Sunday, April 12, 2015

Victory VIII and the Unbreakable Rob Ovalle

NEW YORK


Unbreakable iron. That's the best way to describe Rob Ovalle, who wears Victory Combat Sports' welterweight crown atop his head and who, at Friday night's Victory VIII installment in the basement of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan, defended his title with an almost inhuman resilience that was matched only by his skill.


It was Eric Taylor who put the champ to the test, and like a heavy hammer slamming loudly into an anvil, the Team Demolition standout alternated between sticking his fist in Ovalle's face and threatening him with trouble on the ground. But no matter what damage he took, Ovalle bounced back to dish out some hurt of his own, edging ahead on the judges' scorecards by the narrowest of margins.

Victory VIII's main event went the full three rounds, and when it was all over Ovalle took the split decision and kept the belt. As for those in attendance, they got a bout that was a clear winner of "fight of the night" honors.


There may not have been a belt up for grabs when Brandon Medina and Westley Chow threw down in the ring, but both men put on championship-level performances nonetheless.

With a fantastic stream of scrambles and reversals, it seemed as if Medina and Chow were just about equals on the ground. It was Medina, however, who went into "beastmode" in the standup exchanges, and who always managed to find the takedown when there seemed to be none. The Aggressive Combat Championship veteran took the unanimous decision when time ran out, and Medina's upward climb continues.


When it comes to throwing leather, Kyle McShane had no hesitation. That translated into a pretty dominant performance over Rohan Dalton, who grew more and more dazed with each punch - a condition that had the ref stepping in before in a minute had expired.


In Muay Thai action, Amin Almelik utilized his rangy limbs to great effect against NJ Mac, scoring from the outside and racking up enough points to take the decision - and a belt. Meanwhile, a tough Gianna Cuello edged out the veteran Kit Fung in a bout that was a battle of inches ever step of the way. Cuello took home a belt, too. And in the opener, 15-year-old Kyla Hachey trekked down from Canada to put a beating on Jeanette Esposito, coming away with a well-earned unanimous decision.

Full results:

Muay Thai

  • Kyla Hachey def. Jeanette Esposito via Unanimous Decision
  • Marlon Wiprud def. Matt McCullough via TKO at 1:09, R1
  • Josh Santos def. Diego Jagessar via Split Decision
  • Tiffany Cass def. Prairie Ruglio via TKO (doc stoppage due to rib injury) at 3:00, R2


    Victory 147-Pound Muay Thai Title
    • Amin Almelik def. NJ Mac via Unanimous Decision
    USKA 105-Pound Muay Thai Title
    • Gianna Cuello def. Kit Fung via Split Decision
    MMA
    • Kyle McShane def. Rohan Dalton via TKO (Punches) at :51, R1
    • Brandon Medina def. Westley Chow via Unanimous Decision
    Victory 170-Pound MMA Title
    • Rob Ovalle def. Eric Taylor via Split Decision

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