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Evolve MMA rules the roost at Martial Combat 11
Penultimate Martial Combat fight sees first female title fight go to Sun Jiao of China
Penultimate Martial Combat fight sees first female title fight go to Sun Jiao of China
Posted on : 15 October 2010
Reggie Amarante (L)Zhang Mei Xuan (R)
Arthur Cesar (L)Mitchell Wheeler (R)
Brian Choi (L)Wang Jin Gang (R)
Ray Elbe (Top)Shannon Ritch (Bottom)
Ella Tang (L)Sun Jiao (R)
Leondro Issa (L)Liu Guo Quan (R)
The crowd at Resorts World Sentosa were privileged to witness fantastic, action packed fights at Martial Combat 11, highlighted by Evolve MMA dominating Martial Combat 11 with three fighters hauling in first-round submission wins.
The highlight was Leandro Issa's win over Chinese fighter Liu Guo Quan, which saw the Brazilian clinching a Martial Combat Superfight belt. It was Issa's third Martial Combat fight and his third consecutive first round submission victory.
Issa, a black belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu exponent, shot for an early takedown. Once the fight was on the floor he was very much in his element and he wasted little time in mounting his opponent and sinking in an arm triangle.
The Singapore-based Brazilian was delighted to win the belt in front of the Singapore fans, and said: "The arm-triangle is my favourite submission. My plan was to fight on the ground but I am also comfortable fighting on my feet. I want to thank my team mates at Evolve MMA. You are only as good as the people you train with and I am fortunate to work every day with some thee best. We have great coaches at Evolve MMA. We are like a family and everybody look out for each other. I want to say a big thank you to all my supporters out there and I will be back to fight for martial Combat next year."
Cesar was following in the footsteps of Evolve MMA team mates Arthur Cesar and Brian Choi who both won their fights. Cesar has been fighting since 2003 and is riding a five fight win streak. He was a strong favourite to defeat American Mitchell Wheeler who was making his professional debut.
It lasted a little more than 30 seconds as Cesar wasted little time in taking the fight to the floor and securing a knee bar which left Wheeler with no option but to tap. It was a similar story for Brian Choi except that he took almost two minutes to finish his fight with Wang Jin Gang with a kimura.
Once again it was the female fighters who provided the real action. The first female title fight in Martial Combat history saw Sun Jiao of China against Malaysia's Ella Tang.
Both fighters came out banging, and Sun landed some accurate solid punches to the body and head of her opponent. The action was briefly interrupted when Tang lost her mouth guard, but it was the calm before the storm as Sun began to unload as soon as the fight resumed. Tang was getting absolutely battered but showed no signs of quitting, while the question for Sun was how much did the five-minute onslaught took out of the Chinese.
In round two, Tang continued to press forward but was eating punches in the process, albeit at a slightly lower frequency than in the opening round. Sun appeared rejuvenated for the final round and landed some vicious combinations to her opponent's body and head. Towards the end, Sun managed to knock her opponent down, mounting her and finishing the fight with a barrage of elbows.
Said Sun about her fight: "I thought I could finish her with punches in the first round but she kept coming back and after that I was very tired. I don't think I have ever punched anyone as many times as that in my life, I don't know how she could carry on. I am proud to represent China and to show that Sanda fighters can do well in MMA."
Earlier in the night, outspoken Martial Combat commentator Ray Elbe made it two wins out of two with a swift submission of old foe Shannon Ritch. The two first met in 2004 with Ritch winning by submission in a loss which Elbe was desperate to avenge.
Ritch initially seized the initiative, shooting for a takedown and hoisting Elbe up in the air. Elbe looked to sink in a midair guillotine but Ritch slammed him to the ground. Elbe kept his composure and sank in a triangle choke leaving the fellow Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt unconscious on the canvass after less than a minute.
Elbe, who is based in Thailand, was delighted to finally get his revenge and thanked his opponent for making it possible. He said: "It's now eight in ten wins for me and my last loss was in 2006. It feels amazing to see all the hard work that I've been doing is finally paying off. I'd like to thank Shannon for giving me the opportunity to fight again, I just wish the rematch could have happened sooner."
The opening fight was won by Chinese fighter Zhang Mei Xuan over Filipino Reggie Amarante via unanimous decision after three grueling rounds.
It was a sell out at Resorts World Sentosa with an enormous contingent of fighters, trainers and students from Evolve MMA. They were all celebrating at the end of the night after seeing their team record three out of three wins.
