| Los Angeles, CA – The old adage “bigger is better” proved to be true for the first University of MMA event of 2015, as Fight Night 9 set several new records, all stemming from the show’s 18-match fight card. The event took place on March 8 at Club Nokia at L.A. LIVE, producing several candidates for Fight of the Night, Blue Chip Honors, and Submission of the Night.
“It’s rare when you have quantity and quality in such perfect synergy, but the fighters and fans gave us exactly that. When it was done, I was still had energy to watch a few more matches,” said University of MMA matchmaker Jay Tan.
In the end, the Dean‘s List performance awards for Fight Night 9 are:
Fight of the Night (TIE): Jasmine Pouncy (Nubians MMA) vs. Daria Berenato (Systems Training Center) and Ryan Lilley (Bas Rutten’s Elite MMA Training Center) vs. Jonathan Quiroz (California MMA)
Knockout of the Night: Lance Lee (Kings MMA)
Submission of the Night: Thom Landeros (All In MMA)
Blue Chip Honors: Angel Diaz (Systems Training Center)
“We’re proud of all of the award winners. Without a doubt these men and women earned their acknowledgements by making an impact on the audience, earning glory in the cage, and taking home $100 gift cards courtesy of our sponsors OTM Fight Shop and WSS,” said University of MMA founder Turi Altavilla.
In addition to the traditional Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night, and Submission of the Night awards, Blue Chip honors recognizes fighters who show great showmanship, charisma and audience awareness.
Pouncy and Lilley both won their respective matches by unanimous decision, but the results betray how closely scored were the rounds in each fight. Pouncy and Berenato traded furious striking combos in a barnburner that exemplified why women’s MMA is so popular. And with twenty amateur MMA matches between them, Lilley and Quiroz displayed masterful fight maturity, strongly pointing towards destined pro debuts.
Lance Lee‘s knockout of A.J. Lavarias advances him to the finals of the University of MMA lightweight championship tournament, where he’ll faceJulio Lopez (Ruckus MMA) at Fight Night 10 in May. Thom Landeros‘guillotine choke victory was both swift and technically complete, while Blue Chip Honors winner Angel Diaz exhibited charisma and stage presence that boosted an adept first-round submission win.
Additionally, University of MMA featherweight and welterweight champions Tommy Aaron and Roman Todorovich (both of Elite Training Center), respectively, successfully defended their titles with undeniable first-round victories.
In his first title defense, Aaron faced Sergio ‘Surge the Kid‘ Perez (Hayastan MMA), who imposed his will early on the champion with a defiant takedown and constant body control for much of the first round. Once the fight got back to the feet, however, Aaron landed a textbook spinning back kick that stunned Perez enough for the champion to swarm in for the TKO finish.
Todorovich faced a unique challenge in rematching former University of MMA welterweight champion Jarett Conner (independent), who returned to the U after a year-long hiatus. Himself the reigning welterweight king prior to Todorovich wresting the title from him in 2014, Conner demonstrated his trademark strength and unstoppable takedowns with the same adeptness for which he’s known. With his champion’s conviction, Todorovich secured an armbar early, which he kept through an elevated power bomb by Conner. Todorovich shifted position to full mount, leading to a ground-and-pound finish at 1:11. The match was stopped due to injury, when Conner based to his arms and knees, severely dislocating his elbow.
Quick results for University of MMA: Fight Night (March 8, 2015):
1) 155 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – ERNESTO LEYVA (CSW) def. VICTOR RIVERA (Nubians MMA) via unanimous decision\
2) 125 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – ANGEL ‘The Kraken’ DIAZ (Systems Training Center) def. SONNY ASHTON (Smash Squad) via submission (rear naked choke), R1, 1:46
3) 170 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – AARON LANDRY (Ring of Fire Martial Arts Academy) def. DANNY LLAMAS (The Guild) via TKO, R1, 0:51
4) 155 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – ANITA HOEHENLEITER (JFM Boxing/Systems Training Center) def. ASHLEE ‘Smiley’ GRANT (Bowman’s Dojo) via submission (standing guillotine), R1, 1:03
5) 170 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – SERGEY MARTIROSYAN (Docando/Hayastan MMA) def. CRUZ MARTINEZ (10th Planet Van Nuys) via unanimous decision
6) 165 CW lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – YASKIN SOLANO (Paragon BJJ) def. ARSALAN HOMAYUN (10th Planet Burbank) via submission (armbar), R1,0:50
7) 205 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – MICHAEL ‘Lazer’ REYES (10th Planet Van Nuys) def. TRAVIS WILLIAMS (Elite Training Center) via unanimous decision
8) 125 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – KELLY VANHOY (Millennia MMA) def. STEFANI POGUE (Systems Training Center) via unanimous decision
