The City West Hotel opened its four star doors on April Fools night to an MMA event with an equally high star rating – the debut Man of War.
By Fergus Ryan
The 15-fight show included one disqualification, two title fights, three wins for (home team) Lucan MMA and an incredible nine first round finishes.
The opening junior bout was a ‘David v Goliath’ affair as PMA’s Robertas Rimkuf towered over Lucan MMA’s Steven Mooney. What Mooney lacked in height he more than made up for in fight as he stood toe-to-toe with his much bigger opponent. Rimkuf got the better in the striking while Mooney excelled on the ground. Though nobody likes a fight ending in a draw this was probably the fairest result.
The third bout saw Antrim MMA’s Robert Morrison beat Sean Keogan of Kokoro. Morrison had looked the better striker while Keogan seemed a better jiu Jitsu player, so there was a somewhat ironic finish to the fight with Morrison ultimately winning by submission.
Hurricane
The final junior bout ended prematurely as referee David Jones had no choice but to disqualify Aaron Daniels of Hurricane Martial Arts. Daniels looked to bang at every opportunity and found a willing dance partner in Legends’ Jimmy Nolan. After a blistering first round, Daniels dropped Nolan and followed up with some crisp head strikes to his fallen foe. The only problem is junior MMA rules don’t allow head shots to a downed opponent leaving referee Jones no option but to rule a disqualification.
Ian Molphy and the ever impressive 17-year-old Daragh Harte ensured Rush Fight Academy went undefeated on the night with a decision and a first round submission respectively. James Walsh, meanwhile, put his hand up for submission of the night honours. The Lucan MMA fighter showed slick jiu Jitsu, transitioning through an armbar and triangle choke attempts to ultimately finish Chris McAlernon of Antrim MMA by rear naked choke.
Stephen Owens (IFS) showed how effective a tight choke can be as he put Anthony Carrick of Lucan MMA to sleep with his first round triangle choke. Conor Dillon (Brazilian Top Team) and Bogusz Pochlyski (Husaria Fight Team) gave us the war of the night in a rematch that lasted the full three rounds. Pochlyski showed a greater range of strikes as he flashed some spinning back kicks across the bow of Dillon. Dillon countered with several takedowns in each round that may have tipped the decision on the judges’ scorecards.
The title fights were short lived affairs as Warren Mitchell brought the WIMMA lightweight belt back to Antrim MMA. Stephen Rice bounced back from his loss at Fight Pit 2 in Dundalk to beat Muay Thai fighter Dagan Vickers (Legends) via submission in the early stages of the first round, claiming the Man of War light heavyweight title in the process.
Results round-up:
- Steven Mooney (Lucan MMA) and Robertas Rimkuf (PMA) fought to a draw
- Dennis Chetrari (PMA) defeated Chris Mulligan (Fight Pit) via Guillotine Round 1
- Robert Morrison (Antrim MMA) defeated Sean Keogan (Kokoro) via Armbar Round 1
- Jimmy Nolan (Legends) defeated Aaron Daniels (Hurricane Martial Arts) who was disqualified due to illegal head shots on ground in Round 2
- Ian Molphy (Rush Fight Academy) defeated Arno Dos Santas (Tai Jitsu Belfast) via Decision
- Sam Brennan (Lucan MMA) defeated Conor Devlin (Kokoro) via TKO Round 2
- Rob Byrne (Kokoro) defeated Andy Furlong (MMA Lucan) via Armbar Round 1
- Daragh Harte (Rush Fight Academy) defeated Joe McColgan (Tai Jitsu Belfast) via Rear Naked Choke Round 1
- Fran McKeown (Kokoro) defeated Lewis Campbell (Antrim MMA) via Rear Naked Choke Round 1
- Stephen Owens (IFS) defeated Anthony Carrick (Lucan MMA) via Triangle Choke Round 1
- Mal McFall (Tai Jitsu Belfast) defeated Phillip Maher (Team Ryano) via Armbar Round 1
- James Walsh (Lucan MMA) defeated Chris McAlernon (Antrim MMA) via Rear Naked Choke Round 1
- WIMMA Amateur Title Fight Warren Mitchell (Antrim MMA) defeated Peter Doyle (Team Ryano) via Armbar Round 1
- Conor Dillon (Brazilian Top Team) defeated Bogusz Pochlyski (Husaria Fight Team) via Decision
- Man Of War Light Heavyweight Title Stephen Rice (Fight Pit) defeated Dagan Vickers (Legends) via Kimora Round 1
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