Saturday night sees the climax of the inaugural series and some of the top fighters in the region will be back in action in Martial Combat 12. Local hero Mitch Chilson faces off against Xue Guo Bing from China while Eduard Folayang and Vuyisile Colossa meet in a fight which will have huge implications for both men's MMA careers.
There will also be the heaviest fight in Martial Combat history as Americans Chris Barnett and Eric Prindle face off. They both weight in at in excess of 130 kgs and the Martial Combat cage will have to be made of stern stuff if it is to contain these two.
The highlight was Leandro Issa's win over Chinese fighter Liu Guo Quan, which saw the Brazilian clinching a Martial Combat Superfight belt. It was Issa's third Martial Combat fight and his third consecutive first round submission victory.
Issa, a black belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu exponent, shot for an early takedown. Once the fight was on the floor he was very much in his element and he wasted little time in mounting his opponent and sinking in an arm triangle.
The Singapore-based Brazilian was delighted to win the belt in front of the Singapore fans, and said: "The arm-triangle is my favourite submission. My plan was to fight on the ground but I am also comfortable fighting on my feet. I want to thank my team mates at Evolve MMA. You are only as good as the people you train with and I am fortunate to work every day with some thee best. We have great coaches at Evolve MMA. We are like a family and everybody look out for each other. I want to say a big thank you to all my supporters out there and I will be back to fight for martial Combat next year."
Cesar was following in the footsteps of Evolve MMA team mates Arthur Cesar and Brian Choi who both won their fights. Cesar has been fighting since 2003 and is riding a five fight win streak. He was a strong favourite to defeat American Mitchell Wheeler who was making his professional debut.
It lasted a little more than 30 seconds as Cesar wasted little time in taking the fight to the floor and securing a knee bar which left Wheeler with no option but to tap. It was a similar story for Brian Choi except that he took almost two minutes to finish his fight with Wang Jin Gang with a kimura.
Once again it was the female fighters who provided the real action. The first female title fight in Martial Combat history saw Sun Jiao of China against Malaysia's Ella Tang.
Both fighters came out banging, and Sun landed some accurate solid punches to the body and head of her opponent. The action was briefly interrupted when Tang lost her mouth guard, but it was the calm before the storm as Sun began to unload as soon as the fight resumed. Tang was getting absolutely battered but showed no signs of quitting, while the question for Sun was how much did the five-minute onslaught took out of the Chinese.
In round two, Tang continued to press forward but was eating punches in the process, albeit at a slightly lower frequency than in the opening round. Sun appeared rejuvenated for the final round and landed some vicious combinations to her opponent's body and head. Towards the end, Sun managed to knock her opponent down, mounting her and finishing the fight with a barrage of elbows.
Said Sun about her fight: "I thought I could finish her with punches in the first round but she kept coming back and after that I was very tired. I don't think I have ever punched anyone as many times as that in my life, I don't know how she could carry on. I am proud to represent China and to show that Sanda fighters can do well in MMA."
Earlier in the night, outspoken Martial Combat commentator Ray Elbe made it two wins out of two with a swift submission of old foe Shannon Ritch. The two first met in 2004 with Ritch winning by submission in a loss which Elbe was desperate to avenge.
Ritch initially seized the initiative, shooting for a takedown and hoisting Elbe up in the air. Elbe looked to sink in a midair guillotine but Ritch slammed him to the ground. Elbe kept his composure and sank in a triangle choke leaving the fellow Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt unconscious on the canvass after less than a minute.
Elbe, who is based in Thailand, was delighted to finally get his revenge and thanked his opponent for making it possible. He said: "It's now eight in ten wins for me and my last loss was in 2006. It feels amazing to see all the hard work that I've been doing is finally paying off. I'd like to thank Shannon for giving me the opportunity to fight again, I just wish the rematch could have happened sooner."
The opening fight was won by Chinese fighter Zhang Mei Xuan over Filipino Reggie Amarante via unanimous decision after three grueling rounds.
It was a sell out at Resorts World Sentosa with an enormous contingent of fighters, trainers and students from Evolve MMA. They were all celebrating at the end of the night after seeing their team record three out of three wins.
Saturday night sees the climax of the inaugural series and some of the top fighters in the region will be back in action in Martial Combat 12. Local hero Mitch Chilson faces off against Xue Guo Bing from China while Eduard Folayang and Vuyisile Colossa meet in a fight which will have huge implications for both men's MMA careers.
There will also be the heaviest fight in Martial Combat history as Americans Chris Barnett and Eric Prindle face off. They both weight in at in excess of 130 kgs and the Martial Combat cage will have to be made of stern stuff if it is to contain these two.
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