My colleague and I, Joe Leonard arrived at the Boys and Girls Club at around 6:10PM and setup our video camera at the back of the bleachers. Joe would then control this camera with a remote control while he walked around the ring with his other video camera to catch the live action to make sure we get the best angles for the DVD coming out!
The guys were setting up the ring and making sure the ropes were tight so no fighter will fall through. The hotdogs, beer, and popcorn were being sold by the Boys and Girls Club staff to the right of the ring. There were 50/50 raffle tickets being sold at the left of the ring. Let me tell you Gabriel Gladiator Santos and John Counter put on a great show for all. My other colleagues Jeremy Reipold, Todd Selva and Sarah Payant showed up a little later that night. Thank you Gabriel for letting us in to film and write a review for our site. There were 8 fights on the card, 2 of them grappling and the rest were all amateur MMA.
For the grappling matches there is one 6 minute round and are scored by the guest refs rather than judges. For the amateur matches they are set for three 3 minute rounds unless there is a ref stoppage or tapout that is!!
They started the show at about 7:54PM. A local man from Holyoke started us out with a wonderful prayer and told everyone there are no losers in this ring!! Everyone is a winner!! It was a great way to start out the night.
The fight doctor volunteered his time for this event Dr. Phil Durkin. Thank you very much for volunteering because without you Dr Durkin, we would not have seen these great fights!!!
The ref was Gary Foreman. I have seen him ref many times and he always does a great job. Next we had the Star Spangled Banner and the fights were ready to start.
Pics above shows the ref. Foreman, the Kick Int. Rep, and the ring girls were both ready for the show to start!
Fight 1: Amateur MMA 155lbs.
Steve Carr(CTMMA/Carlson Gracie) vs Sam Nadeau(American Fight Team)
The announcer called Sam’s last name Nadine or something like that. Don’t worry Sam, we at WesternmassMMA.com know who you are!!!
Steve Carr came out to M.O.P.-Ante Up and Nadeau came out to Blackalicious-Aural Pleasure.
Rd 1.
They start out kicking. Nadeau gets some good kicks to the body. They clinch and Nadeau gets the takedown. Quickly they stand back up and go to the clinch position. Carr pushes Nadeau up against the ropes and Nadeau reverses and they break. They move back to the center of the ring and start exchanging some good punches. Nadeau gets tagged with some right hooks from Carr. At this point it looked like Nadeau got hurt in the eye from one of the punches. Carr notices this and goes for the takedown and gets it. As soon as Carr is on top Carr throws some punches and Nadeau verbally taps and Carr dismounts. Below is the pic of Carr standing up at the end of the fight.
Official Decision: Carr Wins via verbal tap due to strikes.
The doctor comes over and checks Nadeau’s eye out and luckily it was fine. I hear Nadeau thought he was poked in the eye which I didn’t see but sometimes in the heat of the action a punch can feel like a poke so congrats to the two fighters. What a way to kick off the night!!
Fight 2: Amateur MMA 155Lbs
Jon Lemke(Team Irish) vs Nate Nadeau(Gladiator BJJ/American Fight Team)
Nadeau came out to some Brazilian song I believe and Lemke came out to House Of Pain-Jump Around.
Rd 1.
They both come out charging and ready to go. They quickly sprawl and Nadeau gets the takedown. Nadeau is on top in full guard and Nadeau then uses his strength to pick up Lemke and slam him to the ground again for another takedown. Lemke being a smart fighter uses this slam to try to get Nadeau into an arm-bar attempt but Nadeau quickly slips out. Nadeau is now in side control and they scramble and get up. Nadeau gives some nice knees to the body. I could hear the thwack from where I was sitting. They then sprawl for a bit and then Nadeau gets another takedown. They end up in guard for a bit with Nadeau on top and the round ends.
I score this round 10-9 Nadeau.
Rd 2.
They come out exchanging blows to the body and head. Nadeau throws in some good leg kicks. You can hear the sound they are making and you know it hurts. The crowd cheers the fighters on. Nadeau then goes for a takedown but there was good sprawling by Lemke and he is stuffed. They sprawl for a bit and then they both go to the ground. Nadeau goes for full mount but is swept and they reverse. Lemke then goes to the guard position and gives some good punches to the head.
I score this round 10-9 Lemke.
Rd 3.
Again I know I sound like a broken record they come out blasting each other trying to get the knockout. They then sprawl for a bit. Then they both break and get up exchanging more punches. Lemke is getting the better of the strikes. At this point above Nadeau’s left eye is bleeding. Both fighters are tired and you can tell in their striking. Lemke gets some good uppercuts in from the clinch position. The crowd is roaring at the uppercuts hoping they can see a knockout. They both fall the ground and Lemke gets a high full mount. He throws some nice ground and pound punches to the head and the round ends.
