CES MMA held their third event last Thursday in a return to their premier venue, the Twin River Event Center. While we did not get to see Mike Campbell or Mat Santos fight, we still were treated to an extremely well matched show of eight fights.

Tyson Chartier 0-0 (Sit Yodtong) vs. Justin Switzer 0-1 (B&F Boxing) 155 lbs.

Round 1

Both fighters start out tentatively. Switzer puts a feeler out to judge distance. After a trade off of missed kicks, Switzer begins to apply the pressure. Chartier responds with some calculated strikes but opens up a shot to the cage with a glancing haymaker. Switzer responds with a perfect throw to mount off the cage. Chartier keeps things tight preventing any damage or scoring from Switzer. As Switzer tries to posture and create distance, Chartier advances to bottom guard. Switzer is able to work the body a bit but Chartier lands some clean upward elbows as the round times out.

Switzer 10-9

Round 2

Switzer opens up with a head kick that Chartier shoots through for a takedown to side control. Switzer improves and begins to work rubber guard while Chartier lights him up with some hammer fists. After an attempt to stack, the two fighters stand again. Chartier goes for the clinch and the two fighters exchange knees. To the ground, both guys trade off guard and elbows as the round ends.

Chartier 10-9

Round 3

Switzer starts the round off with some jabs. Chartier responds and the two have the best slug fest of their match. Chartier’s waist tackle gives him side control and he begins to unload some straight down body punches. Switzer tightens up control so Chartier switches to body knees. Up to mount and then around to the back, Chartier locks in a rear naked choke for the win, late in round three.

Tyson Chartier wins via rear naked choke in the third round.

Tyson’s pro debut started out a little slow but he quickly gained control of the fight in the second round. I spoke with Tyson after the fight and he admitted that the massive weight cut left him feeling a little flat footed in the first round. Even with eight amateur fights under his belt, he took his pro debut extremely serious. He knew that Justin had unorthodox striking and that a pure and simple brawl could have turned into a coin flip. It’s amazing to talk to a guy like Tyson who was highly favored in the fight yet he took it a serious as possible to avoid any kind of missteps. I think the paradox that Tyson presents to any of his future opponents is that he is a highly skilled athlete who would need to be caught in order to be served his first pro loss. However, with his level of commitment to the game and Sit Yodtong as his side, I don’t see that happening anytime in his local future…

While Tyson pulled away, Justin has nothing to hang his head about. He had a strong first round and hung against a highly favored fighter until the final moments of the fight. I’ll be glad to see either of these guys fight again soon.

Ruben Rey 1-1 (Team Rockstar) vs. James King 0-1 (Team Extreme) 152 lbs.                

Round 1

Rey fires off with a leg kick and a one-two combo. He goes for a body kick but King closes distance and it turns into a pretty effective knee. Rey is imposing his will and King is starting to run around the ring firing off hooks out of range. As the distance is closed, King gets a double leg takedown into guard but Rey slaps on a guillotine on the way down. Rey works a bit of butterfly guard up against the cage. The two fighters try to stand up but Rey does it much faster and delivers a knock out knee Kings face. King isn’t out cold but his evident pain and blood would beg to differ.

Ruben Rey wins knock out knee to the face in round 1.

Ruben looked unstoppable for the entirety of this short fight. Not a miss match on paper but Ruben held all the cards and put this one in the books quickly. I think his quick thinking will make for a lot of exciting fights to come in the future. Both the guillotine attempt and knee to the face were split second instinctual moves.

Doug Bolanes 0-0 (Team Bolanes) vs. Josh Labossiere 0-0 (Omaplata) 185 lbs.

Round 1

Bolanes looked to end this fight quickly. An onslaught of strikes drove Labossiere to the cage forcing him to take a desperate shot at a single. The shot turns into a clinch where Labossiere lands some circular Thai knees. As soon as the clinch breaks, Bolanes lands a one-two combo that face plants Labossiere out cold.

Doug Bolanes wins via knock out in round 1.

Another fair match up on paper and from what I heard after the fight, Labossiere has some good jiu jitsu. Unfortunately, he did not get to put any of it on display as Bolanes had the obvious physical advantage over his opponent.

Lionel Young 4-4 (BJKA)vs. Luiz Rodriguez 3-0 (Sit Yodtong) 155 lbs.

