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Rocktagon MMA Worldwide kicked off their amateur National Championship series on Saturday in front of a sold out crowd at the Ohio City Masonic Temple in Cleveland. Fans packed the house for ELITE Series 12 Pro-Am in what proved to be an exciting night of fights.
The event began with two quick decisions. Canadian Chris Jurgensen (0-0) of Modern Vision MMA defeated Steve Chapple (0-0) at the 1:40 mark of Round One with a triangle chokehold. The referee stopped the second fight just 40 seconds into the first round, giving Nick Kohr (2-0) of Triple Threat a TKO against Tyree Johnson (2-2) for strikes.
The third bout of the night pitted Brendan Fang (1-1) against Chris Goins (3-1). Fang, of Modern Vision MMA, took home the victory 1:46 into the second round when his opponent tapped out of a rear naked chokehold.
In a debut thriller, James Zimmerman of Dayton MMA faced Pat Phelan of the Wrestling Factory in fight that kept fans on the edge of their seats until the final bell. Phelan dominated much of the time with his wrestling and jiu-jitsu skills, keeping Zimmerman on the defensive. The fight lasted three full rounds but Phelan prevailed in the end, winning a unanimous decision from the judges. It was a bittersweet victory, however; missing from the large crowd of supporters was his best friend Phil Masterson, an amateur MMA fighter who died suddenly on South Bass Island last year. “Phil was my biggest supporter and fan,” Phelan says. “He was pushing me to get into MMA. I started training with him as much as I could, but work always got in the way. I was completely crushed when he died. I’ve never felt so heartbroken. All I want to do is honor him and make him proud of me.”
During the intermission following Phelan’s victory, Rocktagon MMA honored Masterson with a tribute to his memory. Masterson, whose dream had been to become a Cleveland firefighter, began training in mixed martial arts to support his brother, Matt Masterson, a pro fighter who helped prepare Phelan for Saturday’s fight. Masterson’s family was ringside for the presentation, which included a Memorial 10-Count as ring girls walked poster-sized photos displays around the cage. “I’m glad they did a tribute for Phil at the fight,” Phelan says. “He was an amazing man and should be remembered as such. He will be truly missed by everyone that had the pleasure to meet him.”
The intensity continued after intermission with the long awaited match-up of Eric Ocheltree (1-0) and David Livingston (0-0). Ocheltree of Team Bundy defeated Livingston of Team Vengeance halfway through the first round with a guillotine chokehold. The next bout between Matt Brown (4-3) of Dayton MMA and Mike Maderitz (4-2) of Chu Ta Bu was evenly matched until Maderitz got caught in an arm bar after a scrambling position on the ground and tapped out, ending the fight at the 1:37 mark of the second round.
The most anticipated fight of the night was Edwin Taylor (3-0) of Nonstop MMA vs. Freddie Musgrave (4-0) of Goliath Gym and it did not disappoint!! Musgrave brought the heat from the start but Taylor was prepared, escaping a guillotine and quickly getting back on his feet. Taylor then threw a powerful right but his opponent managed to duck and he missed, spinning into another guillotine choke that ended the face-off 2:22 into the first round and sent Freddie Musgrave home with the Rocktagon MMA Middleweight Belt. Improving his record to 5-0 further fueled Musgrave’s desire and drive. “It’s time to kick it up a notch,” he says. “I’m putting it in four wheel [drive] in training now.” Look to see more action from Musgrave on the Rocktagon MMA national scene.
Rocktagon MMA amateur standout Dave Vande Velde’s professional debut against Kelli Gottardo (1-2) came to an abrupt end with what many say was a controversial call. Vande Velde of Kim’s Martial Arts clearly had the large crowd in his corner. As fans shouted “Dave, Dave, Dave”, Gottardo used his world class wrestling skills to take Vande Velde to the mat. In the process of getting back up after a reverse by Vande Velde, Gottardo was kneed in the head multiple times, dazing him. Referee Victor Ventresca stopped the fight at the 1:25 mark of first round, disqualifying Vande Velde for what he considered an illegal knee to the head of a man down.
Rocktagon MMA Worldwide heads to Northern California on February 18th for the next stop on the road to the amateur National Championships before returning to Ohio at the end of the month. Rocktagon MMA was founded in Ohio in 2010 and is the only amateur national fight series in the country. To find out more about Rocktagon MMA, please visit www.rocktagonmma.com. Fans may also follow Rocktagon MMA on
Twitter at Rocktagon_MMA, like Rocktagon MMA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rocktagonmma, or text “MMA” to 28553. |