Lemke 10-9
Official Decision: Lemke Wins via Split Decision.
Pic above is right at the end of Round 3 when Lemke has the high full mount and is throwing some nasty punches. Great fight and this one is definitely up for Fight of The Night category!!
Fight 3: Grappling 140 Lbs.
Bob O’Connel(Fighting Arts Academy) vs. Berrington Douse(American Fight Team)
Douse came out to Five Finger Death Punch The Bleeding which is one of my favorite songs. I could see Jeremy bobbing his head to this song because I know he loved it too!
They both come out and feel each other out. About 30 seconds go by and they are still feeling each other out. O’Connel then tries to throw Douse but Douse stuffs it. They then both fall to the mat and Douse is in guard. O’Connel then sweeps and gets half guard. They scramble and O’Connel takes Douse’s back. He is falling off and Douse then picks him up and slams him to the ground. The crowd roars at this. Douse is now standing up while O’Connel holds on. It goes on like this for a bit and the buzzer goes off. I apoligize if I missed anything in a grappling match things move very fast!!
Official Decision: O’Connel wins via decision
Above is the pic of O’Connel being announced the winner!
Great grappling match from the both of you guys. I was rooting for WesternMass RudeBoy Douse but you can’t always win. I know RudeBoy will be back ready to go!!!
Fight 4: Amateur 165lbs.
Bobby Matheus(CTMMA/Carlson Gracie) vs Mike McCurry(Boys and Girls Club)
Matheus came out to AC/DC Big Gun and McCurry came out to some bagpipes playing which turned into a Black Label Society song.
McCurry being the crowd favorite being from the Boys and Girls Club got the crowd jeering! He was definitely the older fighter here but that didn’t deter him from fighting!
Rd 1.
Matheus comes out and goes for a jumping takedown. McCurry stuffs it for a while but eventually they go down to the mat and McCurry is in half guard. They lay there for a bit and the ref stands them up. Good decision ref! McCurry punches him into the corner and they both exchange a few hooks and jabs. Matheus gets a good knee to the body from the clinch. Matheus stuns McCurry with a good punch but McCurry gets up quickly. Matheus goes for a running knee but misses and round ends.
Matheus 10-9
Rd 2.
Matheus gets some good hooks and jabs in early against McCurry. They go to clinch and McCurry goes for a takedown but is stuffed and sprawl for a bit. Now at this point they were up against the ropes and McCurry was going for a take down and Matheus kept holding onto the ropes. I wish the ref noticed this because this is clearly illegal. I believe if he wasn’t holding onto the ropes here McCurry would have gotten a takedown but I digress. Matheus then takes McCurry’s back and they hold on until the ref stops and seperates them. They clinch near a corner of the ring and Matheus gives some good knees to the body. The round ends. I think if the round was a little longer there might have been a ref stoppage here. Matheus was giving some crisp hard knees and they were definitely getting to McCurry.
Matheus 10-9
Rd 3.
They come out both very tired. McCurry more tired than Matheus. They clinch and again more knee kicks to body from Matheus. They fall most likely from a good knee to the body to McCurry and Matheus gets McCurry’s back and does some good ground and pound and the ref is forced to stop it.
Official Decision Matheus Wins via ref stoppage due to strikes.
Pic above shows right before the ref stoppage Matheus pounding McCurry.
We had an intermission here which lasted about 15 minutes.
Fight 5: Grappling 135lbs.
Chad Kelly(Fighting Arts Academy) Vs Luis Ramos(Gladiator BJJ)
Both these guys look jacked and very young. I have heard many good things about Ramos so I was anxious for this one to start. Chad comes out to Enter Sandman by Metallica and Ramos comes out to I believe an Eminem song.
They both come out charging and sprawl for a bit. There are a couple of flips but they both quickly get back up. Kelly gets Ramos in a guilliotine but Ramos slams him to the ground and takes the full mount. Ramos then puts on the arm-bar and cranks back and Kelly is forced to tap.
Official Decision: Ramos Wins via Arm-Bar
Pic above shows Ramos using his skills and submitting Kelly with arm-bar.
Fight 6: Amateur 155lbs.
Eriton Heitor Jr(Lions Den) vs Brandon Amadon(Fighting Arts Academy)
Sorry I was distracted by the ring girls and didn’t get the songs they came out to! Just Kidding! (Or Am I)
Heitor comes in to some female R&B song. The crowd laughs and Amadon comes into I’m On A Boat by The Lonely Island
Rd 1.
Heitor starts out pushing the action. Heitor gets a good leg kick to the thigh of Amadon. I heard it from where I was sitting thats for sure! Heitor throws a wild haymaker but misses. Amadon is now getting in some good jabs. They basically stand and battle with a slew of punches and leg kick combos the entire first round. It seemed to me that Heitor pushed the action more but unfortunately didn’t get the better of the exchanges. This round could be judged either way but I will have to say it was Amadon’s round 10-9.
