An “Eruption” of Action

* originally published Apr '04 on fullcontactfighter.com*

(April 30th, Lowell, Massachusetts) The Tsongas Arena played host to “Eruption” tonight, and though the turnout was a scant few hundred, this marked the low point of an otherwise impressive debut show. Competitors flown in from as far away as Brazil and Texas to test the mettle of New England’s own stars, and fans who made the trek were rewarded with 11 action-packed MMA bouts. Representatives hailed from Team Elite, Team Renzo, Yves Edwards’ Thugjitsu, and Brazilian Top Team, among others. Highlights of the night included:

• Jay Hieron’s toughest MMA test yet, as he battled it out with jiu-jitsu black belt and Brazilian Top Team rep Fabio Holanda.
• Nuri Shakir’s flawless judo, as he sent Marcus Davis sailing through the air to the roar of the crowd.
• New England’s own MMA hero Jorge Rivera, and the war he waged with the gutsy James Gabert.

Results:

Jerry Mosquea (Rodrigo Gracie/Team Renzo-149lbs) vs. Joe Lauzon (Reality Self-Defense-149)

Lauzon at 2:37 of Round One via ref stoppage due to unanswered strikes.

Nardu Deborah (Rodrigo Gracie/Universal Self-Defense-160lbs) vs. Ricardo Deborba (ChuteBoxe-156lbs)

Deborah via KO at 3:30 of Round One - an impressive return for Nardu!

Jay Hieron (Bellmore Kickboxing/Rodrigo Gracie-168lbs) vs. Fabio Holanda (Brazilian Top Team-170lbs)

Hieron via unanimous decision - this one was a hard-fought war!

Super-Lightweight Title

Renato Migliacci (Team Renzo-145lbs) vs. Rocky Long (Thugjitsu-145lbs)

Migliacci via unanimous decision.

Lightweight Title

Mark Colangelo (Ricardo Almeida/Team Renzo-155lbs) vs. Matt Lee (Team Elite-155lbs)

Lee via unanimous decision - a great standup battle.

Bryan Bressler (Miletich Fighting Systems-170lbs) vs. Jason Hathaway (USF-169lbs)

Judges’ decision - draw.

Light-Heavyweight Title

Lance Everson (Boneyard-193lbs) vs. Tim Credeur (Thugjitsu-195lbs)

Credeur via armbar at 3:02 Round One. Everson popped his own arm out of his elbow trying to escape Credeur’s picture-perfect armlock from the bottom.

Welterweight Title

Marcus Davis (Miletich Fighting Systems-167lbs) vs. Nuri Shakir (Team Elite-170lbs)

Shakir via rear choke at 2:38 of Round Three. Another great fight by Shakir!

Fabio Leopoldo (Team Renzo-204lbs) vs. Brendan Seguin (MASH-197lbs)

Leopoldo via doctor stoppage at :43 of Round One - a bout-ending cut brought this one to an abrupt end before it barely even began.

Sam Hogar (Miletich Fighting Systems-247lbs) vs. Chris Herring (Gorilla Nation)

Hogar via side choke at 2:37 of Round One. With pinpoint accurate high-kicks and a smooth string of submission attempts from the bottom, Hogar looked extremely impressive.

Middleweight Title

Jorge Rivera (Team Elite-185lbs) vs. James Gabert (Ricardo Almeida/Team Renzo)

Rivera via ref stoppage (a flash-KO) at 4:10 of Round 3 - a scrappy performance by Gabert and dominant performance by Rivera. Get this man back in the UFC!