Muay Thai’s Kitchen vs Nakamoto for all the marbles
If you’re not aware, promoter Dennis Warner and In Sync Productions are planning to stage one of the most stupendous World Championship Muay Thai shows ever at the Pala Casino, Spa & Resort in Pala, CA on August 18, 2012.
The WCK (World Championship Muay Thai people) have been staging events like this since 1989, but in my estimation, this show has the potential to be their best ever. Why? Because they’ve signed the best female fighters in the world to fight.
Since the world’s not big enough for two international champions, they have World Champion Julie Kitchen of the United Kingdom coming here to face World Champion Miriam Nakamoto of Dublin, California at the catch weight of 63.5 kilos (140 pounds) for the WCK Champion of Champions World Title. It’s history in the making as the greatest female, full rules, Muay Thai fighters meet up for the first time. In April 2012, Nakamoto made Muay Thai history when she became the 1st American (male or female) to ever fight for the prestigious WMC Muaythai World Title. After her performance, the people who monitor the world rankings proclaimed she’s now the best “Pound for Pound” fighter in the world.
And to think this is but one of four female World Title matches. Also featured they have Tiffany Van Soest from Solano Beach who teaches and trains at the Black House Team Nogueira Gym in San Diego going up against Hilary Mack who is the Scottish Thai Boxing Champion and the IMKO British title holder. Also they have Jemyma Betrian from The Netherlands facing Tiana Caverly, the Australian featherweight National champion. New York City’s Emily Bearden will face the Ukraine’s Lena Ovchynnikova.
I’m wondering about the security for this show, seeing that Vladimir Putkin, Russia’s President, is one of Ovchynnikova’s biggest fans.
Saturday’s WCK Muay Thai results from Pala
As a warm-up for that blockbuster “Champion of Champions” female Pro Muay Thai extravaganza, the WCK Muay Thai clan staged a local amateur show Saturday night, July 7, 2012 up the road from the Pala Casino, Spa and Resort at the Pala Fitness Center. The 17 hotly contested bouts showcased some of the best rising talent with several of the more accomplished fighters added.
Amateur Muay Thai Fight Results:
In Bout #1, Jordan Hubber (L) of Victory MMA, Point Loma, got the win over Esteban (R) of El Cajon Undisputed. All photos: Jim Wyatt
Bout #1: Jordon Hubber of the Victory MMA Gym, Point Loma, defeated Esteban of Undisputed Fitness and Training Center El Cajon via an unanimous decision. Simply put, Hubber remained busier with kicks and punches, while all Esteban could muster were knees to the chest and inside pressure.
In Bout #2, Mario Ramos of the Undisputed Downtown seemed to have his way against Andrew Rubalcaba of Imperial Beach Martial Arts.
In Bout #2, Mario Ramos of the Undisputed Downtown seemed to have his way against Andrew Rubalcaba of Imperial Beach Martial Arts. In Round #1 he kept sticking punches to the head and landing kicks at a three to one ratio. By Round #2, the referee had seen enough and called an end to the contest.
At first, it was Austin Wourms (L) landing the majority of the kicks and solid shots to head.
Back came Brad Hopper (L) landing a big straight right to the chin of Austin Wourms.
In Bout #3, it was Brad Hopper of Bob Chaney Family Martial Arts (L) pulling out the close decision win over Austin Wourms of El Cajon’s Undisputed Fitness and Training Center.
In Bout #3, Brad Hopper of Bob Chaney Family Martial Arts pulled out the close decision over Austin Wourms. Wourms clearly took Round #1 by way of his rapid fire punches to the head and whipping kicks to the thighs.
Hopper made a comeback in Round #2, landing high kicks and head snapping blows to the head. Round #3 was crazy. Early on, it appeared Wourms was out on his feet but then weathered the storm to finish strong.
Samantha Schmitt’s superior boxing skills gave her an edge over Terisa Garcia (L), especially in this heated exchange.
In Bout #4, Samantha Schmitt of the LA Boxing Fight Team won a split decision victory over Terisa Garcia of Valdez Kickboxing of Whittier, CA.
In Bout #4, Samantha Schmitt of the LA Boxing Fight Team won a close, split decision victory over Terisa Garcia of Valdez Kickboxing of Whittier, CA.
In Round #1, Schmitt had her way with Garcia who had trouble dealing with the angle of the punches from the southpaw and the kicks that kept coming.
Garcia made a comeback in Round #2, especially after landing three consecutive high kicks to the head. Schmitt regrouped to take Round #3 with an assortment of knee kicks and a spinning backhand.