Rd 2.
Heitor comes out firing with another wild hook but misses. They clinch and Amadon gets the takedown with a nice throw. Heitor gets up quickly and is breathing very heavy. They give a nice sprawl and then clinch again. Amadon delivers some nice knee kicks to the body and a really good liver shot. They seperate and go at it again. Heitor keeps throwing some wild punches and he does connect sometimes but everytime he throws one Amadon makes him pay with a counter punch jab to the face. They clinch with both of them being tired at this point and fall to the ground. Amadon is in guard and climbs over to full mount. Heitor tries to sweep and almost does but Amadon is too strong and goes right back to full mount. He gets a few ground and pound punches in and the round ends.
Amadon 10-9
Rd 3.
Heitor comes out tired and throws some leg kicks. Some of them connect. They clinch and Heitor delivers an unintentional knee to the groin. Amadon takes about 15 seconds and is quickly right back to action. Heitor then goes for the takedown and gets it. Heitor delivers some punches to the body from half guard. Amadon slides out and gets up quickly and the whistle blows. I give this round to Heitor 10-9 for the takedown.
Official Decision: Amadon wins Unanimous Decision.
Heitor going for the take down in Round 3.
Great fight again. Majority of the fight was standing up and they were just standing and banging. This one is another contender for Fight of the Night!!!
Fight 7: Amateur 205Lbs.
Eric Sommers(CTMMA/Carlson Gracie) Vs. Jeff “Portuga” Henriques(American Fight Team)
Sommers comes out to Midnight Rider and I think Henriques came out to some Spanish rap song.
Rd 1.
Henriques comes out and pushes the action. They both get a few punches in and Henriques then gets the takedown with a nice slam from the clinch. He is now in the half-guard position. Sommers tries for a leg triangle but Henriques slips out and gets caught in a real tight armbar and is forced to tap.
Official Decision: Sommers wins via arm-bar
Pic to left shows Henriques on top after takedown. Pic to right shows Sommers celebrating his victory.
At this point the announcer was doing the 50/50 raffle and thanks to Gladiator for giving away 5 Tshirts!!!
Fight 8: Amateur 170lbs.
Ryan Sanders(Team Irish) vs. Leon Davis(Fighting Arts Academy).
Sanders came out to Iron Man and Leon came out to Anberlin Feel Good Drag.
Rd 1.
They come out pumped and ready to go. Both are in excellent shape and look ripped and ready to knock each other out. They both exchange a few leg kicks and some jabs. This continues for a minute. Davis then goes for the takedown and gets it. He is in guard and controlling his opponent very well on the ground. Davis gets side control and gets some good punches in. Sanders sweeps and gets out briefly but Davis slams him back down to the ground for another takedown. Davis is back in guard and the round ends.
Davis 10-9
Rd 2.
Sanders comes out and delivers a nice leg kick to the body. They go to the clinch and Davis gets a takedown but is caught in a guilliotine choke. He wiggles and tries to get out but it was just too deep and is forced to tap.
Official Decision: Sanders wins via guilliotine choke.
Jeremy and I thought this was the guilliotine choke from Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter Cody McKenzie so we asked Sanders and he agreed it was. Very nice!!!
Pic above shows Sanders applying the guilliotine choke very deep on Davis.
Overall it was a great card. All of us had a great time. I would say there was about 800-900 people there so it was an awesome turnout. We got to enjoy some great fights and help out the Boys and Girls Club. The venue was great with a plethora of parking available. The ring was set up perfect in the middle with great seating arrangements and tiered bleachers so everyone could see no matter where they were sitting. The sound was good and the crowd behaved superb! No loud hecklers or anything. Many of Holyoke Police chipped in for the security and kept everything in line. I want to thank Gabriel Gladiator for putting on the great show again and allowing us to film and take pictures. I want to give a shoutout to Joe Leonard for setting up the video which we plan on sending to all the local town TV stations to see if they will air it. I know Frontier Community Access Television will be airing it so stay posted. Another shoutout to Jeremy Reipold for taking all these nice action shots of the night.
Submission of the Night-Sanders with sick guilliotine choke.
Fight of The Night- Nadeau fight. It had blood and all sorts of battling in it!
Right at the end when everyone was clearing out Jeremy, Joe, Selva, Payant and I all went to the refreshment table and were given some free hot dogs and a soda. We definitely weren’t expecting that hospitality and we thank you Boys and Girls Club. I believe we got everyone from the Boys and Girls Club staff in the picture below. Give yourself a round of applause!!
Above is the boys and girls club at the end and Gabriel Gladiator Santos cheering on the fighters.