Round 1

Rodriguez immediately gets Young’s back in a scramble and uses it to take mount. Young has a beautiful sweep and decides to stand up out of guard. Rodriguez fails at a judo throw landing Young in the top of guard. Rodriguez attempts to use a guillotine to sit up and out of bottom guard. Young keeps his opponent in place and shuts down a few arm bar attempts. Rodriguez gets control of a post arm and pulls off a text book flower sweep to mount.

The mount is deflated and flat so Young gets a sweep of his own back to top guard where he’s welcomed with an air tight triangle. Young taps and Rodriguez releases showing true sportsmanship as referee Dan Miragliotta did not see the tap or break the fight. Rodriguez explained it and Young did not argue it.

Luiz Rodriguez wins via triangle choke in round 1.

I personally picked Lionel Young in the upset because I think he’s underrated due to losses on his record attributed to fighting up in weight class. Also, I had no clue that Luiz had such slick jiu jitsu skills until I saw that he had that edge of insanity look that so many good jiu jitsu players have… I’ll always be a fan of Lionel Young but now I’ve got another exciting fighter to follow in Luiz Rodriguez.

Jeff Anderson 5-2 (B&F Boxing) vs. Hitalo Machado 6-4 (ATT) 155 lbs.

Round 1

Anderson has a super low and wide stance that almost makes him look like a capoeira fighter. (no, it has nothing to do with him resembling Eddie Gordo from Tekken)

Machado controls the fight immediately with jabs and a hyper intensity. Anderson slips in some reaching jabs of his own during the exchange. Machado begins to land jab – lead kick combos at will. He then mixes it up with some heavy right crosses until there is a perfect opportunity for a takedown to side control. Just as soon as Machado advances to mount, Anderson sweeps into his guard. Machado goes for an armbar from bottom but he picks the wrong arm and is blocked by the cage. Anderson additionally shuts down the attempts with some heavy stacking.

With the armbars out of commission, Anderson begins to pound on Machado landing a huge right hand that could have set up an end to the fight if the round hadn’t timed out. Best round of the night by far.

Round 2

The two fighters start out like fresh fighters at the beginning of the round. Beautiful standing exchanges with some punches landed, blocked or slipped. It almost looks as if the fight is scripted for excitement. Machado eases back on the striking but slips almost everything Anderson sends his way. Machado’s shot is met with a sprawl but he managed himself into top guard. Against the cage, there isn’t much room for either fighter to work until Machado advances to mount. From mount he slaps on a triangle and rolls in an attempt to finish the fight but the bell sounds.

Round 3

Anderson wants to win this round and pushes the pace immediately. He gets Machado against the cage. Similar to the second round, both fighters are unloading on each other and defending well. Most of the striking turns into jabs as both fighters realize they need to score but may not be able to put the other guy away.

Machado gets a takedown solidifying the round in his favor. In the top of guard against the cage, he scores some tight body punches. Machado pulls Anderson away from the cage so that he can create more distance and land bigger punches until the bell sounds.

Hitalo Machado wins via unanimous decision 30-27 29-28 29-28

Until this point, absolutely the fight of the night. Fights like this make it more and more difficult for me to hate bouts that go to decision. Jeff applied pressure the entire fifteen minutes. His striking was comparable to and likely more powerful than Hitalo’s. If he had a takedown or two of his own and some submission attempts, this fight could have gone either way. I would never expect anything less than a great showing from Jeff in the future.

Hitalo Machado has had a great local career, but this was by far his best night of striking ever. Sometimes jiu jitsu guys get into a tizzy about proving they’re a striker and force it a few times, but Hitalo clearly did not have to fake it. He looked crisp and calculated and would have put away most fighters with this showing. However, thanks to his roots, his take downs and submission attempts were the deciding factor in this fight.

Jason Bennett 4-3 (Lion’s Den) vs. Tateki Matsuda 4-3 (Sit Yodtong) 135 lbs.

Round 1

Bennett starts off the fight with some range finding kicks landing at least one solid thud to Matsuda’s body. Matsuda gets a takedown to side control against the cage. Bennett fights to stand up and takes Matsuda’s back standing but ends up in the top of guard after some resistance. Matsuda goes for a triangle but Bennett slams him twice to break the attempt only to find his leg being attacked. Matsuda has a sort of knee triangle on his opponent that he eventually transitions to a heel hook. Bennett dances around until he breaks free.

The two fighters stand but Matsuda gets another takedown to side control where he improves to a rear naked choke attempt. Bennett simply powers out until the fighters stand again and repeat the same process. This time, Bennett locks himself tightly to Matsuda preventing any further action from side control.

