Battle at the Sun III

By Brandon Hines
Posted Monday, August 4, 2008

“Battle at the Sun III” mainly consisted of the teams Xtreme Couture from New York and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu of New England. Although labeled professional fights, it was clear that these young fighters were just starting off in their careers. And, for many it was their debut. The inexperience of the fighters showed and the technique looked sloppy at best. However the heart of these trained athletes, who risk everything to prove that they belong in the ring, was never in question. Anything can always happen.

Ken Egan (3-4) started off the evening’s fight card against Brian Kelher (1-0) in the welterweight division under MMA rules. The fight ended at 2:14 of the opening round as Kelher’s hands were clearly stronger, hurting Egan several times before the referee stepped in. Kelher wins via TKO.

Next up was James Hoyt (0-1) versus Brennan Ward (3-0) in the cruiserweight division under MMA rules. Ward immediately took the fight to the ground and wasted no time in securing a guillotine choke in a mere :31 seconds. Remember the name Brennan Ward!

John Naples (1-2) was pitted against James Jenkins (1-0) in super-welterweight competition under MMA rules. Naples was content to rush in with his head down, which never results in a good ending. James distracted Naples making it look like he was attempting a kimaura; but, instead sunk in a rear-naked choke at 1:41 of round one. Jenkins makes a successful debut.

The fourth bout was Dave Sudahara (5-0) versus Jared Eiha (1-2) under MMA rules. Eiha fought a valiant fight and landed some great punches. But, Sudahara stood strong and maneuvered for a takedown where he controlled Eiha for most of the fight. Sudahara’s Jiu-Jitsu background gave him the split decision after three rounds.

Carlos Brooks (4-1) took on current I.C.E. champion Curtis Parisi (4-2) in the light-heavyweight division under Muay-Thai rules. Carlos’ display of body kicks, head kicks, punches, and knees were more than Parisi wanted anything to do with. Showing the heart of a champion, Parisi did get up from three knockdowns. But, the damage was already done. Carlos wins by KO in just 1:41 of the first round. Carlos is going places and going there fast.

Dustin Rhodes made his professional debut against Tom Velasquez (1-3) in the welterweight division under MMA rules. Velasquez shoots right for the takedown which turned out to be a huge mistake. Rhodes went for numerous submission attempts before locking up an arm bar that forced Velasquez to tap at :34 into the opening round.

Jeremy Pavlick (0-1) had the unfortunate assignment of battling Joseph Latour (1-0) in the welterweight division under MMA rules. This was the most over-matched contest of the night as Latour grabbed Pavlick into the clinch and delivered what seemed to be a hundred knees to his midsection. Fans had to feel bad for Pavlick, making his professional debut and having to endure such punishment. Latour ended the fight with a huge left uppercut that put Pavlick down for good. Doctors at ringside erred on the side of caution as Jeremy Pavlick was carried away on a stretcher and taken to a local area hospital. Latour wins by TKO at :59 seconds of the first round.

Jay Dudley (0-1) fought Steven Banks (2-0) in the heavyweight division under San Do rules. Banks looked very agile for a big heavyweight and utilized his reach advantage well against a much shorter Dudley. Banks was successful in the clinch and landed various knees to the body and chin of Dudley who was shaken up and bloodied. Somehow Dudley escapes the round. But, that did not help him change the outcome. The start of the second showed Dudley managing to cut Banks over the right eye pretty badly. Another damaging knee from Banks forced the referee to end the bout :22 seconds of round two. Steve Banks wins by TKO.

The final bout of the evening was lightweight amateur kickboxing which saw the promoter’s son, Pete Roger Jr., matched against Bill Bacon. Roger Jr. (1-1) was flashy, but not as efficient as Bacon (3-0) who kept up a relentless pace. It was a back and forth affair with Roger Jr. thrilling the crowd with his spinning back kicks to Bacon’s non-stop onslaught of punches in bunches. Bacon was the more active fighter and, although Roger Jr. looked very comfortable and experienced, he just did not score enough points to win the judges over. Bacon wins by split decision and takes the bout.