9) 145 lbs. (3 x 3 min., no shins) – RYAN ‘The Lion’ LILLEY (Bas Rutten’s Elite MMA Gym) def. JONATHAN QUIROZ (California MMA) via unanimous decision
10) 135 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – RICHIE MEISTER (BJMUTA) def. MILTON ‘The Diamond’ ARGUELLO (10th Planet Van Nuys) via majority decision
11) 125 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – JASMINE ‘Tapout Queen’ POUNCY (Nubians MMA) def. DARIA ‘The Jersey Devil’ BERENATO (Systems Training Center) via unanimous decision
12) 125 lbs. (3 x 3 min., no shins) – THOMAS ‘The Beast’ LANDEROS (All In MMA) def. HUGO ‘Young Gun’ ARANDA (House of Champions) via submission (guillotine), R1, 1:40
13) 135 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – VINCE CACHERO (Systems Training Center) def. MICHAEL ‘Slayer’ DERDERIAN (10th Planet HQ Fight Team) via unanimous decision
14) 170 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – LANCE ‘The Black Ranger’ BUSH (Team Lagarto) def. SCORPIO SKY (The Guild) via split decision
UNIVERSITY OF MMA LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
15) 155 lbs. (3 x 3 min., no shins) – JULIO ‘The Wolf’ LOPEZ (Ruckus MMA) def. PIOUS ‘Voodoo’ ENILOLOBO, JR. (BJMUTA/Flying Kick Martial Arts) via TKO, R2, 1:23
UNIVERSITY OF MMA WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
16) 170 lbs. (3 x 3 min., no shins) – ROMAN ‘The Gladiator’ TODOROVICH (Elite Training Center) def. JARETT CONNER (Independent) via TKO/doctor’s stoppage, R1, 1:11
UNIVERSITY OF MMA LIGHT WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
17) 155 lbs. (3 x 2 min., shins) – LANCE LEE ‘Vanquish’ (Kings MMA) def. A.J. ‘The People’s Champ’ LAVARIAS (Systems Training Center) via KO, R2,1:30
UNIVERSITY OF MMA FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
18) 145 lbs. (3 x 3 min., no shins) – TOMMY ‘The Spaniard AARON (Elite Training Center) def. SERGIO ‘Surge the Kid’ PEREZ (Hayastan MMA) via TKO, R1, 2:09
University of MMA: Fight Night 10 takes place on Sunday, May 31, at Club Nokia at L.A. LIVE. Doors open at 4:30pm and first fight takes place at 5:00pm. Tickets are on sale now through www.UofMMA.com
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CONTACT: Either Turi Altavilla at turi@UofMMA.com and phone (310) 701-8339 or Jay Tan at jaytan@UofMMA.com and phone (213) 618-0332.
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About the University of MMA (www.UofMMA.com): The University of Mixed Martial Arts (aka “The U”) is a Los Angeles-based fight promotion specializing in exciting, high-octane, upscale amateur MMA events around the Southern California region. Its mandate is to provide a stage for young, aspiring fighters to hone their MMA skills and develop themselves as marketable personalities and respectable ambassadors of the sport. The U was founded in 2010 and has run sixteen shows in Southern California. Each event is sanctioned by the California Amateur MMA Organization (CAMO), which upholds the highest safety standards in the nation for amateur competition. The team behind the U collectively has over 20 years of experience in promoting professional MMA at the highest level of the sport, including international and domestic events broadcast on pay-per-view, cable, and network television. For tomorrow‘s MMA stars and champions …IT STARTS HERE!
About OTM Fight Shops (www.OTMfightshops.com): On The Mat (OTM) is an American company and brand dedicated to the sport and lifestyle of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), submission grappling (no-gi), and mixed martial arts (MMA). Founded in 1996 by owner Scotty Nelson in Mountain View, CA, OTM has become best known for its website, OnTheMat.com, which provides the largest online library of jiu-jitsu and grappling footage, including video magazines, instructional videos, and tournament compilations. Its online store and eight retail fight shops in California, Nevada, and New Mexico offer the widest selection of fight gear and apparel for fighters from every discipline. Additionally, OTM’s clothing line is among the most recognizable brands in BJJ and MMA, including a custom made jiu-jitsu gi called Lucky Gi. OTM has sponsored dozens of BJJ / MMA household names, such as B.J. Penn, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Jeff Monson, Kenny Florian, and Diego Sanchez.
About WSS (www.shopWSS.com):WSS is a leading Southern California retailer founded in 1984. WSS (formerly Warehouse Shoe Sale) offers a wide variety of footwear, clothing, and accessories from all major brands. WSS carries over 3,000 of the latest styles from such brand names as Nike, Jordan, Vans, Converse, Sketchers, Reebock, Adidas, Puma, New Balance, DC Shoes, Timberland, K-Swiss, and many, many more. With over 25 years in business and 55 stores (Victorville, Bakersfield and Lancaster coming soon), WSS has an unrivaled reputation for having great values and great selection and for bringing customers the latest in the best styles. Participating in over 350 local events per year, WSS is also committed to giving back to the community. |
