Rick Hawn and Tom Gallicchio stepped into the main event slot of WCF 9 Friday night after an injury forced Mike Campbell off the card, and delivered a grueling, high-level 3 round war. Hawn controlled and outpointed a more experienced and game Gallicchio to win a unanimous 30-27 victory and keep his undefeated record intact. Over 3,000 were in attendance for the 10 fights at the Shriner’s Auditorium in Wilmington, including familiar local faces from the UFC, an appearance by Butterbean, and several Boston Celtics players.

2004 Judo Olympian Rick Hawn continued the perfect start to his MMA career with a victory over his toughest opponent to date in Tom Gallicchio. The sportsbooks had Gallicchio coming in as the -160 betting favorite, and he looked to be brimming with confidence in his corner as he waited for referee Kevin MacDonald to signal the start of the fight. Gallicchio had Hawn looking tentative in the initial striking exchanges, but the momentum would soon change. Midway through the first Hawn unloaded a powerful counter-punch that resulted in Gallicchio backing up for the first time. Hawn pressed forward and in the ensuing clinch went to his judo roots and sent his opponent sailing to the mat with a beautiful shoulder throw. Hawn controlled the rest of the round with Gallicchio now bleeding from the forehead.

Gallicchio came to fight and never quit for the entirety of the 15-minute bout, but Hawn gave him little to work with. The pivotal moments of the second and third round were Hawn using impeccable timing to take advantage of small mistakes by Gallicchio, and then seal each round with positional dominance. In the second Gallicchio appeared to briefly look for an armbar from the guard, giving Hawn an opening to simultaneously land a bruising shot and transition to side control. In the third a missed high kick led to an immediate takedown for Hawn, also into side control. Once side control was established in both rounds, Hawn gave his opponent no room to maneuver and mount any offense.

The win now leads Hawn into his highest profile matchup to date: a reported fight against BJJ wizard Braulio Estima on May 15th as part of the next Shine Fights pay per view event.

John Benoit rebounded from a submission loss to Hitalo Machado at WCF 8 to take a unanimous decision victory over the fast-rising and previously undefeated Noah Wiseman. Wiseman brought a dangerous ground game, threatening with a tight triangle attempt in the first round that Benoit had to carefully find his way out of. Ultimately Benoit proved to be the more powerful and well-rounded of the two, firmly controlling the second round en-route to the 20-18 result on all three scorecards. While Benoit definitively won the fight, it should be noted that the 2×4 minute round structure in place gave the fighters just 8 minutes of ring time before the decision was rendered. At basically half the length of a normal bout, the fighters deserved more time, however this should be a thing of the past now that the athletic commission will be regulating the sport in Massachusetts moving forward.

Dan Bonnell left Cesario De Souza upset after being knocked out just 32 seconds into their 150-pound catchweight fight. The fighters accidentally clashed heads just moments before a right hand bomb put De Souza onto the mat, and De Souza left the ring in frustration, unwilling to shake hands with Bonnell, who tried to make the best of it and certainly was not at fault for any part of the impressive performance.

Carlos Lovato showcased devastating power in his hands when he dispatched Jerry Spiegel by TKO in the first round, moving to 2-0 in his career. Spiegel pulled guard and nearly swept Lovato to start the fight, but without being able to achieve top position was exposed to repeated power shots. Lovato wisely stood back up and used his striking superiority to put away the veteran Spiegel.

In one of the most anticipated fights of the night, Stephen Stengel took Mike Zichelle’s back after a scramble for position just a minute into the fight. A deep rear naked choke left Zichelle no choice but to tap.

Jamie Campbell, Matt Martin, Nelson Gaipo, Joel Ly, and Robby Roberts also picked up victories, all by way of first-round submission.

Full results…

NELSON GAIPO vs MATT JOHNSON (Pro 2×4, 155lbs)
Blue: Gaipo – Dragon Lair, Red: Johnson – SSSF, Ref: Fred

Round 1: Gaipo immediately throws and whiffs on a high kick, loses his balance and is on the mat. Johnson moves into Gaipo’s guard. Gaipo has a high guard and is actively looking for something. First threatens to get an armbar and then locks in a tight triangle. Johnson taps.

Nelson Gaipo wins by triangle choke, 0:35 of round 1.

STEVE BECK vs JOEL LY (Pro 2×4, 155lbs)
Blue: Beck – Independent, Red: Ly – Guy Chase, Ref: Fred

Round 1: Beck takedown to side control, Ly immediately moving and looking for an armbar. Beck opts to stand. Low kicks from Ly and then a nice punch. Beck another takedown attempt but ends up on his back. Ly getting a few punches in from guard, then passes to the side and Beck is in turtle position. Scrambling, Ly on his back looking for an armbar and transitions to a triangle choke for the tapout.

Joel Ly wins by triangle choke, 3:19 of round 1.

BUSTER CRANDELL vs ROBBY ROBERTS (Pro 2×4, 185lbs)
Blue: Crandell – Bombsquad, Red: Roberts – Brute Force, Ref: Kevin

Round 1: Roberts lands a low kick. Clinched up Buster has a single leg looking for a takedown. Finally gets him down after a long struggle. Buster landing some GnP, Roberts looking for a triangle and might be close. Instead Roberts finds an armbar from the bottom and extends out to get the tap.

Robby Roberts wins by armbar, 2:08 of round 1.