Bout #5 featured Christian Mesa of Victory MMA getting the TKO victory over Oscar Reyes of Bob Chaney.
Bout #5 featured Christian Mesa of Victory MMA getting the TKO victory over Oscar Reyes of Bob Chaney. The biggest onslaught came in Round #2, and once Mesa had the upper hand there was no way to stop him.
Here we see J. C. Hatten (R) of the Pacific Training Center, La Jolla, CA using a high knee kick on his competitor Dominic Montes of Undisputed Fitness in El Cajon.
J. C. Hatten of the Pacific Training Center, La Jolla, CA has his arm raised in victory by referee George Valdez after he defeated Dominic Montes of Undisputed El Cajon in Bout #6.
Bout #6 saw J. C. Hatten of the Pacific Training Center, La Jolla, CA going up against Dominic Montes of Undisputed Fitness and Training Center in El Cajon.
In Round #1, Montes was busier with more kicks and blows to the head. From Round #2 on, both fighters seemed rather lackadaisical and content to go the distance. The strategy worked for Hatten as he eked out the split decision victory.
Early in Bout #7, Edgar Rojas was knocked off his feet by the agressive Michael Jaeger of the Extreme Power (Sut Yad Palung) Gym in Oceanside, CA.
In Bout #7 it was Michael Jaeger (L) of the Extreme Power Gym in Oceanside, CA getting the win over Edgar Rojas (R) of the Bob Chaney Family Martial Arts.
Bout #7 featured Michael Jaeger of the Extreme Power Gym in Oceanside, CA going up against Edgar Rojas of the Bob Chaney Family Martial Arts. Both fighters had their moments in Round #1, from the knockdowns to the big shots to the head. Midway through Round #2, Jaeger went to work setting his opponent up for the high kicks. The high knee kicks and punches continued until referee George Valdez finally called for the early stoppage in Round #3.
Another great nonstop action bout featured Kealani Vanderleest (L) going up against Kaamil Benoit (R) in Bout #8.
After being victimized by Kailani Vanderleest’s push kick, Kaamil Benoit (R) came right back and delivered a nice left hook.
Kealani Vanderleest (R) has her arm raised in victory by referee George Valdez (C) after it was announced that she had defeated Kaamil Benoit (R).
Bout #8 featured Kealani Vanderleest of the 858 Fight Shop trained by Doug Dickey and Eric Hoover going up against Kaamil Benoit of the Downtown Undisputed Gym trained by Nico Cebreros.
This one was never in doubt as Vanderleest kept her fists in Benoit’s face from the outset to insure an unanimous decision. How Benoit managed to survive the blitzkrieg of punches for three full rounds is a credit to her resolve.
With Bout #9 being such a back and forth struggle, Adam Alaman (R) appears almost incredulous that he got the judges’ nod over his opponent Rene Sanchez (L).
In Bout #9, Adam Alaman of the El Cajon Undisputed Gym won a close one over Rene Sanchez of the Bob Chaney Family Martial Arts. After Alaman took Round #1, Sanchez settled down to make this one a contest. The all action finish had the fans on their feet.
With Jessie Quesadas (L) being the aggressor throughout and landing the majority of blows against the taller Thor McPhail (R), the winner of Bout #10 was never in doubt.
Bout #10 featured Jessie Quesadas of Victory MMA going up against the much taller Thor McPhail of the El Cajon Undisputed. This was another match that started slow and then as Quesadas kept pressing the action, he forced McPhail to go toe to toe, a matchup that favored the more accurate and courageous Quesadas.
It’s a remarkable story but at the same time a no win situation for Justin Young (R). Young’s opponent, Matt Todd (kneeling) is 47 years of age and he’s lost the use of his right arm. He’s also Young’s senior by almost 20 years. If Young wins or loses, neither is worthy of praise.
After Matt Todd goes down for the fifth time, referee Victor Beltran finally decides Todd has had enough and calls a halt to Bout #11.
Some people are gluttons for punishment. Still breathing heavy, Matt Todd (L) stands next to referee Victor Beltran (C) as he raises Justin Young’s arm in victory.
Bout #11 featured the return of the amazing, one-armed fighter Matt Todd of Extreme Power going up against Justin Young of Valdez Kickboxing.
Since Todd is without the use of his right arm, which was injured in an accident, he’s compensated with the strong left jabs and left hooks plus his lethal leg kicks. At first opponents are caught off guard by his strength and can’t help think about the one advantage they do have. They never have to worry about getting hit by a right.
