dominate the fight. Although on the wrong end of Lombard's punches, Capoani showed he was still in the game, going for an arm bar from the guard position. Although the submission attempt was quite tight, Lombard calmly escaped where he was able to pound Capoani further. Hector threw some big punches and heavy elbows into the face of Capoani, staying in control of the action until the end of round one.

The second round saw no change as Lombard narrowly missed Capoani with an uppercut as he dropped to guard where Hector made short work of his opponent and forced referee Steve Percival to stop the fight after cutting Capoani's cheek with well aimed elbows.

Lombard was victorious in the cage once again. It took just 23 seconds during the second round for the formidable Lombard to be declared the winner by KO and reclaim his title for the third time in a row.

Cage fighting is the toughest sport in the world, and people who train and compete in it know how hard it is to prepare for such fights. Even with all the safety equipment and diligence when training fighters are susceptible to injury and sometimes infection or illness.

This was the case for American Emerson Rushing and Anthony Perosh who were to have met in the cage but were both rendered unfit to fight after contracting staff infections.

Mixed Martial Arts fans can relive the action when the fourth VAS CFC International Super Fight airs on Fox Sports. Regarded by the industry as Australia's leading mixed martial arts competition, CFC will present their fifth International Super Fight at Luna Park in September.

Check back soon for the latest info!