JERRY SPIEGEL vs CARLOS LOVATO (Pro 2×4, 205lbs)
Blue: Spiegel – Independent, Red: Premier Fight Team , Ref: Kevin

Round 1: Spiegel times it, darts in, and pulls guard. Spiegel sets up a beautiful sweep, is almost in top position, but loses momentum and is on his back again. Now Lovato unloading big punches from the top. Up to the feet, Spiegel covering up but Lovato is throwing bombs to the head and body in the corner. Spiegel clinches, Lovato takes him down and throws down more brutal ground and pound. Up to the feet again and Lovato lands a giant right to the body that the whole auditorium can hear, and then follow up with a shot to the head that puts Spiegel on the mat, unable to defend himself with the ref right there to stop it.

Carlos Lovato wins by TKO, 3:15 of round 1.

PETER COLE vs MATT MARTIN (Pro 4×2, 125lbs)
Blue: Cole – Bombsquad, Red: Martin – USMMA, Ref: Fred

Round 1: Martin muscles Cole to the mat and has him in guard. Martin throws up a triangle and has Cole fighting to survive. Cole is not giving up, trying every angle he can to escape, but Martin has got him locked in. Cole finally has to tap.

Matt Martin wins by triangle choke, 1:40 of round 1.

CESARIO DE SOUZA vs DAN BONNELL (Pro 2×4, 150lbs)
Blue: De Souza – Dragon Lair, Red: Bonnell – Renzo Gracie NH, Ref: Fred

Round 1: They close the distance, clinch, and clash heads. De Souza backs off, feeling his head thinking he might be cut open. He’s not cut but he’s a little shaken up. Only a couple seconds break in the action, they tap gloves and resume. Bonnell immediately lands a bomb flush and De Souza is down on the mat. Couple more strikes on the mat, De Souza is unable to defend.

Dan Bonnell wins by KO (though he might not have been totally out) at 0:32 of round 1.

ANDREW NELSON vs JAMIE CAMPBELL (Pro 2×4, 170lbs)
Blue: Nelson – Chaos, Red: Campbell – Boston Muay Thai, Ref: Kevin

Round 1: Campbell hard low kick, and defends against a takedown from Nelson. Nelson tries to wrestle him down again but Campbell lands in full mount. Nelson almost reverses, but Campbell secures his position, works in close until he’s comfortable, and then sits up and starts unloading. Nelson is defending but more and more are getting through until he’s really getting blasted with Campbell still in mount. Ref has to stop it, maybe right as Nelson was tapping.

Jamie Campbell wins by tapout due to strikes at 1:21 of round 1.

STEPHEN STENGEL vs MIKE ZICHELLE (Pro 2×4, 185lbs)
Blue: Stengel – Independent, Red: Zichelle – The Factory, Ref: Kevin

Round 1: Both guys look pumped up but start the fight cautiously, circling. Stengel defends a takedown attempt and then they finally hit the mat, scrambling for top position. Zichelle eats a few punches, tries to stand, grabs a leg, but Stengel is in control of the positioning. Stengel now has his back and a deep, deep choke. Zichelle has to tap.

Stephen Stengel wins by rear naked choke, 1:09 of round 1.

NOAH WISEMAN vs JOHN BENOIT (Pro 2×4, 155lbs)
Blue: Wiseman – BJJ Revolution, Red: Benoit – Renzo Gracie NH, Ref: Fred

Round 1: Clinch game to start. Each guy fighting for a takedown, good knees landing by both. Benoit gets him to the mat, but Wiseman immediately looking for a triangle and has Benoit in trouble with it locked in. Benoit staying active, throwing punches to the body, but Wiseman still has him locked up for a long time. Benoit finally breaks out and now unloads some punches from the guard. Very close round, but I score it for Benoit on the takedown and the damage from top position.

Round 2: Benoit good low kick, knee to the body, and clinches up. Wiseman gets a good knee in and is getting around to Benoit’s back. Benoit getting an arm for a kimura on the feet and gets the takedown, with the kimura still locked in and working for the finish, up against the ropes, halfway out of the ring. Wiseman in trouble but stays calm and finally gets his arm free. Looks like both guys have split their shins open and are bleeding down the front of their legs. Tough fight. Benoit in Noah’s guard, trying to get in some strikes. Nothing major landing but the positional control and the round is all Benoit.

All 3 judges have it 20-18 unanimous for John Benoit.

TOM GALLICCHIO vs RICK HAWN (Pro 3×5, 155lbs)
Blue: Gallicchio – Bombsquad, Red: Hawn – Sityodtong, Ref: Kevin

Round 1: Quick striking exchanges to begin round 1. Tom seems to be getting the better shots in with Hawn a little more hesitant. Hawn solid low kick, Tom lands one also. Big counter punch from Hawn, then another. Clinch and then an awesome judo throw puts Tom on his back with Hawn in side control. Tom back up, cut open on his forehead. Stalemate in the clinch for the last 45 seconds. My score: 10-9 Hawn.

Round 2: Big exchange, Tom lands a solid shot that has blood coming from Hawn’s nose. Clinch and Hawn gets a trip takedown. Tom has half butterfly guard, defending well from the bottom, but Hawn controlling the tempo and position, landing the occasional strike. Tom looks for an armbar but Hawn immediately seizes the opportunity and lands the biggest punch on the mat so far and passes guard to the side. Final 2 minutes of the round Hawn is in side control landing some elbows, Tom is basically stuck even though his defense is good. My score 10-9 Hawn.

Round 3: Hawn lands a good punch and a knee, right when Tom might have been on the mat. Not sure if it was an illegal blow or not, ref stands them and everything seems cool. Both guys swinging hard. Tom throws a high kick but it was a mistake and is immediately planted on the mat with Hawn back in side control. Same as round 2, Tom is stuck, eating elbows and whatever else Hawn can get through, and the round expires. My score: 10-9 Hawn.

Rick Hawn wins by unanimous decision, 30-27 by all judges.