On Saturday night, Young kept his head in the game, and by the second round had knocked Todd off his feet repeatedly. Todd was not only getting hit hard, he began gasping for air. Young gets the win by Technical Knockout.
Nick Walenga (L) has his arm raised in victory by referee Victor Beltran after defeating Ernie Gutierrez (R) in Bout #12.
In Bout #12, it was the Nick Walenza show and it seemed like everything worked – the knees, the kicks, punches, his opponent Ernie Gutierrez saw and felt the entire repertoire.
With Walenza doing so well, his coach, Kru Rubin Rowell didn’t want him to get careless so he stayed right on top of him, “It’s bag work. Don’t you fell sorry for him! Don’t you get sloppy!” But he did and Gutierrez caught him Walenza with a nice high kick to the head. Kru Rowell’s response, “Oh, no he didn’t!”
In the end, it was Walenza getting an unanimous decision but still a stern look from his coach.
In Bout #13, it was Jeannene Del Mes (L) of Victory MMA getting the win over Amanda De Rosa (R) of the Bullet Hole Training Center in Victorville, CA.
Bout #13 had Jeannene Del Mes of Victory MMA going up against Amanda De Rosa of the Bullet Hole Training Center in Victorville, CA. From the outset, De Rosa pressed the fight, landing the solid punches and delivered more hard sweeping kicks than her opponent.
Then in the third round a loud voice could be heard urging De Rosa to finish her off. De Rosa not only didn’t oblige it appeared she took the final round off. All she did was cover up and lay back waiting to counter.
You would have thought Del Mes would take full advantage but she didn’t. Each of her slow motion kicks were telegraphed. I have never seen anyone throw a slower punch or a slower kick, kicks that were either blocked or fell short of the target. Then the final travesty – the three judges gave the decision to Del Mes.
As I looked around, I could see all these incredulous faces. After polling the patrons on my side of the room, everyone had De Rosa winning handily. My first thoughts, ‘The judges had the red and blue corners mixed up.’
Even though he declined to make any derogatory comments, De Rosa’s coach, Craig “The Bullet” Buchanan, a former IKKC, WBC and WCK middle weight champion said he thought his fighter won, but agreed that De Rosa left the matter in the judges’ hands by taking it easy in that final round. Like Buchanan, De Rosa only blamed herself.
That my friends is what you call, “Good Sportsmanship.” Even though they felt they had won the match easily, there was no grumbling. However, I’m sure everyone will be looking forward to the rematch.
Referee Victor Beltran raises the arm of Shane Riley (R) after it was announced he had defeated Ivan Garcia (L) in Bout #14.
Bout #14: Shane Riley of Valdez Kickboxing looked good in his destruction of Ivan Garcia of Bob Chaney Mixed Martial Arts. The bout featured heavy blows to the head, a knockdown and a bloodied nose, all courtesy of Mr. Riley.
Bout 15 was without a doubt the most exciting bout of the night. Early, it appeared Andrew Brown held the upper hand. Then Jean Viliant made his adjustments to get the TKO win.
Bout #15 featured a TKO victory by Andrew Brown of Bob Chaney Family Martial Arts in his bout against Jean Viliant of Eight Limbs. From the outset, Brown was the more polished and composed of the two, and as the bout progressed his skill level was revealed.
Bout 16 was anothe very entertaining bout as Josh Rittenberry took a lot of hard shots from Rolando Montano and was issued numerous 10 counts after being knocked off his feet.
Bout #16: Rolando Montano, whose stature reminds you of those big bodyguards protecting world leaders, spent his night pummeling the durable Josh Rittenberry. Everyone, including Montano was wondering how much punishment could Rittenberry take before his corner waved the white flag. Even though the white flag never came, Montano received the endorsement of all three judges.
In the final bout of the evening Andrew Gabriel (black trunks) appeared to be the more seasoned fighter and got an unanimous decision victory over Abel Pacas.
The final bout of the evening, Bout #17, had Andrew Gabriel of Extreme Power of Oceanside, CA going up against Abel Pacas of the Downtown Undisputed, San Diego, CA gym.
Even though Pacas had success early by grabbing Gabriel’s leg kicks and pushing him backwards to the canvas, all that ended when the two started mixing it up for real. In these exchanges, Gabriel proved to be the more competent, especially with the forceful high knees to the head and chest. In the end, it was Gabriel being awarded an unanimous decision.