Round 2

Both fighters blast away at each other’s legs. At one point both guys land leg kicks in the same split second. Bennett throws the first punch of the round but slips and is quickly pounced on. Matsuda backs off but then immediately gets a takedown to side control. This time he’s kneeing Bennett’s body without letting up for even a moment. Bennett powers up to his feet into a clinch and lands a huge right hand that causes a bit of stumble in Matsuda. Matsuda recovers by landing leg kicks and Bennett keeps the punches flying. Bennett kicks for the head and this Thai boxing fight is ON. The fighters get into a clinch that is accented with a flurry of knees. Bennett sneaks in a huge throw but Matsuda rolls into control atop guard.

Round 3

Round three opens with both fighters trading off violent head and leg kicks. Bennett lands another monster right hand but Matsuda has enough left to dance it off and respond with some sneaky elbows. Into a clinch, Matsuda puts Bennett on the defensive with knees all up and down his body and legs. Another takedown to side control and Matsuda is taking the round away. Knees to the body advance him to a rear naked choke attempt and Matsuda finishes the round being slammed during another triangle.

Tateki Matsuda wins via split decision 30-27 and 29-28 both ways.

I didn’t think it was going to get better than Machado versus Anderson, but this was the new fight of the night. Things could have gone either way at any point. Jason almost put Tateki away at several points, but Tateki controlled most of the fight. To the surprise of many of his team mates I spoke with, Tateki put on a bit of a leg lock clinic and had quite a few submission attempts during what was ultimately a Thai boxing event. Neither of these guys looked gassed at any point and were able to go full force at all times. Bennett simply stood up out of side control many times which would be difficult even if a guy had weight or size advantage. Tateki basically hit for the mma cycle landing knees, elbows, punches, head-leg-body kicks, leg locks, chokes, takedowns, etc…

I am officially done hating on fights that go to decision. This was one of those fights I will always remember.

Greg Rebello 11-2 (Sit Yodtong) vs. Taiwan Howard 7-5 205 lbs.

Round 1

Howard snaps off a leg kick, pulls Rebello forward and rolls down to the top of half guard. Howard gets a guillotine from the top of half guard but Rebello is able to stand up and get a takedown of his own to the top of half guard.

Round 2

Rebello misses with two head kicks and Howard responds with an over loaded right cross. Rebello gets a takedown to the top of half guard where he works a few arm triangles and has mount at one point.

Round 3

Rebello opens up again with a head kick and then shoots while Howard is mid kick of his own. Rebello takes the top of half guard again and works arm triangles. Howard stands up at one point and throws some bombs but Rebello gets the takedown again into half guard and finishes the fight atop mount.

Greg Rebello wins via unanimous decision.

I shared the common sentiment that Greg is a great guy and a respectable fighter and both these guys took the bout on short notice but there just wasn’t much going on.

Dan Lauzon 13-4 (Reality Self Defense) vs. Damien Trites 5-3 (Wai Kru) 165 lbs.

With all the anticipated fanfare, the main event begins.

Round 1

Damien immediately controls the pace firing off as many punches as his body will allow. Some connect and some are defended well. Dan is pulled into a Thai clinch where Damien unloads a few knees. Dan drops down to a leg for a takedown but Damien ends up in the top of guard. The fighters stand up and out and Damien shoots in for a takedown of his own. Dan slaps on the guillotine tight and drops into guard to finish the submission.

Dan Lauzon wins via guillotine choke in round 1.

I never really conceived of a win – win situation for this fight until it was over. Damien came out with the intensity that would have put away most fighters. However, Dan Lauzon isn’t most fighters. He kept his cool and weathered the brief storm for a smart, veteran style win.

While Damien did not win the fight and the “beef” has been settled to Dan’s advantage, he managed to look pretty good in there and clearly game planned and trained enough to give himself a shot. Damien is a great fighter and deserves to continue to bang with the top fighters in town.

Dan won the fight. While Damien had the upper hand initially, Dan was never in any serious trouble. You could sense he knew he’d have to let Damien get his emotional fight out and then win when the opportunity presented itself. I give Dan boat loads of credit for not getting caught up in the hype and brawling just for the sake of brawling while risking a loss to make a “tough guy” point. He put on a great defense and showed maturity in this win. Always an entertaining fighter, I can’t wait to shell out $50 to watch him in the big show again someday.

Congratulations to all the fighters, win or lose, and everyone at Sit Yodtong for going 4-0 on the night. See you all next year…